Synopsis
Taylor Greer, from rural Kentucky, buys a 1955 Volkswagen and drives west. Along the way, she picks up an abandoned 3-year-old Native American girl named Turtle, and by the time she pulls up at the Jesus Is Lord Used Tire Auto Repair Shop, Taylor is well on her way towards establishing an adventurous new life in the desert land of the Southwest.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-01-01 | | Edition Description: | Anniversary |
| Size | | Length: | 261 pages | | Height: | 8.8 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 15.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
An unforgettable story of love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places, "The Bean Trees" tells the story of Taylor Green, a spirited woman who grew up in rural Kentucky with two goals: to avoid pregnancy and to get away. This commemorative hardcover edition features a new, easy-to-read design and a special, accessible price.
Ten years ago, Barbara Kingsolver published a first novel that is well on its way to becoming a classic work of American fiction. THE BEAN TREES is a book readers have taken to their hearts. It is now a standard in college literature classes across the nation and has been translated for a readership stretching from Japan to Romania.
When it was first published, however, its author was unknown. Word of mouth spread slowly among booksellers, librarians, critics, and readers with a passion to share their favorite books. In THE BEAN TREES they found a spirited protagonist, Taylor Greer, who grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when Taylor heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time she arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity for putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.
Most readers of THE BEAN TREES discovered the novel in its paperback edition. On the tenth anniversary of its first publication, HarperFlamingo is proud to offer readers this special hardcover edition, redesigned to be easy on the eyes and priced to be accessible to every lover of good fiction.
Industry Reviews
"An extraordinarily good first novel, tough and tender and gritty and moving, with a wonderful particularity and taut Southwestern bite. Kingsolver's heroine is little short of magnificent."
Book Jacket - Anne Rivers Siddons
"So wry and wise we wish it would never end....The chatty, down-home audacity of Barbara Kingsolver's remarkable first novel hooks us on the first page."
San Francisco Chronicle - Patricia Holt
"'The Bean Trees' is a story propelled by a marvellous ear, a fast-moving humor and the powerful undercurrent of human struggle....There are surprises in the book. There is adventure. and there is resolution, as believable as it is gratifying...."
Women's Review of Books - Margaret Randall
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