Though bearing some similarities to her previous work, particularly in its juxtaposition of the personal and political, The Poisonwood Bible is so different from Barbara Kingsolver's other novels that it could almost have been written by a different person. The familiar Southwestern setting is gone, as are the folksy characters and smart-alecky dialogue. Though there is humor in The Poisonwood Bible, it is almost always dark-tinged and ironic. The pat endings and overall feeling of "niceness" Kingsolver's critics have taken aim at are nowhere to be found. Though there is resolution at the novel's end, the Price's story, like Africa's, is ultimately tragic, and in no way a traditional "happy ending."