Meet the Cast
Leah Price
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...
Rachel Rebeccah Price
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...
Adah Ellen Price
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...
Ruth May Price
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...
Nathan Price
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...
Orleanna Price
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...
Anatole Ngemba
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...
Aunt Elisabet
Congolese Family ValuesWe don't get to spend too much time with Anatole's Aunt Elisabet, whom they find at Bikoki Station. Anatole is happy to no longer be an orphan, sure, but Aunt Elisabet mainly...
Brother Fowles
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...
Eeben Axelroot
Swervin', Lurvin', Skeevy Pervin' Here's a game for you: How many synonyms of the word "sleazy" can you come up with? You're going to need some more.Eeben Axelroot is just as greasy and grimy as th...
The Underdowns
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...
Kilanga Villagers
The Mamas and the Tatas (Not Those Kinds of Tatas)The Price family makes its home in the village of Kilanga for over a year. While the previous mission man, Brother Fowles, was a total BFF to Kilan...