The Bean Trees is bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver’s first novel, now widely regarded as a modern classic. It is the charming, engrossing tale of rural Kentucky native Taylor Greer, who only wants to get away from her roots and avoid getting pregnant. She succeeds, but inherits a 3-year-old native-American little girl named Turtle along the way, and together, from Oklahoma to Tucson, … Tucson, Arizona, half-Cherokee Taylor and her charge search for a new life in the West.
Written with humor and pathos, this highly praised novel focuses on love and friendship, abandonment and belonging as Taylor, out of money and seemingly out of options, settles in dusty Tucson and begins working at Jesus Is Lord Used Tires while trying to make a life for herself and Turtle.
The author of such bestsellers as The Lacuna, The Poisonwood Bible, and Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver has been hailed for her striking imagery and clear dialogue, and this is the novel that kicked off her remarkable literary career.
This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from the author, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.
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There have been times in my life when I’ve read The Bean Trees and then Pigs in Heaven and started all over again with The Bean Trees immediately after. The characters in these books feel so intensely human, and they are so intensely beautiful.
Best Kingsolver book ever!!!
Even though this book was first published in 1988, I’d never read it before. I’ve read some of Barbara Kingsolver’s other work, but this is my favorite. I didn’t realize until I’d turned the last page that THE BEAN TREES was Kingsolver’s debut novel. I love the innocence of the characters and their unpretentious voices. Further, Kingsolver’s …
I’ve read it twice.
I read this book when it first came out. It was the first of Barbra Kingsolvers books that I read and it made me look for her work every time I went to the book store. Sadly, it seems that she no longer writes novels. He characters were complex, some quirky, some down to earth…in other words real.. I would advise every one to read this and any …
I fell in love with all the characters, quirky and unique. The story was beautifully crafted and completely pulled me into the locales and lives of the people who populated the book.
Great story.
The charactors in this book denibstrate hope for this world.. They are realistic, some heroes, some villains, but in the end hope, and love win. I loved this book.
This is great story, eye-opener.
This was the Barbara Kingsolver book I was introduced to back in high school. I can’t remember the story completely, but Taylor and Turtle will stay with me forever.
Like When Pigs Fly, a fascinating book by an original author.
I laughed through the first half and cried through the second half. A wonderful book.
Love her writing style, my favorite author.
I loved it and have read all of her novels and books of essays since reading this amazing book. See some of my other reviews of her works.
Unforgettable. Great characters. Good story
Father daughter relationships developed well.
A great read
It’s easy to see why The Bean Trees kicked off Barbara Kingsolver’s literary career. I loved this novel when I first read it in my twenties. Tough and clear-headed Taylor Greer, the protagonist, made me want to be just like her at a time when I wasn’t sure what to do with my life or how to go about living it. And Turtle, the little girl she finds …
Excellent
Leaves you thinking.