Books : The Bean Trees: A Novel

Rating: - "Everything you ever get is really just on loan."
It's taken me a long time to discover Barbara Kingsolver, but I'm so glad I did. 'The Bean Trees', her first novel, is flawless and deeply enjoyable. It's a story of women surviving loss - self-effacing Lou-Ann, whose husband has dumped her; the car-mechanic widow, Mattie; blind Miss Poppy; and, most affectingly, Guatemalan refugee Esperanza, whose daughter was taken from her - all brought to life by Taylor Greer, one of the most genuine and likeable narrators you'll ever meet. Male characters are marginal, with one exception: Esperanza's husband, Estevan. Beautifully drawn, and an admirable person, he's an example of the inclusivity of Kingsolver's writing: she might be more focused on the lives of women, but she's never dismissive or contemptuous, except of society in general. (Her anger about the way in which refugees and Native Americans have been treated in the Land of the Free is nicely expressed: "The only legal way a person from Guatemala can stay here is if they can prove in court that their life was in danger. But when people run for their lives, they frequently forget to bring their filing cabinet.") She's a compassionate, good-hearted writer, on the side of the underdog, and she wants you to root for her victims and heroes, and avoid making harsh judgements of others.

This is a wonderful example of good writing: it makes you feel something for every character, and gradually augments your understanding of them; it compels you to read on, getting better all the time; it's perfectly balanced between dialogue and description; and the warm and witty observations are a real treat. On top of this, the physical backdrop to the book - the city of Tucson, its surrounding desert landscape, and Kentucky and Oklahoma - was unexpectedly pleasing. The best American novel I've read since Donna Tartt's 'The Secret History'.

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Rating: - a goodie
odd little book but one of the best ive read this year. unusual story but moving. liked it a lot. (didn't like the poisonwood bible though, glad i read this first).

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Rating: - Better than The Poisonwood Bible
I think this is Kingsolver's first book. I read it after The Poisonwood Bible because I had enjoyed that. This is shorter and in many ways lighter. - Set in the southern USA, it is almost a fable, of a young woman leaving her hometown to travel across the US to start a new life with more hope and possibility than in the smalltown, limited environment where she grew up. On the way she is given care of a young child. It is written in the first person and we read how shefinds a place to settle and the people she meets as she creates a life for herself and the child. We learn something of the child's background and the writer learns about herself. It touches on serious issues about refugees, prejudice, hardship, etc and the meaning of family and friendship, but in a light way.
It is a slight novel compared with The Poisonwood Bible, but worth the investment of a few hours. Some parts I suspect will linger in my memory - pleasantly.
I enjoyed this very much and recommend it

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Rating: - Disappointed as a Kingsolver fan
As a fan of The Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer, I found the Bean Trees to be very disappointing compared to the previous Kingsolver books I have read and loved. One of the main aspects of Kingsolvers writing that is so compelling is generally her use of the biology and nature around her which is mainstreamed in her other novels. This not only makes them quite unique but greatly enhances the symbology and extends the characters and has made some of her other efforts so beautifully written. This is certainly lacking in the Bean Trees. Also the interlacing of the story from different perspectives / characters that is another Kingsolver trait pitters out very early on when everything becomes centred on one character after all the rest have met.

Most probably as a stand alone novel I would have rated it higher with 3 stars perhaps but as a Kingsolver fan it was a disappointment. If you have been recommended to look into Kingsolver books start with one of her better efforts - Prodigal Summer.

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Rating: - The Taylor of Tucson
Stories of women overcoming adversity are increasingly common. There's more than a little justice achieved by these tales. Many of them, particularly this work, show how women use their power of community to manage their lives successfully. These stories need to be told, and Kingsolver has given us a fine example. The community theme is superbly demonstrated in Estevan's metaphor of heaven and hell - hell is peopled with those who cannot reach out to others, starving in a kitchen full of food.

Lou Ann and "Taylor" are fellow Kentuckian exiles living in Tucson. The relocation has bought unexpected challenges to their lives. Not the least of these is the additional burden of infants: Lou Ann's by an unwanted pregnancy and Taylor's by an abandonment. What does it say about women that Taylor makes no attempt to off-load Turtle to a state agency, but keeps her to raise. Kingsolver evokes the reader's sympathy for both Taylor and Lou Ann, although both are in situations of their own making. Mattie, too, might have been given greater role, particularly since she provides so many fundamental changes in Taylor's life.

Kingsolver's character development makes wonderful reading. Occasionally, her descriptive powers overcome her characterization and Taylor waxes rather more eloquent than her background and education [which is almost entirely self-taught] would warrant. It's easy to forgive these lapses in light of how well she relates the story. Throughout the book i wondered why only Taylor speaks in the first person. A dual viewpoint of characters and events might have given this story more depth.

Estevan and his wife, Esperanza, are Guatemalan refugees. Kingsolver's use of these characters to point up America's support of the oppressive regime is depicted with skill. Taylor's growing awareness of conditions there represents that of the average American -it's visible only by direct confrontation. Unfortunately, Taylor lives where sympathy for refugees from oppressive regimes is minimal. The place is called the United States, symbolized, interestingly enough, by a woman standing in a harbour offering sanctuary to the oppressed.

There is a disturbing element in this and similar stories by and of today's women. Men here are universally portrayed without a redeeming feature. There are no "neutral" males who provide any form of support or reinforcement. Angel Ruiz could just as easily have lost more than a leg in his rodeo accident. Instead, he must be portrayed as a deserting husband. Kingsolver, however, has him appearing in cameos which only reinforce his role as the uncaring male. We are returned here to the early days of feminism in declaring males superfluous to the community of women. It's not a healthy indication for the future. If the atmosphere of "us versus them" intensifies, there will be greater backlash than is currently the case. If men have truly failed women over all these millennia, then it's reconciliation that's required, not intensifying of resentments. That only builds mutually reinforcing resentment. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]