Thursday, July 28, 2005
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Writing Style-6.0
Originality-5.5
Plot-5.0
Literary Merit(whatever that means)-5.4
Overall-5.2
Blah. Meh. Hmph. Those are the first three words that come to mind to describe this book. It’s mediocrity to the nth degree.
This is not an Oprah book club selection to my knowledge, but it is what most people would probably stereotype an Oprah selection as being like (which is pretty unfair seeing as how The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen and One Hundred Years of Solitude were Oprah selections). It’s girly as all get out and not in a cool way. I thought maybe it had potential because Kingsolver is a southern writer from Appalachian Kentucky.
It’s about this chick who for no apparent reason, early in the book before we even fully understand her motivations, she buys an old vw bug and drives west with the thought that wherever the car breaks down, there she will live for awhile. As she’s crossing through the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma some random lady puts a Cherokee baby in her car. It’s been horribly abused and she decides to keep it. She drives on to Arizona and finds a roommate who’s recently divorced and has… guess what... a new baby!! So they live together, become best friends, and take care of their babies.
If you are a feminist who loves babies (which doesn’t make much sense, though my sister comes to mind) then you would probably like this book. Otherwise, don’t waste your time.
The one redeeming quality that I like about the book is that it makes a nice argument in the end for alternative families. I think it’s an important point. But, other than that… On to the next book!
Originality-5.5
Plot-5.0
Literary Merit(whatever that means)-5.4
Overall-5.2
Blah. Meh. Hmph. Those are the first three words that come to mind to describe this book. It’s mediocrity to the nth degree.
This is not an Oprah book club selection to my knowledge, but it is what most people would probably stereotype an Oprah selection as being like (which is pretty unfair seeing as how The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen and One Hundred Years of Solitude were Oprah selections). It’s girly as all get out and not in a cool way. I thought maybe it had potential because Kingsolver is a southern writer from Appalachian Kentucky.
It’s about this chick who for no apparent reason, early in the book before we even fully understand her motivations, she buys an old vw bug and drives west with the thought that wherever the car breaks down, there she will live for awhile. As she’s crossing through the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma some random lady puts a Cherokee baby in her car. It’s been horribly abused and she decides to keep it. She drives on to Arizona and finds a roommate who’s recently divorced and has… guess what... a new baby!! So they live together, become best friends, and take care of their babies.
If you are a feminist who loves babies (which doesn’t make much sense, though my sister comes to mind) then you would probably like this book. Otherwise, don’t waste your time.
The one redeeming quality that I like about the book is that it makes a nice argument in the end for alternative families. I think it’s an important point. But, other than that… On to the next book!
