Saturday, July 18, 2015

The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Carolyn Chute

The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Carolyn Chute

Somewhere, a long time ago, a writing instructor spoke of this book as a lesson in characterization.  It stuck in the back of my mind and was only recently resurrected by my desire to write a great novel and of course my love of Maine.  I must have been missing eating a lobster roll by the waterfall in Camden, Maine when the title came back to me.

The Beans of Egypt, Maine tells the story of a mismatched and dysfunctional family living in rural Maine far from the rocky coast of the state I love.  Reuben is an alcoholic who spends most of his time in jail, Roberta is tall and perpetually pregnant, and Beal is a gentle man with a large beard that seems to have a life all its own.  Beal marries Earlene, the pious neighbor next door.  They manage to have two equally unusual children.

The Beals are poor, yet taking any government assistance would say to the world that they had failed.  How they live is given to the reader in such poignant detail, it's impossible to turn away.  Ms. Chute's use of her toolbox of literary devices is extraordinary.  I became totally immersed in a way of life I do not know, yet I felt each character's view of the world as if I saw it through my own eyes. 

The Beans of Egypt, Maine is sometimes difficult and repulsive to read.  But it's real and it's filled with emotion.  I can't remember the teacher who told me about them, but the Beans will now remain in the back of my mind because the author did a brilliant job of creating them.  And they are from Maine.  A perfect combination.

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