The Bean Trees

Not bad; not as good as I'd hoped.

This was technically a reread; I read it for the first time in freshman English in high school, over a decade ago. Like many of you I was conscious only sporadically during that class, and I didn't remember it very well.

I decided to reread it after reading The Poisonwood Bible, also by Kingsolver, and it didn't do as much for me as that one did. It's... I don't want to say lower-stakes, but it lacks the gravitas lent by the Congo crisis, and it does not share the same cynicism. The opposite is true, in fact – The Bean Trees is a mostly optimistic book, bullish on shared humanity and community, not that it lacks conflict or trouble entirely. It concerns a girl from a backwater town who drives west to find her place with a little girl she is unceremoniously given along the way, and the people she meets when she does.

This one isn't a waste of time by any means, but it isn't the heavy, crushing experience of The Poisonwood Bible. Worth a look all the same.

I liked this book so much I'm giving it 5 stars, but that's not the same as saying it's flawless. I was touched by the characters and events, but at the same time a couple characters we're supposed to like had some dialogue I found racist or ableist. One character was supposed to be a mean old lady, but we find out there is more to her – but she is not a protagonist. The other character was not the main character, but next to it, and meant to be liked. I think some of the tone is based on the original publication date being 1988, and we're moving so fast as a culture that most books more than a handful of years old have moments that are discordant. One of the main theme of the story was about the power of kindness and connection, and a rejection of racism.

Ultimately, I'm very glad I read this book, and reminding myself that if I stopped reading older books that would be my loss, and I can only work to put it all in perspective. Characters can be flawed and still be worth knowing.

I'm so happy I was able to finish this book before the end of the year. I have to say upfront how much I enjoyed it. I felt so hard and so many things while reading this story. That hasn't happened in a while. I don't mean to sound old (I'm about to be 36), but a lot of new media I consume doesn't make me feel much. I thought it was because all stories had been told, that I had seen all the formulas. But now I think it's the way stories are told. The story of The Bean Trees is not necessarily groundbreaking. But Kingsolver's prose, the way characters interact, the facts of the world around them, and zooming in on small moments are what make this book great. Those, and so many other things. With this in mind, I've started looking more at books published in the past rather than the newest ones. Don't hold me to that, though.

The Bean Trees can't really be summarized. A girl leaves rural Kentucky, practically fleeing, because she doesn't want to die in the dirt there. She ends up in charge of an Indian toddler and living in Arizona with another woman who has her own baby. (As friends. Nothing queer here.) She works in a used tire shop for an older woman who helps refugees trying to make their way to safety while the American government wants to send them back to be killed in their home country. There is so much in this novel, and that's because life itself is complicated and messy.

I read this book in high school, and for all these years, I've remembered that I liked the book. However, I'd forgotten anything significant about it, only that someone (I thought the main character) helps refugees to safety. I bought a copy a long time ago, and I can't say how happy I am that I've read it.

This book deeply affected me. A big theme is motherhood, and the fear of taking care of a child. I don't have or want children, but my mother died in 2018 and we did not have a wonderful relationship. Certain things resonated with me, and other things I probably just projected my own issues onto. But that happens for all readers, right? Every reading experience will be different. Being able to connect so strongly to a book, though, is a sign of the strength of the book, of the book's own character and power.

There's a scene near the very end where the main character calls her own mother back in Kentucky on a payphone. They don't want to hang up, saying goodbye to each other several times, until the main character finally says she has to go. This moment just made me bawl. I see how it's because I miss my own mom, that I'd love to talk to her on the phone again. I see exactly how we wouldn't be able to hang up on each other. Moments like this, the reality of it all, is why this book is so moving and why I could connect with it.

Anyway, I recommend it.

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Most interesting character in the book was Turtle... and she didn't even start speaking until the last 3rd of the book.

It was a hard book to get into at first. The main character Taylor Marietta was always rude and smart alecky which just didn't do much for me. This book was about relationships, friendships, risks, immigration issues and in a huge way, family. Taylor decides to pick up her things and head out to Arizona. Along the way, during one of her stops, she is given a child she names Turtle. Turtle's aunt just gives Taylor the baby and walks away. Turtle has been molested, bruised and is so traumatized that she doesn't utter a word at all for a very long time. The majority of the book is about how Taylor heads into Arizona and makes a home for her and Turtle. Along the way she makes friends who become her support system and as Turtle becomes her family, so do they. I commend her for taking on this child when in her hometown the biggest achievement was making it out of high school not pregnant. At any rate some issues arise like Taylor's friends facing deportation if found out and Turtle possibly being taken away because of the way her “adoption” took place. In the end everyone had a happy ending which was nice.