action figures sold separately

recently we read Barbara Kingsolver’s amazing The Poisonwood Bible aloud to each other. if you have not yet read it, i highly recommend. here’s a bit in the voice of the second oldest daughter, the not-quite-as-smart twin, Leah:

“Where we are headed, there will be no buyers and sellers at all,” my father corrected. His tone implied that Mother failed to grasp our mission, and that her concern with Betty Crocker confederated her with the coin-jingling sinners who vexed Jesus till he pitched a fit and threw them out of church. “Where we are headed,” he said, to make things perfectly clear, “not so much as a Piggly Wiggly.” Evidently Father saw this as a point in the Congo’s favor. I got the most spectacular chills, just from trying to imagine.

of course besides being rich writing and an engaging story, it’s a compelling way to tell the history of the civil war and CIA coup. Kingsolver guides us, using the lenses of the wife and daughters of an extremely uptight Baptist preacher, through the history of the Congo and Zaire of the 1960’s and 70’s.

the day we finished the book, i got wind of this news regarding the millions that have died in the war since 1998. as the author says, the conflict serves the economic interests of the west, so the suffering goes on.

i was also totally fascinated with one of the books more tangential, but quite meaningful characters: the driver ants.

• the university of exeter bug club points out that they can eat up to 100,000 animals a day.
• antcolony.org says that “driver ants of the Savanna consume more animal matter than all of the larger super predators combined!” and has a piece on them by the dude who wrote the book on driver ants.
• Science Frontiers looks at their collective intelligence
• an american museum of natural history entomologist has this detailed page, with photos.