ies of family, friends, blood and love are what sustain the characters through hard times and heartbreaks. Thesupportive connections between people are likened to a symbiosis, an interdependency in the most positive sense.Kingsolver's story has a definite point of conflict and resolution; having a child handed to you at a cafe does not a legal adoptionmake. With no way of determining who Turtle's relatives may be, Taylor is unable to formalize her relationship with her adopteddaughter, and is at risk of losing her to the state. Her journey back to Oklahoma to try to find a solution to the problem bringsthe story full circle. But this time, she has friends with her, and ultimately it is her willingness to help them in their hour of need,and their willingness to do the same, that proves to be Taylor and Turtle's salvation. The moving, cathartic scene in which thecrisis peaks paves the way for the satisfying resolution."The Bean Trees" is a warm, funny story about personal journeys of self-discovery, as well as larger themes of commitment andrisk-taking. Taylor Greer finds something in this abandoned Indian child that she didn't know she was missing, and which sherapidly becomes unable to live without. The transformation of instant motherhood causes her to reevaluate her relationships withothers, especially her own mother. In a way, Taylor is experiencing a moment we all go through, when our parents turn suddenlyinto human beings. The old women who volunteer as babysitters, the Chinese grocer down the street, and particularly theGuatemalan refugees who have survived tragedies she can not imagine, all reveal a special value to Taylor as she learns todepend on others and have them depend on her.The author's superbly crafted, brilliantly descriptive writing brings the characters and settings home to the reader. She thrustsyou into each scene by using language that offers both visual and emotional information, a "feel" for a place, as in her d...
