The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver

The Bean Trees

By Barbara Kingsolver

  • Release Date: 2009-03-17
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 660 Ratings

Description

“The Bean Trees is the work of a visionary. . . . It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling.”  — Los Angeles Times

A bestseller that has come to be regarded as an American classic, The Bean Trees is the novel that launched Barbara Kingsolver’s remarkable literary career.

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 three-year-old Native American girl named Turtle along the way, and together, from Oklahoma to Arizona, half-Cherokee Taylor and her charge search for a new life in the West. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in seemingly empty places.

This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from the author, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.

Reviews

  • The Bean Trees

    5
    By debnotes
    A unique tale which comes from circumstances most people will never know, how it feels to be lost in the circumstances of the undocumented and illegal in America. Hard topics like child abuse and how the victims cope. An interesting and amazing book.
  • Excellent Story telling

    5
    By Redhead's Revenge
    Loved the characters and the unique story of a family, not by blood, but by love.
  • Ok

    3
    By Mearl42
    I really enjoyed Demon Copperhead so this was a lit disappointing and a slower read. I will read her again though.
  • Dope

    5
    By Eli_garcia1
    It’s dope
  • The Bean Trees

    5
    By Cycle Jim
    It helped to keep my committe guiet while I read.
  • Extremely boring, waste of money

    1
    By Sacks davkn s
    Never ever read this s book. We had to read it for English class and it was super super boring and I never want to read it again
  • The Bean Trees!

    5
    By jeeeeeeeeef
    This book was great: the protagonist is a strong person who chooses to persevere for the benefit of her adopted child who otherwise would never have had a chance. Language and imagery are both used to create a beautiful, relatable story of the American Dream.
  • Great book

    5
    By Ania Victoria
    I am 13 years old, and had to read this book for school. It was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I would 100% recommend this book.
  • Touching, interesting, and bittersweet

    5
    By Tlinq
    I read this in highschool years ago and have loved it ever since. I read it at least once a year and always find myself wishing more books were like it. Can't say enough good things about this book.
  • 100 Words or Less

    1
    By JRubino
    The only memory I have of reading this novel 20 years ago is chasing my roommate around the apartment reading aloud, while she covered her ears and screamed for me to stop. Yeah, the prose is that stilted, hackneyed, predictable, and plain old lazy. The characters are flat. The situation is reworked from hundreds of other novels. The ending is stupid in its warm fuzzy falseness. Ugh. I guess I took it all too seriously. I suppose if you’re looking for a light, breezy, mindless read, this would work … but why? You have so many better options out there.