The Poisonwood Bible- Genesis

The First book (section) of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Genesis, follows the story of the Price family's time in the Congolese city of Kilanga. The book is narrating in first person, and the perspective moves to each member of the Price family.

Reverend

Reverend Price is the father of the family, and the only family member whose mind we don't get to enter, which makes him all the more interesting of a character. He sees himself as a man of god who will salvation to a population in desperate need, and all the while maintaining the family order. In his eyes, as  Christian among savages, it is his sole responsibility to civilize the Congolese. Similarly, as the "man of the house," it is his duty to educate the "dull-witted, bovine females" (Adah's words, Page 73) of the house. He is the easiest character to dislike, but his actions can be made more reasonable if you take into account the position he is in. His children look to him for direction and he is expected to bring great change, so the fact that he occasionally cracks under pressure is reasonable. Hopefully, somewhere along the line, we will get a chapter from his perspective which will undoubtedly provide greater insight to his actions.

Orleanna

Orleanna Price, the mother of the family, only has one chapter from her perspective in Genesis, yet her actions throughout the book tell us a great deal about her character. She is smart but often chooses to keep her thoughts private, meaning when she "talks back" to her husband she usually has a point. Kingsolver is extremely talented in switching the sophistication of her writing based on which character she is writing from, and for Orleanna she writes beautifully and eloquently. So far, she has the potential to be one of the most interesting characters in the novel. 

Rachel

Rachel is described by her sisters as pretentious and image-obsessed, but by herself as the only one who takes proper care of herself. She can seem annoying, but I think she is just trying to deal with the unfamiliarity of the world around her as well as she can. Hopefully she will develop past her current level of obnoxiousness in the future to become a more likable character.

Leah

Leah wants nothing more than to make her father proud. She is the "golden child," and the perfect one out of the two twins. The fragility of her persona when around her father makes her a significantly more complex character, but individually she does little more than strive to be the perfect Christian. Leah is another character who I hope will develop to become significantly less one-dimensional, and I hope to see her personality begin to develop as she realizes her purpose is greater than pleasing her parents.

Adah

Adah is definitely my favorite of the characters so far. Her sarcasm and wittiness make her an enjoyable narrator. Unlike her sisters, she isn't obsessed with not sinning, meaning she is more willing to speak her mind (to the reader at least). In actuality, she almost never speaks, meaning without looking in her mind, we would see her the same way her father does: as a disappointment who acts reclusive because of her condition. However, with insight into her thoughts, we can see that she is actually the most intelligent of the family, though she chooses to keep that to herself. Her disability is very prevalent to her self worth and image, and it causes her to be envious of Leah. Her cynical nature and proficiency in articulating her thoughts make her one of my favorite characters to read. 

I chose to exclude Ruth May and Mama Tataba because I have not seen enough from either character yet to make any conclusive statements. I think the writing in this novel is phenomenal, so the potential for it to improve as the plot picks up is tremendous.