The Bean Trees: A Novel (P.S.)

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. Available for the first time in mass-market, this edition of Barbara Kingsolver's bestselling novel, The Bean Trees, will be in stores everywhere in September. With two different but equally handsome covers, this book is a fine addition to your Kingsolver library. “The Bean Trees is the work of a visionary.... It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling.” — Los Angeles TimesA 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.It 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.This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from the author, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more. The Bean Trees is bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver’s first novel, now widely regarded as a modern classic. It 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 3-year-old native-American little girl named Turtle along the way, and together, from Oklahoma to Tucson, Arizona, half-Cherokee Taylor and her charge search for a new life in the West. Written with humor and pathos, this highly praised novel focuses on love and friendship, abandonment and belonging as Taylor, out of money and seemingly out of options, settles in dusty Tucson and begins working at Jesus Is Lord Used Tires while trying to make a life for herself and Turtle. "Meet Taylor Greer. Clear eyed and spirited she grew up poor in rural Kentucky with two goals: to avoid pregnancy and to get away. She succeeds on both counts when she buys a 55 Volkswagen and heads west. But by the time our plucky if unlikely heroine pulls up on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona at an auto repair shop called Jesus is Lord Used tires that also happens to be a sanctuary for Central American refugees, she's inherited a three year old American Indian girl named Turtle. What follows as Taylor meets the human condition head on is at the heart of this memorable novel about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places."--Back cover

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 Of Putting Down Roots. Hers Is A Story About Love And Friendship, Abandonment And Belonging, And The Discovery Of Surprising Resources In Apparently Empty Places.

philadelphia Inquirer

loving And Expansive...idealistic And Exhilarating.

Feisty Marietta Greer changes her name to "Taylor" when her car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Illinois. By the time she reaches Oklahoma, this strong-willed young Kentucky native is catapulted into a surprising new life. When a forlorn Cherokee woman drops a baby in Taylor's passenger seat and asks her to take it, she does Young, bright Taylor Greer leaves her poverty-stricken life in Kentucky and heads west, picking up an abandoned Native American baby girl whom she names Turtle and finds a new home in Tucson with Mattie, an old woman who takes in Central American refugees When Taylor Greer hits the road she has no real destination, only to get as far from Kentucky as possible. By the time she ends up in Arizona, she has inherited a three-year-old Cherokee girl from an Indian woman she met in a bar Taylor, a poor Kentuckian, makes her way west with an abandoned baby girl and stops in Tucson. There she finds friends and discovers resources in apparently empty places Taylor Greer hits the road and inherits a three-year-old Cherokee girl who manages to slowly wind her way into Taylor's heart.-- (Source of description not identified) Taylor, a poor Kentuckian making her way west with an abandoned baby girl, stops in Tucson where she finds friends and discovers resources in apparently empty places. I have been afraid of putting air in a tire ever since I saw a tractor tire blow up and throw Newt Hardbine's father over the top of the Standard Oil sign. By Barbara Kingsolver. First Perennial Library Edition Published 1989 ... Reissued In Perennial 2003--t.p. Verso.