The Beans of Egypt, Maine introduced the world to the notorious, unforgettable Bean clan of small town Egypt, Maine - from wild man Reuben, an alcoholic who can't seem to keep himself out of jail; to his aunt, the perpetually pregnant Roberta; and his cousin Beal, a man gentle by temperament but violent in defeat who marries his pious neighbor, Earlene Pomerleau before poverty kills him.
Through her story of the Beans's struggle with their inner demons to survive against hardship and societal ignorance, Chute emerged as a writer of immense humanity and unparalleled insight into a world most of us knew little of - if we'd recognized it at all.
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"Time to start adding earlier books I guess. I have no idea when I actually read this. Long ago... I bring it up now because it occurred to me after reading all of Cormac McCarthy's Appalalachian novels that Carolyn Chute must've(maybe) read the earlier ones. Anyway, I loved the book except for one word choice and that was "dyslectic" or "dyslexia". I'm not sure but I think that was the word she used to refer to a professional "diagnosis" of Reuben Bean's "issues". Seemed like she was letting him off the hook for is awful behaviour. Maybe Reuben and Lester Ballard are burning in literary Hell together." — Chris (4 out of 5 stars)
"Time to start adding earlier books I guess. I have no idea when I actually read this. Long ago... I bring it up now because it occurred to me after reading all of Cormac McCarthy's Appalalachian novels that Carolyn Chute must've(maybe) read the earlier ones. Anyway, I loved the book except for one word choice and that was "dyslectic" or "dyslexia". I'm not sure but I think that was the word she used to refer to a professional "diagnosis" of Reuben Bean's "issues". Seemed like she was letting him off the hook for is awful behaviour. Maybe Reuben and Lester Ballard are burning in literary Hell together."
" What happened here? When I read this book, Chute was set to become a big influence and now she's an afterthought and no one reads this book. Literary reputations are fickle things. "
" Another book I've read before. A highly original narrative. I love the way it ends--the final piece of dialogue in all caps. "
" Carolyn somehow figured out how to profoundly and sensitively write the most complex aspects of life in the most simple of words. Wonderful woman, wonderful book. Sad sad. "
" This was a really weird book...yet I couldn't put it down. Strange insight into rural, impoverished families in Maine. "
" I think this family has kin in West Virginia. "
" i don't know what to think of this book. i have never read anything like it. It was choppy, and seemed to skip ahead. I did finish it and am going to read ms chutes next book. i hope it helps me understand her writing better. "
" I wanted to like this, I really did, but I found the characters vacant, helpless, and just plain annoying. "
" This book is just crazy, but I have to finish it. "
" Good in a trashed out, vouyeristic-type-of-way. "
" this was a pretty strange book, but I was hooked nonetheless (or maybe that's why I was hooked) I got a good sense of place -- rural Maine, poverty, folks trying to make do with hard things in life. "
" I kept reading this, thinking I'd find something to like. But at page 175, i gave up. If anyone knows a reason I should finish it, let me know. "
" This book is about a family that couldn't be more decrepit, dirty, and disgusting. The author married into such a family and wrote a novel about them or people very much like them. Sort of like an uneducated "Glass Castle" family except much worse. "
" read back in high school. sometimes it seeps back into my consciousness. poverty, abuse, family. "
" There is no way to describe this wacky, unexpected thing. More a collection of short stories than an actual novel. I read this nearly 20 years ago, and images from it still haunt me. "
" My family farm was in a tiny town in New England. I grew up there in the 40's. Around the woodstove on a cold night, stories very similar to this were told. "
" I had to put it down for a few days because it was so sad in parts. The author's comments (1995 edition) were also pretty intense. "
" We have a home in Maine, which is mostly rural, and this novel really captures the backwoods atmosphere. "
" Life among the poverty stricken in the backwoods of Maine. A sensitive rendering of some very sad lives, takes one on a journey one would not want to live. Appalacia down east. "
" I learned not to fuck my reletives...no, wait. I already knew that. How bout, um, not to lock things in refrigerators. Shit, knew that too. Wait, I learned that Betty Crocker makes sky blue cake. Didn't know that. "
" To be fair I can not offer a review of this book. I simply did not enjoy the book. I gave it 38 pages until I just had to call it quits. "
" I gather I'm going against the grain here, disliking this book. I actually hated it. There was nothing to hold me to this pathetic story, the abrasive and dull characters or the rural setting. Thanks for the view, Ms. Chute. "
" this was an excellent book i read years ago about a family of twisted inbreds from Egypt, Maine "
" Good writing, but hard to read. Characters lives are unrelentingly sad. "
" Found this book disturbing in many ways. It took me a couple of days to shake of the feelings of despair associated with the story. It is moving but not uplifting. "
" Depressingly realistic. Moments of heartstopping poignancy. Be prepared for what you'll read. "
" I read this book back in 1985, shortly after it came out, and more than the novel itself I remember being impressed by the author who’s background is very similar to the backwoods family she writes about. Her writing is heart-felt and believable. "
" Reading about poverty is always so unsettling. "
" This might be interesting to some people. It was not such for me.It seems to be like a several days in the life of very poor and uneducated people in Maine in the 1970s or 1980s. "
" too dark, no redeeming aspects, just continued oppression. started out well, but the ending was fatalistic and not necessary as author indicates. "
Carolyn Chute is the author of The Beans of Egypt, Maine; Letourneau’s Used Auto Parts; Snow Man; and Merry Men, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Thorton Wilder Fellowship. She currently lives in Maine with her husband.
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