Black Sun, Blood Moon

[commonpeople1]

"The sun became black & the moon turned to blood." (Revelation 6:12)
Originally uploaded by Stevie Steve Steven

Thoughts on the second part of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. All non-spoiler comments welcome!

The Revelation seems to refer to the Bible's Book of Apocalypse, where the end of mankind is announced, amongst other things, through hallucinogenic-based writings from an unknown author in the 1st Century.

Just a big Revelation or many small ones? Is the impeding liberation from Belgium the approaching Apocalypse? The soldiers equal to the horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Kingsolver plays with revelations in many levels. You have the mirror that the family own - the only one in the village - so that every Congolese who stares at it has a revelation of their own face. That the villagers flock to the church when one of the twins survives the stalking of a lion - another revelation (that Jesus is as powerful as their gods?) Perhaps Anatole standing up to the father is a revelation for the four daughters - here's a man from the Congo who has the intellect and power to brush aside this arrogant missionary.

Perhaps the Revelation that the family of missionaries made a mistake. The creeping certitude they made a mistake. The revelations the girls stumble upon as they spy on others in the village (private lives revealed to their innocent eyes). The revelation they each go through that there's something wrong with their religion... it's just an inkling at this stage.

I thought it was interesting the symbolism of the lion in this section. To me it represents the uncontrollable forces of this African country - whether in its politics, its soldiers or even in its villagers - something that cannot be tamed by sermons. The irony of it instigating more attendance in the church after Adah escapes being eaten by it will be unmade in the following sections (my prediction.)

Methuselah the bird gets killed and eaten by the lion at the end of this section. If Methuselah represented the converted African Christian (parroting Bible words it doesn't understand) then this is a terrible foreshadowing of what is going to happen to the family and the villagers... I just know there's some tough stuff coming up!!

I had a look as to the meaning of the name Methuselah, which sounds so Biblical: it can be translated to "man of the spear" (African?). He is the oldest person mentioned in the Bible. This is a neat use of the name to a parrot since this type of bird can live up to 100 years. I wonder if Kingsolve is also pointing at the longevity of African tribes - or the connection that humanity came originally from Africa. Methuselah died seven days before the Flood... again I wonder if the bird's death in this section is on the brink of some kind of "flood" too... (war? famine?)

What do you think is "The Revelation"?

Comments

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Just had a thought that the four daughters = four horsemen of the apocalypse (another little irony from Kingsolver...)

[verybadhorse.livejournal.com]

i am behind! i need a couple of days. sorry!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

No worries! This post will wait for you - it won't be going anywhere! :-)

[naturalbornkaos.livejournal.com]

Woah, this really sounds like my kind of book. I should read it.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Barbara Kingsolver is really worth reading. This is my second read by something of hers and it's another great one.

By the way, found out today that Alan Hollinghurst's next novel comes out in the summer! Can't wait.

[naturalbornkaos.livejournal.com]

Strange coincidence. I've finally started "The Line of Beauty" and am reading it now! Can't wait for the new one.

I'll definitely check out Barbara Kingsolver.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Cool. I loved that book. Once you are finished, watch the BBC adaptation. I thought it was very good and actually added a lot to the story's comprehension.

The Poisonwood Bible

[msanthropist.livejournal.com]

This is the first book by Barbara Kingsolver I've read, and I can't put it down! I am very grateful for the nudge Ollie, as I was just lamenting to Erin that my whole life I was a voracious reader and since I went to college and "spent four years (really six) prostrate to the higher mind, got my paper and I was free..." I seemed to have lost my love for reading. She keeps suggesting I just need to find something to snag me in, and this book has! I'm at the Rachel chapter in Judges where she seems to be warming up to at least the idea of Axelroot as a suitor. I've missed all the bible references or symbology that you alluded to in your earlier posts, but am enjoying the richness of the prose and her changing voices, and her skill in describing the experience from so many different points of view simultaneously. I usually get so caught up in an author's voice that I temporarily take it on as my own so that if I attempt to write anything while I'm in the middle of their book, my own style will reflect their's. But I am somehow able to step away at any point in the book and just experience it fully from my own perspective. Does that make sense? I can see why this book was on one of the internet's "must read" lists recently, which is how I came to own it. My favorite daughter is definitely hands down Adah, followed closely by Ruth May, because they are so authentic, so purely essence and free from the polluting effects of conditioning that is foisted upon all of us. I think that is also why my favorite character by far has to be Brother Fowles. I love how Kingsolver presents the narrative in such a way that I find myself sympathetic to some degree to everyone in the story, including the rich capitalists who when indirectly referred to by Leah and Fowles, are leant some explanation for their mindless exploitation and misguided priorities. I am loving this book!!! Thank you for the recommendation and the discussion. I've ALWAYS wanted to participate in a bookclub!

Re: The Poisonwood Bible

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I haven't started reading after The Revelation! :-)

I'm waiting for verybadhorse to catch up... going a bit slowly on this read. Feel free though to burst ahead if the book has gripped you... nothing like a good page turner! :-)

I'll reply to this comment once I finish Judges. x

Re: The Poisonwood Bible

[msanthropist.livejournal.com]

I'm SO sorry Ollie, what a faux pas I made, and my very first comment out! I'm sorry. Please forgive the spoilers, I promise to be much more mindful in the future, DUH!

Re: The Poisonwood Bible

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Hehe, don't worry at all! It's no problem - I'm glad you've gotten into the book! Looking forward to talking more about it with you. :-)

Re: The Poisonwood Bible

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Ok, have finished The Judges! Trying to digest this section - put my thoughts together - preparing a new post with some questions for it. How far are you into it?

I've started to like Leah more in this section, and less of Adah. I think Leah and Anatole might be the redemptive couple in the story - the one glimmer of light. Rachel is just a ditz but I worry for what's going to happen to her. Will expand on my thoughts in the other post. x

[verybadhorse.livejournal.com]

i think i've got to pick up the pace from now on, as i begin to forget parts of the very section i'm reading before i have the chance to analyze them. i'm not doing so well on this reading, ollie, forgive me. i'll do my best to pick it up with the next section.

you have so many fascinating insights. i have to say that in this section, i wasn't nearly as moved by the writing as i was in the first. is that also true for you? adah's and leah's sections, in particular, seemed much weaker than their previous chapters, although the lion nearly eating adah was probably the strongest moment, for me, in revelation.

the revelation i would point to in this section would be the fact that the father is so far committed to the service of the lord that he is willing to sacrifice his own family (and actually forces them into the sacrifice, as they all want to leave) to complete his mission in the congo. then again, it's clear early on that rachel, orleanna and adah perceive this, but it isn't solidified until this section, when he chooses to stay behind and keep his family with him despite very real and growing dangers. leah seems slow on the uptake, still a puppy dog for her father's affections, and that disappoints me a bit. i am waiting for her loyalty to sway, at which point i think i'll respect her character a little more. i wonder what it will take.

i'm interested in the very end of this section, when leah goes with her father to leopoldville and comments on how lavishly the underdowns live. it struck me then how sincerely bare-bones the prices are living, what a huge shock it must be to all of their systems (not just rachel's) to subsist on so little and on such foreign substances. and yet, their lives are rich in comparison to those around them. people with only one set of clothing. children dying left and right and that being normative, while the prospect of losing one of the price children seems, um, a heavy price.

your insights on methuseleh are brilliant and bring a sort of life to that part of the plot that i felt was missing. thank you for being such a thorough, analytical reader. i am still really enjoying this book and i'm glad we're reading it together. :)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Hello my dear, how are you doing with your reading? Am about to post on The Judges but don't feel any pressure to hurry, etc, and comment. I'm happy to wait for you to finish the section and join me in the post dedicated to it. x