My book club's fiery debate on forgiveness in 'The Poisonwood Bible'

I was in my book club last night, and we were discussing 'The Poisonwood Bible'. The big question was about Nathan Price's actions and whether his family should forgive him. Some folks argued he was just set in his ways, so go easy on him. Others shot back that his pride hurt people, so no free passes. I'm usually quick to pick a side, but this time I was torn. It hit me that we often judge book characters like real people, without all the facts. Now I'm going back to the book with fresh eyes, and it's changing my opinion on the whole story. Crazy how a chat can change your mind, right?

3 comments

3 Comments

drewgonzalez1mo ago

Wait, some acts are just wrong though. No second read changes that Nathan was straight up cruel.

clairewells1mo ago

You're so right about judging characters without all the facts. A good book club's whole job is to push you to see the other angles you missed on your first read. That's exactly what makes going back to a story so interesting.

riley_hart1mo ago

Ever notice how forgiving a made up person in a book feels harder than in real life sometimes? Like we hold them to a made up perfect standard. I read an article that talked about that weird split.