The Bean Trees

T he Bean Trees opens in rural Kentucky. The novel’s protagonist, Taylor Greer, who is known at the beginning of the novel by her given name, Marietta, or by her nickname, Missy, remembers a moment in her childhood when Newt Hardbine’s father was thrown to the top of the Chevron sign after his tractor tire exploded. Ever since then, Taylor has been afraid of tires. Taylor goes on to tell the story of Newt Hardbine, a peer of Taylor’s who died while Taylor was still in high school. Although Newt and Taylor seemed like identical kids when they were small, Taylor was the one to escape small-town life. She did so by avoiding pregnancy, getting a job working at the hospital, and saving up enough money to buy herself an old Volkswagon bug.