The Bean Trees

by Barbara Kingsolver

The Bean Trees

by
Barbara Kingsolver

published

September 1989 (first published 1993) by Perfection Learning Prebound

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binding

Unknown Binding

isbn

0812474945 (isbn13: 9780812474947)

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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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

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4 comments

Larissa rated it:

(review of isbn 0061097314)

04/13/07

bookshelves: 2007

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…)
...less

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Liz rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

04/30/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in April, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Siria rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

04/03/08

bookshelves: 20th-century, american-fiction

Read in April, 2008

I quite liked this, though it's obvious that this was Kingsolver's first novel. The main character, Taylor, is unevenly developed--she's too mutable, changing to fit what Kingsolver wants to say or how she wants to say it at various points in the book--and many of the other characters are types, not people, however finely observed. The plotline involving the refugees from Guatemala in particular was a little too anvilicious. And while it's set very definitely in the American South, the novel did...more

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Misse rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

05/14/08

Read in May, 2008

I really liked this book. Even more than Poisonwood Bible- which was good in a different way. This book reminds me of Where the Heart Is. It's a quick read- I think you'll like it.

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nat rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

07/20/08

Read in July, 2008

I have to admit, this book really did a number on me. It was recommended to me from a friend, so my expectations were high, but after the first few chapters I was was not getting into it. The narrator's first-person voice was simple, non-descriptive, and frankly just a bit too naive to handle for an entire novel. But the story was interesting, so I kept going.

And the thing is, so does Taylor, the main character. As she charges her way through a haphazard journey to the Southwest, she begins ...more

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Mason rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

07/04/08

Read in July, 2008

I’ve read two of Kingsolver’s books (Prodigal Summer and The Poisonwood Bible) down here and really liked them both. So when I saw this I picked it up. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it compares to either of the other two. Part of it may be that I am not a woman and this book is all about women. There is only one male character and he is relatively minor. The book is about a young woman from Kentucky who has only two goals, not to get pregnant and to get away from Kentucky. A few years af...more

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Jennifer rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

01/27/08

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Jennifer by: Belleatrix
recommends it for: anyone

This is the third book in my read all my friends favorite book campaign. This one is from Skye and though she does not have any favorite books listed this one was communicated to me as highly recommended. I only gave this book 3 stars because I thought it moved slowly at times. It took me a while to relate to the characters and really feel like I cared about what happened to them. It was a good "coming of age" story so to speak, the main character Taylor learns that the world around he...more

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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

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Debbie rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

09/13/07

bookshelves: fiction

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: older teens and adults

Marietta Greer struggles to finish school in a small town where teen pregnancy and dropout rates are sky-high. A few years after graduation, she decides to drive west in her old VW bug. After the car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Marietta changes her name to Taylor. It is ironic that after vowing not to become a mother at a young age, she becomes the guardian to an abused Native American baby who is dumped into her car. I love this girly story. It is beautifully written, funny, and full o...more

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Kelly rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

10/16/07

bookshelves: 2007, women

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in October, 2007

I finished this one over lunch today. I really loved this book. It didn't give me tingles down my spine like The Poisonwood Bible, but it did make me choke up a few times.

It's the story of a girl named Taylor who moved from Kentucky to Arizona. Yeah, I know. That alone really endears this book to me. The characters even say things like "I swon." There's an amazing description of an Arizona summer thunderstorm that made me a little homesick -- those pink skies! You don't get...more

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Anne rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

02/19/08

During this book you become acquainted with Taylor Greer and the young child she "adopts" while travelling across the country. "Turtle," named for the fierce grip she immediately fastens on Taylor's braid. In order to save her from a life of abuse, Turtle is dropped into the passenger seat of Taylor's junker car at a rest stop. The novel develops the story of what comes next in the lives of Taylor and Turtle. My favorite aspect of the book was the wonderful character descri...more

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Charis rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

07/08/08

This is a book about friendship and about idealism--that wonderful philosophy that allows a person to do the right thing, laws and social norms and religion be damned.

I decided to read this book because at our library, all three copies of The Poisonwood Bible were checked out. Oprah must've recommended it or something. So I chose another Kingsolver book, this one still a virgin of all Oprah entanglements. Oprah may be a wonderful person, but her cliche name plastered on the cover o...more

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4 comments

Fonnell is currently reading it (review of isbn 0060915544)

11/14/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

This is my 2nd read of this book. When my book reading group was looking for a book to fill Dec. I suggested this as reading it the first time was so enjoyable. A little bit of language nothing like you find in current books

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Oceana2602 rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

03/01/08

bookshelves: 2007, women-writers

Read in May, 2007

You know when they say you'll be sad that you have to leave the characters at the end of the book, and 99% of the time it's not true?
This is not one of those times.

Kingsolver makes her protagonists become alive, you'll love them, even the ones you don't like. One of the rare books that will make you forget that you are reading. Part road trip, part American Dream, part 60s community - you'll be living in the heat of Arizona with Taylor Greer and Turtle for a precious moment and you will wi...more

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Larrirosser rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

07/12/08

Barbara Kingsolver's work has tight prose, exceptional characterizations, an unmatched sense of place and - magic.

I actually read her second "Turtle" novel (Pigs in Heaven) first and then had to go back and pick this one up. Reading them out of order didn't hurt a bit.

Then I had to go back for Animal Dreams, Poisonwood Bible and now Homeland (a book of short stories).

I hope she writes for a long, long time.

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noisy penguin rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

09/11/07

Read in September, 2007

Gail, my mother-in-law, is awesome. She sent me this book several weeks ago thinking I'd probably like it. She was right. I probably liked it so much because I buy the idea that your real family is composed of people who are loving and supportive, not necessarily the people that are related to you. (Just to be clear, the people that are related to me are pretty awesome for the most part.)

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6 comments

Jana rated it:

(review of isbn 0061097314)

04/14/08

recommends it for: someone who has not yet read barbara kingsolver

this was my first barbara kingsolver book, and i fell head over heels. stayed up so late i was exhausted at work but it didn't matter cause i was living in tucson with the characters. once on a lunch break i was reading it and walked back into work disoriented because that's how deep it grabs you, i thought i was in tucson. in my opinion the perfect way to start on kingsolver.

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Wfbcreeds rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

11/02/08

bookshelves: bookclub

Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity for putting down roots. Hers is a story about love ...more

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Robertisenberg rated it:

(review of isbn 0060915544)

11/12/08

Read in January, 1994

Early on, I realized that Ms. Doe's high school English class had a peculiar obsession with horrifying (though imaginative) violence, and "The Bean Trees" was a nice anthology of terribleness: On the first page, a tire explodes and kills a man. Soon after, the main character finds a baby girl in a bathroom who has been repeatedly raped. Then she meets a nice couple from El Salvador, and they casually relate their story of electro-shock interrogation booths and the fear they carry with ...more

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