Daughter of a Preacher ManOut of all Nathan Price's daughters, Leah changes the most... and the least. When she first comes to the Congo, at age fourteen and a half, she's the type of girl who want...

Miss Malaprop We thought about writing two pages about Rachel's beautiful hair, because that's what she would do here, but you know what? We're running the show, and there's a lot more to say. If t...

Coming or Going?The middle Price daughter, Leah's twin, was born with hemiplegia, a disease that left her weaker on one side. It sure didn't affect her brain, though, because she's the smartest and...

Ruthie May We?Five at the start of the novel, little Ruth May doesn't get to be much older. We have to keep dodging the anvil of foreshadowing, too, since our narrators keep telling us things like...

Medal of (Dis)HonorNathan Price wasn't born breathing fire and brimstone, but we'd forgive you if you thought otherwise. Raised in the fictional but delightfully named Killdeer, MS (although there...

Pearls Before SwineAs a young girl in Pearl, MS, Orleanna made what some might call the worst decision of her life: she married Nathan Price. Not that anyone asked her: "Even if anyone had been wai...

A Map of the World Anatole is the orphan-turned-schoolteacher of Kilanga village who translates Nathan Price's sermons and later marries his daughter, Leah. He has an assortment of unexplained fine...

Gifts from Reverend SantaThe man the Prices took over the mission in Kilanga from, Brother Fowles, is a kind, compassionate foil to Nathan Price's fire and brimstone Southern Baptist preacher. Fowl...

Bumble in the JungleThe Underdowns are like the English-speaking welcome wagon to the Congo when the Prices arrive to take over the mission in Kilanga villages. They make fun of the Price family's...