The Bean Trees

"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.

This Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition features beautiful cover art, French flaps, and deckle-edge pages, making it the perfect gift book.

“"The work of a visionary. . . . It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling." -- Los Angeles Times "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 "An extraordinary good novel, tough and tender and gritty and moving." -- Anne Rivers Siddons "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 "The Bean Trees is the work of a visionary. . . . It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling." -- Los Angeles Times "A major new talent. From the very first page, Kingsolver's characters tug at the heart and soul." -- Ms. "An astonishing literary debut....For a deep breath of fresh air, spend some time in the neighborhood of The Bean Trees." -- Cosmopolitan "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 "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 "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 "A lively first novel...an easy book to enjoy." -- No Source”

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

"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

"An extraordinary good novel, tough and tender and gritty and moving." -- Anne Rivers Siddons

"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

"A major new talent. From the very first page, Kingsolver's characters tug at the heart and soul." -- Ms.

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

"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

"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

"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

Barbara Kingsolver is the author of ten bestselling works of fiction, including the novels Unsheltered, The Bean Trees, and The Poisonwood Bible, as well as books of poetry, essays, creative nonfiction, and Coyote's Wild Home, a children's book co-authored with Lily Kingsolver. She also collaborated with family members on the influential Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Kingsolver's work has been translated into more than thirty languages and has earned a devoted readership at home and abroad. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has received numerous awards and honors including the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, Demon Copperhead, the National Humanities Medal, and most recently, the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and its Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives with her husband on a farm in southern Appalachia.

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.

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