The Bean Trees

Another Barbara Kingsolver--her first, I think, copyright 1988, I believe. (Can you tell I don't have it sitting in front of me? Ha ha.)

It had been a long time since I read this book, about a young Kentucky woman who sets out on the road to make her way in life, and picks up a family along the way. It was good fun, but I was surprised at the difference in quality between this and Prodigal Summer. Not that this isn't good...it's just that I think Ms. Kingsolver has become truly phenomenal in her writing skills, and this book was just very good. =)

I also have to say it makes me sad every time to hear the protagonist talk about how Oklahoma makes her feel dead inside. Every place is different and every place has its goods and bads and I hate to always be the state that everyone else can agree they hate...Although I know at the end she discovers a part of Oklahoma that she does like. I just don't like the disparaging comments. I know it's fiction but I also know the author well from her personal writings and I know a lot of her own life ends up in her fiction, so....yeah. Makes me sad.

Good book. Not as good as some of her others. But still fun. Very fast and easy. Great if you're interested in issues surrounding immigration and sanctuary and such. It breaks my heart that all the things wrong in this area 20 years ago are STILL wrong, and probably even MORE wrong, and that we are often so ignorant of these issues in our comfortable, protected lives.