The Milagro Beanfield War
by John Nichols

List Price: $18.00
Our Price: $6.18
You Save: $11.82 (66%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $1.32 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of The Milagro Beanfield War

Book Review: Nichols's Masterpiece, a gem in American literature
Summary: 5 Stars

Nichols introduces us to nearly every inhabitant of the village of Milagro, as well as many of the non-natives involved in the story, and spends a great deal of time telling us their past stories, their habits and traits, and their thoughts and emotions. Through these people we also learn about their places in society, the cultures they inhabit and create, the land that they live on and how their lives are tied to that land. In reading this novel for the first time I found I often had to reread entire sections and chapters to make sure that I had, in fact, caught every detail and digested every piece of the story; somehow, if I glossed over something, I could sense that an important piece was missing.

People, places, and cultures are really the heart of this novel. The story itself, about land-developers trying to find a delicate way to keep one native's illegal irrigation of a tiny beanfield from blowing out of control and destroying their resort development plans, moves forward only in drips and bits. Any particular scene or incident of note along the way is used largely to advance our understanding of the people and their cultures and conflicts and prejudices, and only tangentially happen to advance the story. By the end of the novel, you will probably get the sense that not much happened at all in the story, and you'd be right. If you come to this conclusion, however, spend some time thinking about what might have happened to your understanding of these "fictional" characters and the very real lands and cultures they live in.

(Although this novel takes place in the Southwest United States at some time in the mid-1970's, astute readers will be able to transfer this character and culture study to other current conflicts in the world between American and native cultures in other countries. The basic themes and lessons of "Milagro" can apply nearly anywhere.)

Nichols's gift for the written word is on its best display in this novel. Other books by Nichols are well written, but this one stands out in particular as his masterpiece. Read this book first before reading any of his other novels.

If you decide to buy this book, plan on reading it two or three times. Every new pass will reveal things you missed or didn't quite catch the first time around and will enhance your enjoyment of the novel.

Summary of The Milagro Beanfield War

Movie Tie-Ins Books

• Books > Subjects > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction
• Literary