The Bean Trees : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Wasn't a great book
Review: I read this book for a book club and I didn't think it was that great. First of all the beginning was kind of slow. It started to get interesting by the end of the book but it wouldn't be a book I would recommend. Maybe I need to read it again since a lot of the club members enjoyed this book. Anyways wouldn't read it again.

Rating:
Summary: German students go "West"....
Review: "The Bean Trees", a novel written by Barbara Kingsolver, is an interesting and exciting story of a young woman who leaves Pittman County to start a new life without worries.
Halfway through her trip, she finds herself an instant mother of an infant who is thrust into her arms at a bar. In Arizona, she works at a burger joint and encounters illegal immigrants and a blind woman.
Marietta, who decides to be known as Taylor, does all this and more in Kingsolver's compelling tale of self-discovery and independence.
The book deals with many topical problems, for example young motherhood, the weight of friendship and family and describes the tumultious life of women who are "forced" to live without men.
Taylor's life begins anew, as she wanted, since she now must care for the abused, mute child she affectionately names Turtle. She also befriends the owner of a tire shop and bonds with another single mother. After years of feeling isolated, she suddenly has a sense of belonging as she reaches Arizona.
Kingsolver brings her characters to life with vivid descriptions and alarming imagery. Taylor, who narrates the story, tells her tale in a lively Kentucky dialect, which adds incredible depth and reality to the novel.
We are five students from Germany who were supposed to read the book for our English lessons. We have to admit that for foreign pupils it might be a bit difficult to read this novel because there are a few unknown words and the conversation is partly written in colloquial speech.
All in all there are situations that opened our eyes to historical events we never understood, including the Central American immigration and the differences between various regions of theUnited States. We highly recommend "The Bean Trees", and we are happy to have had the pleasure of reading it. Especially for people who are interested in the American history, the development of very strong characters and the fates of some very poor people, this novel is a great reading adventure.

Rating:
Summary: I loved the flawed characters
Review: When you look over Kingolver's pedigree and education you might expect her characters to be stuffy intellectuals. Although her books are full of meat, her characters are never full of bologna. Taylor shines with courage and resolve. Kingsolver's rendering of the setting in Arizona has sparked an interest in me. The intelligence and thoughtfulness of this blue collar woman is refreshing to American women's novels. As part Cherokee indian myself, I found her use of the Cherokee culture and the dillemmas facing it sensitive and profound. The fact is Taylor and Turtle are two of my favorite Kingsolver creations. I highly recommend this book and its sequel.