Play Book Tag discussion

The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver (1988) is a very quiet novel about everyday life of love and friendship. The novel is mostly narrated by Marietta Greer, a young woman who reinvented herself and changed her name to Taylor when she left her home in Kentucky and headed for adventure. When she made a stop in Oklahoma, near a Native American reservation, a Cherokee woman dropped a toddler into her beat-up VW Beatle and asked Taylor to take the baby. Taylor did so without question.

Taylor knew nothing about the toddler and the child was in a catatonic state. Because the baby clung to Taylor, Taylor began calling her Turtle.

Taylor drove on through the American West until she landed in Tucson, Arizona when her car broke down. In Tucson, she became friends with Mattie, the woman who ran the auto repair shop and fixed up Taylor’s car. After some time, Taylor began to realize that Mattie had a secret ~ that she was assisting undocumented immigrants find safe havens out of the State.

In the meantime, Taylor befriended Lou Ann, another young woman with a baby and an abandoned husband. The two women shared a house and took turns taking care of each other’s respective children.

When the State became aware that Taylor was not the legal guardian of Turtle, Taylor must make a critical decision.

This is a short book, but it didn’t hold my interest.

3 Stars