The Bean Trees (Paperback)

by Barbara Kingsolver (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Feisty Marietta Greer changes her name to "Taylor" when her car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Ill. By the time she reaches Oklahoma, this strong-willed young Kentucky native with a quick tongue and an open mind is catapulted into a surprising new life. Taylor leaves home in a beat-up '55 Volkswagen bug, on her way to nowhere in particular, savoring her freedom. But when a forlorn Cherokee woman drops a baby in Taylor's passenger seat and asks her to take it, she does. A first novel, The Bean Trees is an overwhelming delight, as random and unexpected as real life. The unmistakable voice of its irresistible heroine is whimsical, yet deeply insightful. Taylor playfully names her little foundling "Turtle," because she clings with an unrelenting, reptilian grip; at the same time, Taylor aches at the thought of the silent, staring child's past suffering. With Turtle in tow, Taylor lands in Tucson, Ariz., with two flat tires and decides to stay. The desert climate, landscape and vegetation are completely foreign to Taylor, and in learning to love Arizona, she also comes face to face with its rattlesnakes and tarantulas. Similarly, Taylor finds that motherhood, responsibility and independence are thorny, if welcome, gifts. This funny, inspiring book is a marvelous affirmation of risk-taking, commitment and everyday miracles.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This debut novel follows the gritty, outspoken Taylor Greer, who leaves her native Kentucky to head west. She becomes mother to an abandoned baby and, when her jalopy dies in Tucson, is forced to work in a tire garage and to room with a young, battered divorcee who also has a little girl. With sisterly counsel and personal honesty, the two face their painful lot (told in ponderous detail). The blue-collar setting, described vibrantly, often turns violent, with baby beatings, street brawls, and drug busts. Despite the hurt and rage, themes of love and nurturing emerge. A refreshingly upbeat, presentable first effort by an author whose subsequent novels will probably generate more interest than this one. Edward C. Lynskey, Documentation, Atlantic Research Corp., Alexandria, Va.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (February 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060915544
• ISBN-13: 978-0060915544
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (390 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Wonderful, December 8, 2000

By	Edward Aycock (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bean Trees: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I was assigned this book to read while I was a sophomore in college. It was the Fall of 1990 and the class was "Landscape and Literature". (And the professor was Martha Ackman, and she was great!) It was an interesting class, but I really enjoyed the reading material. At this point, Bean Trees had been around for a couple of years, but I had never heard of it, nor had I heard of Barbara Kingsolver. This novel was so absorbing, I didn't feel it was an assignment at all. I spent a great, warm October weekend sitting on my parents porch and reading this book.

I also think that this book has one of the best opening paragraphs in contemporary fiction. I won't give it away, but do yourself a favor and look for it at any bookstore. This novel is funny, sad, and touching. It was my introduction to Kingsolver, and I am glad I got a head start on her before many others did. This is a book that you'll ant to hold onto, to give to friends, to discuss...

Taylor Greer is one of the most engaging heroines in literature, and her unconventional story is infused with a real contemporary feel. What does that mean? I just mean that Kingsolver disucsses issues and people that many authors don't in popular american fiction (native american issues, central american politics, refugees, mixed marriages and Protestantism and catholicism all merge in one novel), and as a result, Kingsolver holds up a mirror of our world where we can see ourselves and society much clearer than before. I know that I sure did. Ten years later, I still can remember this book so vividly, it's never left me.

56 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little girl named Turtle...., January 26, 2002

By	Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Bean Trees: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

THE BEAN TREES is a novel about a young woman, Taylor Greer, who leaves her home state of Kentucky to find a life outside of what she knew - growing up to become barefoot and pregnant. She wanted more than that, but she did not really know what she wanted.

She finally arrives in Tucson and meets a woman who wants to give Taylor a 3 year old child. Taylor promises to take care of the little girl. Whether the woman is the child's mother, we never do find out. But Taylor does find out right away that something is not right with the child. Turtle, the name Taylor gives the child, does not talk. Taylor also finds bruises over the child's body while giving her a bath. Maybe Taylor has saved this child from a horrible life, but now she is responsible for the welfare of this little Indian american girl.

But now what to do? No money and no job, and she's got a kid she never planned on having.

Taylor and Turtle end up in a small town in Arizona and after meeting several nice people who help them out, they end up living with a gal named Lou Ann, who has her own story to tell. The book is intertwined with the stories of both women so we get to know them both very well.

Along the way they meet and get involved with a hispanic couple, Estevan and Esperanza. They are from central America, and their story is a mystery, except we know Esperanza knows very little English, and Estevan was an English teacher in his home land. The four of them, along with little Turtle, become good friends, and soon Turtle is responding to the love she is getting from her new family. But there is still the mystery of what really happened to little Turtle....

THE BEAN TREES is the 2nd Barbara Kingsolver novel I have read, THE POISONWOOD BIBLE being the other one. This second novel reads quite differently than POISONWOOD BIBLE did, and I guess one reason is that THE BEAN TREES was written over a decade before. Ms. Kingsolver's skills as a story teller greatly improved between these two novels, but that does not mean THE BEAN TREES is a poorly written book. On the contrary, I found it very well written and enjoyable to read.

The feel of both books is very different. While POISONWOOD had the feel of an epic, THE BEAN TREES was a much more simpler novel (being a much shorter novel helped!) I can't say whether one book was better than the other. I liked both equally. What I'm finding I really like about Ms Kingsolver's books is that she is very good at character developement. She knows how to paint a character well enough that I was able to picture right away what these characters were all about. They were not shallow one dimensional people, but people I could care about.

Obviously, I am giving THE BEAN TREES a glowing recommendation. It was probably one of the better books I read in 2001.

54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bean Trees, January 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bean Trees Anniversary Edition: A Novel (Hardcover)

Barbara Kingsolver has struck gold in writing this book, The Bean Trees. It is a wonderful story of life, love, and challenges along the way. Taylor Greer is bored of her life in a tiny town in Kentucky. After a man she knows is killed in a tractor accident, Taylor purchases a '55 Volkswagen and drives off down the road. When she stops for a bite to eat, an Indian woman gives her a baby girl. "Just take it," she says, and disappears without an explanation. Taylor names the baby Turtle

A bit further down Taylor's Road of Life, she meets Lou Ann Ruiz. Lou Ann is a worrier with a baby, and her husband has left her. Together, Lou Ann and Taylor get through a lot of things, whether it's figuring out Turtle's real name, or helping two Guatemalan refugees live safely on a Cherokee reserve. Through babies, vegetables and cars, Taylor's story is a wonderfully real story. It feels very much unlike fiction to read this book, because it could really happen. I recommend this book to anyone ages 12 and older.