4.5 stars. PIGS IN HEAVEN is the sequel to THE BEAN TREES. Can you read them separately? You can, but you would miss a huge part of the story. This book is far better written than THE BEAN TREES and is a real joy. There is a quote I particularly loved, made by Alice, Turtle's grandmother. It can be found on page 214. For me it's a personal revelation: "When I was in my thirties I had these little square hips left over from being pregnant and I just hated it. I kept thinking 'All those years before, I had a perfect glamour-girl body, and I didn't spend one minute appreciating it because I thought my nose had a bump in it.' And now that I'm old (she's 63), my shoulder hurts and I don't sleep good and my knuckles swell up, and I think,'All those years in my thirties and forties I had a body where everything worked perfect and I didn't spend one minute appreciating it because I thought I had square hips.'" I hunch some other gals can appreciate that too.

I truly loved this book! It will make you laugh, wonder and weep a bit. With each book of Kingsolver's that I read, I love her writing more and more. So far my absolute favorite is PRODIGAL SUMMER but that could change with the next one!

Enjoy this one--but read THE BEAN TREES first!