The Bean Trees is the first novel by American writer Barbara Kingsolver. It was published in 1988 and reissued in 1998. The novel is followed by the sequel Pigs in Heaven.
Plot
Marietta "Taylor" Greer sets out to leave her home in Kentucky and travel west on a journey of self discovery. In a chance encounter, a stranger leaves a baby girl with her in Oklahoma near Cherokee territory. Taylor decides to keep caring for the child and continue traveling. Her car eventually breaks down in Tucson, Arizona.
Taylor begins a new life in Tuscon while befriending Lou Ann, a woman with a young son abandoned by her husband, and Mattie, the kind owner of Jesus is Lord Used Tires. Mattie assists refugees from the southern border and Taylor befriends Estevan and Esperanza, a Guatemalan couple seeking asylum.
Taylor decides to adopt the child she was given, naming her Turtle for her tenacious nature. She encounters problems with formally granting custody due to the lack of documentation and consent from Turtle's parents. During a trip to Oklahoma for Estevan and Esperanza, they help Taylor forge the documentation, ensuring Turtle's future with Taylor. Taylor returns to Tuscon, embracing her new home and role as mother to Turtle.
Setting
The story takes place in real places in North America, including Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arizona. It begins when the main character, Taylor, leaves her home in Pittman, Kentucky to find herself. First, her car breaks down in the middle of Oklahoma, later in Tucson, Arizona. She travels back to Oklahoma and again to Arizona because of the people she became close with throughout the novel.
Barbara Kingsolver's interest in nature is reflected in the Bean Trees, as it is full of descriptive landscapes and characters' passion towards the environment. The author uses history and biology to describe certain events or world issues related to nature.
Characters
Taylor Greer, a native of Kentucky, is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. She is also known by her given name Marietta and nickname Missy. Taylor's personality is described as tough, adventurous, and independent throughout the novel.
The protagonist is raised by a single mother, which helps to develop themes of motherhood and nontraditional family values throughout the story, as Taylor, herself becomes Turtle's parent. The novel further explores nontraditional extended family through the relationships between the members of the community. It conveys the idea of interdependence and interaction, community's importance to each individual's life, and balance between independence and a sense of belonging. The novel makes reference to the issue of Native American parental rights as well.
Kingsolver employs irony in order to emphasize the changes to Taylor's lifestyle by the end of the novel. such as The Los Angeles Times stating it was the "work of a visionary". It was featured on the New York Times 1988 Notable Books of the Year list.
The novel has become a commonly assigned reading in high school literature classes since its publication.