The Bean Trees: A Novel

“The Bean Trees is the work of a visionary. . . . It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling.”  — Los Angeles Times

An acclaimed bestseller that has come to be regarded as an American classic, The Bean Trees is the novel that launched Barbara Kingsolver’s remarkable literary career. Kingsolver has gone on to win the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, Demon Copperhead, and is the recipient of the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguish Contribution to American Letters

The Bean Trees is the charming, engrossing tale of rural Kentucky native Taylor Greer, who only wants to get away from her roots and avoid getting pregnant. She succeeds, but inherits a three-year-old Native American girl named Turtle along the way, and together, from Oklahoma to Arizona, half-Cherokee Taylor and her charge search for a new life in the West. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in seemingly empty places.

Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, 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.

“The work of a visionary. . . . It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling.” - Los Angeles Times

“An astonishing literary debut....For a deep breath of fresh air, spend some time in the neighborhood of The Bean Trees.” - Cosmopolitan

“As clear as air. It is the southern novel taken west, its colors as translucent and polished as one of those slices of rose agate from a desert shop.” - New York Times Book Review

"Idealistic and exhilerating, The Bean Trees is a book that combines the most careful craft with a moral code that is loving and expansive." - Philadelphia Inquirer

“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

“This funny, inspiring book is a marvelous affirmation of risk-taking, commitment and everyday miracles...An overwhelming delight, as random and unexpected as real life.” - Publishers Weekly

“This is the story of a lovable, resourceful ‘instant mother,’ one who speaks, acts and learns for herself, becoming an inspiration to us all.” - Glamour