The Bean Trees

by Barbara Kingsolver

published

June 1988 (first published 1993) by Harpercollins

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binding

Hardcover, 232 pages

isbn

0060158638 (isbn13: 9780060158637)

description

Ten years ago, Barbara Kingsolver published a first novel that is well on its way to becoming a classic work of American fiction. The Bean Trees ...more

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Larissa rated it:

(review of isbn 0061097314)

04/13/07

Read in April, 2007

My stepmother was the type of woman who painted the walls in our house eighteen different colors and wore turquoise-encrusted Kokopelli jewelry to show how in tune she was with the local culture. She hung Frida Khalo prints on the bedroom walls and thought that speaking ‘Food Spanish’ to waiters made her nearly fluent. She also compelled my sister and me to read a lot of Tony Hillerman paperbacks and other ‘local literature,’ which I am now almost positive included The Bean Trees. Becaus...more My stepmother was the type of woman who painted the walls in our house eighteen different colors and wore turquoise-encrusted Kokopelli jewelry to show how in tune she was with the local culture. She hung Frida Khalo prints on the bedroom walls and thought that speaking ‘Food Spanish’ to waiters made her nearly fluent. She also compelled my sister and me to read a lot of Tony Hillerman paperbacks and other ‘local literature,’ which I am now almost positive included The Bean Trees. Because after reading the first chapter of this book, I got the strangest sense of de ja vu.

This is probably appropriate in its way, given that the reason I picked it up in the first place was to suppress a bit of homesickness. Because a couple times a year—amidst the April snowstorms and one too many guys on the subway who splay themselves across two seats while playing audio-enabled Snood on their cell phones—I start pining for the homeland. I turned to this book hoping to get a good dose of Tucsonan flavor to keep me going until I had the time and money to go home and remember why I left in the first place.

I have to say, though, The Bean Trees didn’t really do the trick. Because even though I appreciate details about the Sun Tran bus line and the way it smells in the desert when it rains (the thing I miss the most about Tucson), there’s more to invoking a landscape than just listing of things that are really there. A good book about New York, for instance, isn’t good because it mentions the Empire State Building or talks about people taking taxis. It is a major (and frequent) misstep in novels to try and just be factually accurate about a place, without ever getting into how it really feels there.

To be fair, though, while the landscape wasn’t terribly reminiscent of Arizona, the writing style really was in its own (probably accidental) way. Because Ms. Kingsolver really illuminates that deep Southwestern flare for ‘characters’ and ‘culture’—a fondness for highlighting how darn quirky desert folk really are, and a gringo’s deep and abiding love of all things latino.

(As a side note, though: if we’re going to just start dropping real places into the book for authenticity, I would have swapped the ‘Jesus Is Lord’ tire place for the church that has ‘Happiness is Submission to God’ painted on it—a slogan which often gets altered to ‘Happiness is Submission to Godzilla!’ by persistent neighborhood delinquents…)
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Armen rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

05/08/07

Read in March, 1998

recommends it for: women studies majors

That I ever read this book has always come as a bit of a surprise to me. You see, I do not have a vagina. Whew. I never told anyone that before, but--then again--I never felt I had to. It was generally understood--vaginas, my not having one. Accordingly, I did not spend very many adolescent afternoon sessions of getting to know myself in hot bubble baths while daydreaming of the American Southwest.

The latter seems the prime prerequisite for this (or any) Barbara Kingsolver novel, tho...more

Like this review? yes (11 people liked it)

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Katie rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

07/23/07

Read in July, 2007

What I enjoyed:
- The style of narration - the main character, Taylor, tells most of the story with her sharp tongue and witty sayings from her poor, working class upbringing in rural Kentucky.
- The primary female relationships, between Taylor and her mother, Taylor and Lou Ann, and Taylor and Mattie; these relationships are strong and provide sustenance to Taylor (as well as the other women)
- Taylor's mother didn't have much to give her daughter in the way of material comfort, bu...more
What I enjoyed:
- The style of narration - the main character, Taylor, tells most of the story with her sharp tongue and witty sayings from her poor, working class upbringing in rural Kentucky.
- The primary female relationships, between Taylor and her mother, Taylor and Lou Ann, and Taylor and Mattie; these relationships are strong and provide sustenance to Taylor (as well as the other women)
- Taylor's mother didn't have much to give her daughter in the way of material comfort, but her profound and unwavering belief in her daughter is palpable and it's clear that Taylor draws strength from it, even when she's far from Kentucky
- Kingsolver has created a predominantly female world (Estevan is the only significant male character & he's pretty dependent on Mattie and Taylor); these women don't have much (Taylor), they have difficult life circumstances to overcome (Esperanza), and they're often full of self-doubt (Lou Ann); nevertheless, they survive, they help others, and they find enjoyment, strength, and love in their connections with each other
- flora, fauna, the changing seasons and the climate of Arizona are beautifully and carefully described throughout the book so that the changes in nature progress in lockstep with the changes in the characters; the connection between nature and character is most apparent with Turtle, who develops a keen interest in vegetables growing from the ground; we discover at the end that it's likely she saw her mother buried in the ground - perhaps her fascination with vegetables and their growth process symbolizes her desire to see life grow where there once was death

<b>Details to remember:<b>
- The main character, Taylor, moves from Kentuky to Arizona, and on the way finds Turtle, a 3 year-old child (who looks 2 yrs old b/c of the abuse that she's experienced) who is given to Taylor by Turtle's aunt
- Taylor lives with Lou Ann and her newborn son, Dwayne Ray; Lou Ann is somewhat of an insecure hypochondriac whose husband, Angel, has recently left her
- Taylor works for Mattie at her tire repair store; Mattie also shelters refugees, including Estevan and Esperanza, who are Guatemalan refugees; their little girl, Ismene, was taken from them in Guatemala ...less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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