The Bean Trees

Sep 26, 2008

Posted by: John Admin

Uncategorized

The Bean Trees Review



Perhaps I shouldn’t have promised that I would start with Jo’s favorite books. Perhaps I should have acknowledged that I would read those books, but that knowing myself, I would get sidetracked by a million more in the meantime. Oops.

This definitely isn’t a novel that I was planning to recommend in this blog. I mean, what could the tale of a woman starting a cross-country trip to find herself, illegal immigrants, and accidental motherhood have to do with Harry Potter? A whole lot more than I would expect, it turns out.



Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. New York: Harper Collins, 1989.



Marietta Greer grew up in one of the poorest areas in Kentucky, in one of the poorest situations. Little by little, she begins to realize that she can change her own life. She buys a car and starts driving, forming her life on accidents as they come. Her new name is chosen by a city she stops in; she adopts a daughter because of where she grabbed dinner. A place to live is determined by things out of her control as well. She becomes paired with Lou Ann, who thought her life was just about perfect until her husband decided that he was worthless and made Lou Ann feel that she was as well.



Like Harry, The Bean Trees is much about families in any form they take, and the acknowledgment that sometimes the best families are the ones we create ourselves. The protagonist surrounds herself with strong friends, and I found myself thinking of the trio as I watched how well Lou Ann and Marietta balance each other. Like Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the women have little intrinsically in common but form their basis for a relationship through accidents in a way that somehow comes out stronger than a mutual interest. Kingsolver likens these bonds to an invisible web, and points out that they are no less a miracle than all of the many rebirths in the novel’s pages.



There is much more that Harry lovers will like than that one theme, however. Like Rowling, Kingsolver slips humor into unexpected places, making the laughter seem more realistic. Those who frequent the Obscurus forum will also enjoy tracing the less obvious themes that pop up in the novels, but it is by no means necessary to think about symbolism to “get” the book. The novel isn’t fast-paced but is a page turned because you learn to care for the characters as they learn more about each other. Harry is a story of a boy, but millions relate to it all the same; The Bean Trees is told through the lens of women working together, but anyone who has their own “found family” will see themselves in the novel quite easily. Most of all, Harry fans will know that the truth is, a great story is a great story – in no matter what form it takes.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.