audio book academy book summary the poison wood bible by barbara king silver barber kings oliver's 1998 novel the poison wood bible is a work of fiction the book was an instant hit and in 1999 it was selected for oprah's book club on the pulitzer prize shortlist that year it was also awarded the south african book prize in 2000 in the price family there are five ladies and each chapter is written from the perspective of one of them the mother of the family orliana tells the narrative from a future time years after her daughter has died as a way of begging for forgiveness from her nathan nathan's wife orleana's husband leads the family on a missionary trip to the congo in 1959 which takes us back to that time period kalonga is an isolated village in a distant part of the congo nathan a baptist christian aims to bring the gospel to the villagers and baptize them orleana's four daughters rachel leah ada and ruth may tell the story when nathan demands that the village's children be baptized the villagers don't like him it becomes clear to our liana that she intends to take her daughters out of the nation but her husband refuses to allow her do so it was one day that ruth may was bitten and died instantaneously from the poisonous snake spite as orilliana is in such a bad mood she and her two daughters leave the village only orlana and adam make it back to the united states after getting sick on the way to the embassy both rachel and leah begin relationships with local guys there is a happy ending for leah as she marries her long-term love rachel marries three times before settling down in a five-star hotel when her third husband abandons her ada goes to school to become a doctor in the united states and then moves in with their mother she tells us that she has forgave her mother and wishes her mother would forgive herself towards the end of the book the price family is seen through the eyes of the women in the story according to early anna price the story's first narrator i am by marriage a southern baptist i am a mother of children living and dead rachel leah ada and ruth may are the names of orilliana's four daughters orilliana tells her story from an unspecified point in the future after the events of the book have already occurred whilst the other girls tell their stories in the present tense a baptist missionary father takes his four kids and his wife to the jungles of the congo to teach the gospel of jesus christ to the locals this is the setting for orlando's first story one of orleana's four daughters died in the congo and she is directing this story to her he believes that by narrating this narrative she is pleading with her daughter for forgiveness book one the things we carried leah price the story shifts to leah price the price family's second oldest daughter her story begins in 1959 when the price family set out for the congo and she begins by recounting the possessions they brought as a means of getting around the airline's baggage weight limit the family hides items including a thimble a pair of scissors band-aids a hand mirror and betty crocker baking mixes in the clothes they wear these things begin to weigh leah down and cause her discomfort as she begins to regard them as burdens on her body and mind leah on the other hand is the most upbeat about the trip in her father's baptist faith she is the most unquestioning daughter and she believes that they are doing the right thing by spreading the lord's life to the natives the family is greeted by two belgian missionaries when they arrive at the airport mr and mrs underdown the reverend in the village they're headed to the under downs tell the prices they'll be the only westerners there kalonga used to be a bustling mission station but that has long since faded away in the village haven axle route is the pilot of a small plane that takes the prices to the village a huge welcome awaits them as soon as they arrive in the small town ruth may ruth may the price family's youngest member is only five years old when they embark on their journey ruth may's first perspective chapter focuses primarily on her expectations about the congolese people as far as ruth may is concerned she knows that black people are derived from ham while ham may have been a horrible son ruth may admits that both she and ham are awful at times too ham was condemned to have dark complexion and be a slave because he mocked his father noah when he was intoxicated and nude jimmy crow is responsible for separating blacks and whites in the family's native state of georgia ruth may points out this makes sense she argues rachel price when rachel is 15 years old she is the most dissatisfied with her parents vacation in addition to the kalongas body stench she is disgusted to see that the village's chapel is just a dirt floor patio with a roof over it despite the fact that she has none of the religious fervor of her father or sister leah rachel is nonetheless angry when the villagers gather around a bonfire to sing christian hymns because of the villagers drumming and singing in their native tongues she is at first unable to recognize that these are her familiar hymns but she grudgingly admits that they are entitled to sing them nathan the girl's father begins to preach to the villagers berating them for their bare bodies to the locals he promises to bring them out of the darkness of the soul and into a brighter future even though the villagers had been eagerly anticipating the reverend's fiery sermon they soon became frightened by his more ominous pronouncements at a price she shares a twin sister with leah ada abba is unable to move her left side of the body due to hemiplegia when she walks with a lymph she has to drudge her left side all the way around additionally she decides not to communicate unless it is absolutely necessary kelonga's villager atta is the first one to provide the reader an unbiased assessment even though the peasants are often seen in their underwear they are modest in their own way according to her the women in the neighborhood won't leave their yard unless they've covered their legs so when they see the price women they're taken aback except for the sporadic visits of abe and axelroot the prices have no mail service and no way to communicate with the outside world mia price as a demonstration the reverend uses his own seeds and plants them in his garden natives will learn how to cultivate a garden and grow food for their families in the garden which is designed to teach them how to grow their own food revered in leah plant a garden with the prices living made mama tata brother fowles the final missionary to dwell in the house left mama tata to the price family when her parents were discussing about brother fowles leah heard that he was an irish catholic priest who was pulled out of the congo because he was mingling with villagers inappropriately methuselah a parrot owned by brother fowles was also left behind mama tata advises the reverend against straying too close to the poison wood tree in the yard and attempts to teach him how to properly plant in the tough dirt the reverend on the other hand refuses to pay attention and the following morning he realizes that he has developed a rash in the morning leah spots that mama tata has replanted the garden replanting and leveling the ground where mama tata has made long mounds is insisted upon by reverend rachel price the revered price begins attempting to persuade the males of the town to be baptized by the church in the river men are willing to go to church for easter but not be baptized even though it is the middle of the summer a picnic by the river is on the agenda for reverend price almost all of the residents of the village are compelled to attend by the promise of food in the hopes of boosting church attendance orliana slaughtered nearly all of brother faust's hands and spent the rest of the day frying them he doesn't participate in instead spending his time contemplating how he may persuade the villagers to accede to his request for a baptism rather than enjoying the festivities ruth may ruth may overhears her mother in mama tata talking about a neighbor woman who lost both of her legs in a house fire but continues to care for her family as if nothing has happened ruth may wonders why so many people in kalonga appear to have physical impairments no one seems to notice or care that many of the locals are missing limbs or eyes unlike the people back home who stared in horror at leah because of her disability the people here often appear to look at rachel because of her brilliant blonde hair her mother and father also hear the reverend berating the villagers for misusing their bodies and not considering them as sacred objects which ruth may overhears in the course of the talk in other words because the people must treat their bodies as tools they will degrade faster his lack of concern for her seems to irritate her they realize their garden has been utterly damaged by a severe rainstorm when it finally stops raining the revered has replanted the garden instead of using the mounds that mama tata made as a result the rain washed away all the seeds in accordance with mama tata's advice leah re gathering the seeds and replanting them in the mounds mama tatopa grows impatient with reverend price's insistence that the villagers be baptized and he resents her for it watching from afar the price women can only guess at what is being spoken between the reverend and mama ta-daba soon after mama tata returns home and informs them that she would be departing she briefly instructs them in a few essentials of self-care and household management before departing leah price when leah goes in search of her father she discovers him in the backyard since it was planted the garden has thrived but there are no signs of veggies there are no bugs that can pollinate the plants that they imported from georgia according to the revered the african bugs have no idea what to do with these strange veggies what did you say to him mia inquires of her father to mama tata's dismay when the revered inquired about the village's stance on baptism in the river she was informed that they would not consent to it because of the recent death of a little girl at the river's edge villagers are now afraid to come within a few feet of it he removes the bird from its cage and throws it outside when the parrot methuselah starts repeating profanities and getting on the reverend's nerves there are price girls watching as the bird flies off book 2 the revelation orleana price orilliana is unable to cope without mama tata support a mile and a half trip is required to get water which must then be heated for 20 minutes to disinfect it as a result the price family is used to living a significantly more opulent existence than do the locals who are more likely to have lavish meals once or twice a year at most wild tubers known as maniac are commonly consumed by the indigenous population aben axel root who delivers the mission leaks goods to the family demands a substantial bribe before each delivery because of her fear of not being able to feed her family orleana begins to have nightmares of them dying while eliana has come to recognize that the indigenous consider her family as trespassers the revered continues to believe that they see him as a force for good this man opposes any kind of adjustment in his attitude or behavior arguing that he is being put through a similar test as job was in the bible his christian views on monogamy and the importance of being baptized have even enraged the chief leah price after a while in the congo the prices begin to get into a rhythm after they finish their morning homeschool courses the girls have some free time in the afternoon pascal becomes a close friend of leah's ruth may at first ruth may spends most of her time with the village youngsters but she also spends time watching the grown-ups aben axelroot must fly ruth may and her father to stanleyville a larger town where they may see a doctor after she fractures her arm while spying ruth may observes that aben has a large suitcase of diamonds in his plane while flying to stanleyville and aben threatens her mother's life if she reveals the information doctors are horrified when ruth may tells them that she was spying on anti-belgian forces gathering in their village they engage into a furious debate regarding whether or not missionaries are needed in africa with the doctor believing that they are being taken advantage of by the west in light of the growing support for patrice lumumba the congolese leader who is calling for independence from belgium the doctor is concerned rumors abound that his party intends to exterminate every white person in the democratic republic of the congo according to nathan they have nothing to worry about because god will protect them the revered sends anadol a young man who has been working for them back to kalonga for dinner when he was younger his parents sent him to work in the belgian diamond and rubber plantations and now he's the town school teacher when he returned the underdowns had installed him as the new school teacher saving him from certain death he tells revered price that the village chief is concerned that christianity's effect on the villagers could lead to a fallen morals in deus mind the villagers are abandoning their reverence for tata kuvundu the local spiritual leader reverend price is stunned and unable to see how an increase in christianity might lead to a decrease in morality anatol is thrown out of the house and orleana is grabbed by the arms by him pricelia a young orphan named nelson is sent by anatole to assist the prices in and around the house nelson is quite intelligent and he is able to learn english in just a few weeks his intelligence puzzles leah who points out that congolese children are not allowed to attend school after the age of 12. she then wonders why anatole was permitted to stay in school for so long and blushes as she contemplates asking him the question orilliana begins assisting the girls in assembling hope chests which will house the items they will require after they are married as the only one who is considering getting married rachel is the only one who takes the project seriously at night they realize that methuselah the parrot is sleeping in their latrine which is close to their home leah and ada are concerned about methuselah's well-being rachel price underdowns visit the prices to inform them about congo's upcoming elections and independence declaration in may and june respectively this has been approved by the belgian government orliana claims that the mission league told them that independence would be at least 30 years away which he believes is a lie while no one had specifically requested that the prices visit the town reverend underdown does point out that their mission trip had not been authorized by anybody in authority an outraged orleana rages against the belgian government for its treatment of the congolese and for handing independence to a country without first allowing it time to learn how to survive on its own they shouldn't be alarmed by the news argues nathan who is less surprised because of the underdown's advice nathan vows that he will not leave until his contract expires making him the only one who refuses to leave the country before the election at a price signs depicting symbols like a knife match or bottle indicate the candidates because many of the town's residents are illiterate in order to vote the citizens of the village must place a stone in a bowl in front of a sign marked with a symbol representing their preferred candidate only males have the right to vote but wives often give their husbands advice on whom they should support in the polls and the vast majority of men heed their counsel atta interprets tata kouvendu's decision to leave a bowl of chicken bones outside their door as a sign that he is attempting to keep them safe by removing them rachel price nathan learns of patrice lumumba's victory on a subsequent trip to stanleyville orliana tries to convince her husband to leave the town after receiving a letter from the underdowns nathan rejects the offer ruth may rachel frantic to leave tries to get on a plane that has arrived to evacuate the family her father intervenes by forcibly flinging her to the ground despite the fact that it is just midday orilliana goes to rest and does not wake up until the plane has landed ruth may joins her in bed leah price as the most pious of the sisters leah and her father traveled to leopoldville to witness the transfer of power to the new republic of congo during the ceremony it discussed so much to see the underdowns and their white pals enjoying themselves and such magnificence while the locals around them are forced to suffer the price of ada prices services a predator must have devoured the bird methuselah when ada finds its feathers scattered throughout the year on the day of freedom book 3 the judges orleana price for an extended period of time orleana retires to her bed why did she wait so long to flee with her daughters she recalls that she had no money or a place to go if she left nathan behind as a result she believes that god is not on nathan's side at all orleana then tells us a little bit about nathan's past at the age of 17 orliana was a non-religious independent young woman as they were having fun at the tent revival gathering she ran into nathan who was an attractive young preacher nathan's demeanor had softened and he was more affectionate at the time when nathan was enlisted into world war ii he was injured in combat and the two married soon after in the hospital he learned that he had escaped the notorious baton death march which claimed the lives of his entire regiment with the guilt of having survived nathan became fixated on saving the souls of those who had perished in baton and he became obsessed with rescuing more people than he had saved leah price the people in kalonga have stopped coming to the price's house to offer them food so life there is becoming increasingly difficult only mama mwanza the legless neighbor offers to share her food with him explaining that people who have more are obligated to help those who are less fortunate this act of kindness from a non-christian surprises leah ruth may and orleana are still tucked up in their beds hardly venturing forth nelson is convinced that the family is cursed and leah recalls the chicken bones that tata kuvinde left outside their house at a price nelson tells adam that the locals have a pragmatic attitude toward christianity when nathan's church doesn't meet their immediate needs nelson thinks that they'll look for a new faith nathan refuses to let liana take her children out of the nation despite or leanna's pleas his words of criticism are directed at her for not heeding god's command and getting out of bed to do so the three eldest daughters take on the role as primary breadwinners in the household or leanna on the other hand emerges in the kitchen one night and resumes her duty as family caregiver without saying anything as a result she's no longer afraid to speak her opinion to her husband when she can't find a way out of the congo she bribes aben into taking them out via plane aben on the other hand refuses to labor unless he is paid in advance mia is taken aback by her mother's apparent defiance of her father's control as she doubts her father's decision to keep them in the congo she begins to wonder if she too should leave the nation because of the rising political tension rachel price his congolese wife makes an appearance shortly after and the women at price begin to worship brother fowles for his more relaxed outlook on christianity he is adored by the residents of the village because he respects their traditions all the others love fowls and the only one who doesn't is nathan with whom fouls gets into a passionate scriptural debate winning the intellectual battle when nathan realizes he's lost the debate he rushes out at a price drought has caused starvation in the region ruth may's condition deteriorates rapidly due makes more frequent visits and brings gifts to at his house and nelson explains to ada that new intends to take rachel as his wife to be leah price as it stands refusing to accept ndu's proposition would be a major snub to both him and the community in order for du to take action the village must all be on board rachel is apprehensive that he may ask her to marry him in a more official way ruth may has malaria because she hasn't taken her anti-malaria medication since she arrived in the family's home rachel price in order to prevent nd from asking rachel to marry him the family settles on a plan to make the community believe rachel is already engaged to aven as a result a weird bond forms between rachel and aben in order for him to fly her and her family back to their home rachel devises a plan of her own anatole school hires leah as a math teacher and she also learns french and key congo from him nelson also teaches her how to shoot a bow and arrow aben tries to impress rachel by claiming to be a member of the cia but she doesn't trust him and suspects he's lying one day while out for a walk the two begin to kiss despite his assurances that he is aware of the impending assassination of patrice lumumba she continues to believe that he is telling lies in order to impress her after listening to aben's conversation with wi rouge on the radio ada realizes that the assassination plot is being linked to president eisenhower leah price residents of the village are fleeing to the river for protection from flesh-eating ants when leah is fleeing the ants crawling all over her body cause her to become disoriented and lose track of her family she is found by anatole who tells her to wait while he goes in search of her real family rachel price rachel is pushed to the ground when she tries to board a neighbor's boat amid the ant crisis she is horrified as she sees the shattered fragments of her cherished possession a mirror which was broken in the shuffle or liana price despite her best efforts orleana is unable to keep ruth may by her side the entire time they are on the run ruth may weeps and clutches nelson's amulet which he gave her as a reincarnation amulet in her hands she's decided to return as a mamba snake because she's afraid of them at a price because of her infirmity ada is stranded ruth may begs her mother for help but orleana is powerless to help her to keep up with the pace she asks added to do her best anatole rescues adam from a near fatal fall by finding her and embracing her leah price anatolin ruth may emerge and leah and anatole board a boat together tells her his mother and atta are in another boat and that their father is preaching on the plagues of egypt anatole learns of the plot through leah anadol encourages her to stop crying and warns her not to tell him that she loves him they can return to kalonga two days after the outbreak of any plague book four belle and the serpent orliana price or lyanna speaking from the future reveals that she now knows what happened politically in the united states at the time she was writing the novel in 1960 the head of the cia sent a message to the congolese station commander requesting that he quickly replaced the new administration the leader orchestrated a military takeover which was led by joseph mobutu patrice lumumba was put under house arrest by the army but he quickly fled he was forced to give an impromptu speech by a man on the street while he was hiding a mercenary pilot in the audience heard lumumba's remarks and alerted the authorities which led to the army capturing and killing him leah price what happened in the community in 1960 is recounted by leah in her memoir at one of revered price's lectures chief new walks up and asks that the villagers vote on whether or not jesus should be venerated in the first place despite his outrage reverend price has no choice but to participate in the vote jesus loses by a wide margin in the polls except for ruth may none of the other price ladies had a say in the matter rachel price the village's men organize a hunt as a result of nelson's bow and arrow teachings for leah a discussion erupts over whether she should participate in the hunt after a vote mia is given the green light to join the hunt with the rest of the girls this angers tate couventy when he warns that a woman engaging in the hunt is against the gods upon hearing him declare that the animals will rise up against them the villagers hearts begin to race and they flee in fear but leah defiantly disobeyed nathan telling him that she would not be swayed by his commands nathan rushes after her with his belt as she runs away as the last of the price women leave they retreat to the women's restroom at the crack of dawn leah makes her triumphant return creeping into the room through the window the mama snake is snuggled up in anatole's bed that night and an evil sign is posted outside his hut in the village kuvindu's proclamation has come to fruition leah price when leah kills an antelope she gets into a fight with the chief's son over who killed the animal which ends in costing her the hunt despite the fact that it has been confirmed that she murdered it the animal is still seized the antelopelia kilt was stolen from her and she takes her grievances to her family her father has wiped his hands of her moral education says nathan and god has no mercy on her because she disobeyed him he won't bother punishing her because he doesn't think she deserves it leah gently but firmly tells her father that she no longer respects or believes him she no longer fears punishment on his return nelson informs the price family that he has spotted a terrifying symbol of doom near his bedtime refuge in the family's chicken coup in the face of his pleadings nathan refuses to let him stay in the house because the bad signs have no meaning to him it's not long until leah and her sisters decide to show nelson some kindness by smearing ash all over his chicken pen from the teachings of their parents they've taken this idea and run with it in the event that anyone breaks in they want to be able to trace their footsteps through the ashes at a price but they're not exactly what they anticipated to find when they wake up the next day tata kouvendu's prints are easily identified by the presence of six toes on the left foot the coop has a curled up mamba snake in one of the corners poking the snake with his finger causes it to bolt from the coop ruth may gasps and sobs as the snake slithers past the girls trying to reassure her that she isn't crazy the girls presume she is merely afraid of the snake the snake had bitten ruth may and leah quickly discovers in an effort to get lia to hurry and grab some milk nelson screams at her a terrified leah can only watch as ruth may fades to blue and dies rachel price the girls are too terrified to go get their mother and stand over the body for a long time in shock ruth may's family finally tells orilliana and she calmly carries out the traditional tradition of washing the body and placing it out on a table outside ruth may had not yet been baptized and nathan's sole answer was to express his sorrow at this fact seeing him this way for the first time mia is disgusted that this is her father's initial instinct and she glares at him orleana collects all of the family's worldly possessions and distributes them among the villagers when the community awakens as the village children congregate around the body of ruth may it begins to rain in the pouring rain nathan emerges from the house bearing a bible and performs a baptism for the entire neighborhood's youngsters book 5 exodus orleana price orleana explains that she began walking following ruth may's death after a short time she and her other daughters were on their way out of town leah price it is only mama mwanza's daughters that are able to halt the price women when the price ladies flee to leopoldville they only have these limited provisions with them leah and rachel become unwell on route to leopoldville rachel's journey to a village named balungu is made possible by a few kind-hearted strangers leah spends weeks in a hut belonging to one of anatol's students as she recovers from malaria anatole has left kalonga and is now forming a political movement in the nearby towns rachel escapes the congo by boarding aben's jet in order to get to leopoldville ada and orlana take a ferry but leah must stay in balungu because she is too sick to leave anna told tens to her medical needs and the two become romantically involved leah realizes that she wants to stay in the congo with anatole and become his wife once she is well again rachel price axelroot there rachel and aben find themselves a part of the mainly white high society in johannesburg for the sake of etiquette they pretend to be married and rachel wonders when aben will propose to her and make this lie a reality at a price ada and orleana are kidnapped as they travel to leopoldville in the back of an army truck in leopoldville they are taken care of by belgian troops who had intended to hurt the girls but were scared off by early anna's eyes patients at the embassy received medical treatment and are flown to georgia ada and orleana return to georgia and settle into a quaint log cabin in their childhood home town orilliana starts gardening and makes money selling flowers to help feed her family adam makes the decision to go to college and finds a passion for science leah price anatole and leah escape out of balungu to stanleyville where there is still support for lumumba despite the people disdain of a white lady in their midst the people of stanleyville on the other hand hold leah responsible for the death of their adored leader and despise her as a result of this in order to keep lumumba's peace plan alive anatole stays in stanleyville but he sends leah to a french mission in the bush the infirm re-hires leah as a nurse anatole is shortly arrested and imprisoned for his political views rachel price axelroot a disgruntled rachel is fed up with aiden's incessant business trips and the fact that he hasn't proposed when rachel discovers that her best friend's husband is married to the french ambassador's first attache she becomes intrigued daniel and rachel had been having an affair for a short time because of problems in their marriage leah price and jambe after serving three years in prison anatolus allowed to marry his long-term love leah bukoki is his hometown and he is the headmaster of his high school while leah works as a volunteer at the clinic a brother named fowles comes to visit and informs them that her father has been killed by the army despite his father's efforts to continue preaching the gospel in kalonga despite its largely useless nature at a price because of her limp adam must attend medical school and undergo physical therapy for the sake of being close to her daughter orleana relocates to atlanta where she gets involved in the fight for equal rights in addition to her husband leah brings their newborn boy with her to atlanta for a visit ten years later leah price and jambe pascal patrice and modern lethar are the names of leah and anatole's three young sons who go with them to kinshasa a city in central africa in comparison to those around them they have a lot more than they have leah dislikes mobutu the country's leader because he lives a lavish lifestyle while claiming to care about the country rachel axel wrote dupree fairly after three disastrous marriages rachel has finally found her own place in the world it was in his will that remy fairly gifted her a luxurious hotel when rachel takes over the hotel she achieves both personal and professional success that no one from her family has shown up to visit the hotel is something she finds particularly offensive especially because leah is the nearest leah price jambay it is for leah and anatole's benefit that the njembe family returns to the united states anatole majors in political science and geography whilst leah majors in agricultural engineering anatol is detained again when they return home and leah waits anxiously for him to be reunited with his family rachel axel wrote dupree fairly a farm in the southern portion of the country is on the agenda for anatole and leah one month after his release from prison ada will bring the farm vehicle to the country that orleana raised the money for reuniting with her sister is what the sister decides to do at this time when rachel just banned blacks from sleeping at her hotel tensions between rachel and leah escalate throughout the three-week trip they are on informing her sisters that their father has died leah reveals her discovery the boat carrying a group of children to the river for baptism was tipped over by a crocodile after he was repeatedly ordered to leave the village a large number of the village's children died and nathan was expelled from the community he made it to the top of a burning tower at a price ada becomes an epidemiologist and works at the center for disease control in atlanta physical therapy cures her of her limp and her muteness but she still laments the limitations she had before lee and jambe anatole and leah have a second child who they name nathan angola is a country that is free of foreign rule therefore they work hard to make their farm a success and wait for the opportunity to cross the border however the country is currently embroiled in a civil war in large part due to american intervention mia is unsure if she will ever find a place to call her own part 6 songs of the three children and the ice in the trees rachel axel wrote dupree fairly rachel a 50 year old woman looks back on her life with a sense of contentment she's proud of herself for carving out a niche for herself in the forest but she misses home a little too in her mind the secret to her success lies in disregarding whatever she doesn't want to be aware of lee and jim bae except for the youngest all of leah's sons have grown up and left home as far as anatole is concerned they're still inseparable angola has been home for 11 years to the couple who have been farming there and leah gives agricultural workshops nearby she still feels guilty about being white and she refers to herself as the missionary and asks to be converted whenever possible she on the other hand claims to have found solace in the knowledge that she has made a mistake and has overcome it at a price ada is troubled by the reality that saving a life isn't always a win leaving the medical field she now focuses only on scientific pursuits after a while she begins to admire the viruses she studies and believes that they have just as much right to exist as everyone else does the eyes and the trees towards the end of the novel the reader is given a chance to hear from ruth may once again this time with a benefit of death's perspective according to ruth may each person's life is influenced by the lives of those around them despite their best efforts orliana's three sisters are unable to travel to the congo because of the country's ongoing civil conflict there is no method to cross the angkolan border after 35 years in power mobutu stepped down due to a cancer diagnosis one of the price ladies is approached by a woman selling wood-carved creatures and they learn that she is speaking kalonka upon inquiring about the settlement she tells them that it has never existed and that the route comes to an end at balungu where it is impossible to travel further ruth may forgives her mother and asks orleana to forgive herself at the end of the book orilliana price the mother of the price family has been identified once upon a time orilliana was a carefree nature-loving child she married nathan a lovely young pastor when she was 17. orilliana has been intimidated by nathan's increasingly fervent religious convictions which have brought her to her knees she begins the novel as a submissive scared wife who does not question her husband's authority as orilliana's country experiences political instability she decides to take her girls out of danger orilliana's self-awareness returns and fits and starts as she goes to bed for weeks at a time until suddenly waking up and communicating back to her husband as a result of the death of her youngest daughter orleana has a mental collapse and abandons her husband who is now left to face life or death without her orilliana has a long and happy life but she is haunted by the guilt she feels for not getting her family out of the congo sooner after ruth may died throughout the story it is evident from her character's actions that she will never completely be able to forgive herself for what she did reverend nathan price father of the price family nathan is a baptist preacher who has gotten excessive in his efforts to save people's lives nathan was able to flee the dreaded baton death march during world war ii by being injured and hospitalized just before it began he now has a tremendous sense of survivor's remorse and is driven to save as many souls for god as were lost on that fateful day even while this may be a worthy cause nathan has become so devoted to it that he has forgotten about everything else including the safety of his own family and friends to save kalonga's residence nathan forcibly baptisms many youngsters disregarding their long-standing religious beliefs no character in this story grows or changes throughout the course of the novel save for nathan because of the bungled baptism of numerous of their children his family has abandoned him and the village has taken to berating him rachel priced the price family's eldest daughter at the opening of the novel rachel is a 15 year old conceited hedonist who has a lot of money and stuff after seeing the peasants in their way of life she has no choice but to leave and go back to her native land while fleeing from the flesh-eating ants rachel breaks her hand mirror which she smuggled into the nation in her pocket aben axelroot a morally ambiguous pilot is rachel's new husband after she escapes the hamlet and marries him it is only towards the end of the novel that we see her again after she left him for another married guy when rachel reaches the age of 50 we see that her attitude toward native americans remains unchanged and she is adamant that her late husband's opulent hotel accept no black guests leah priced the price family's second oldest daughter leah the main character begins the story as a 14 year old girl who looks up to and idolizes her father and has a strong faith in his teachings her feelings toward her father and his teachings change as she becomes more immersed in the congolese culture and meets the locals there this sets off a chain of events that leads to early anna's departure from the community later in the story when leah returns to the hamlet she is attacked with malaria and must stay behind to recuperate with anatole after falling in love with anatole leah stays in the congo and dedicates her life to helping the congolese people by starting a commune farm and giving agricultural workshops ada pricely is identical twin her disease prevents her from using the left side of her body and she was born with it addy used this tactic to isolate herself from the rest of the world and only talk when it is absolutely necessary she returns to the united states with her mother after fleeing the hamlet and goes on to become an accomplished doctor and researcher at his condition improves with physical therapy in the passage of time ruth may price the youngest daughter of the price family after moving to the congo with her family at the age of five ruth may rapidly befriends the other youngsters in the community and swiftly adapts to her new surroundings ruth may is a bright outgoing young woman who admires and appreciates the local culture despite her apprehension of the jungle's dangerous animals in the middle of the novel ruth may is struck down by a spell of malaria after she heals she becomes even more drowsy and detached and she is eventually murdered by a mamba snake bite the idea that orleana was going to leave the village and her sisters are saved when the community is raised is put into effect by her death biography of barbara king silver barbary king silver was born on the 8th of april 1955 in the city of annapolis maryland a doctor's family relocated to carlisle kentucky when she was just a little girl because of her father's career path kings oliver spent a brief period of time as a child in the democratic republic of the congo with her family while her parents worked in public health depauw university in indiana where king salvar began her lifelong fight against the vietnam war was her alma mater when she finished from college in 1977 she went to france for a year before settling in tucson arizona her writing career as a science writer for the university of arizona began in the mid-1980s and she went on to do work for the tucson weekly newspaper for a while afterwards soon after she won a short story contest at another local newspaper this was the beginning of her writing career she married joseph hoffman in 1985 and had a daughter named camille two years later the bean trees and pigs in heaven were king solver's first two novels published in 1988 and 1990 respectively 1993. king silver relocated to the canary islands with her daughter in 1990 because she was unhappy with the united states role in the gulf war later she married a man named steve hop and had a daughter named lily with him after returning to the united states two years later poison wood bible king saulver's best known novel was released in 1998 and immediately became a best-seller the book was nominated for the pulitzer prize and awarded the south african national book prize for its outstanding achievement in literary achievement he established an award in 2000 to help authors who had previously written works that dealt with social justice concerns but had yet to be published at the time in years with an odd number of digits the price is known as the bellwether prize president bill clinton presented her with the national humanities medal in the same calendar year there have been three more books by king solver since then prodigal summer 2000 the lacuna 2009 and flight behavior 2012. she and her family relocated to washington county virginia in 2004 and have been there since since thank you for listening in audiobook academy don't forget to subscribe and smash that like button for more content like this see you in next video [Music] 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