137/365

Book Review: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

This is a sweet little book about a Kentucy girl determined not to become pregnant and leave Kentucky behind for better. Along the way she not only ends up with exactly what she thought she didn't want but encounters some unique and diverse faces alone the way and when she settles. I found one of the main story lines really unbelieveable but the main character is so enduring and the author so good that it was okay. Barbara Kingsolver has written some of my favorite books (The Prodigal Summer and The Poisonwood Bible) and reading this reminded me why I liked those so much. I read them so long ago, I now want to reread.

I of course found a few passages I especially liked.

pg. 5
"The way I see it," she said, "a person isn't nothing more than a scarecrow. You, me, Earl Wickentot, the President of the United States, and even God Almighty, as far as I can see. The only difference between one that stands up good and one that blows over is what kind of a stick they're stuck up there on."


pg. 177
"...the reason most people have kids is because they get pregnant."