Member-only story
BOOK REVIEW | FICTION
The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols — A Book Review
If it takes a village to raise a child, then, in this case, a community built a story
The Milagro Beanfield War came to my hand via the best resource available — word of mouth. Recommended by a fellow writer, I purchased John Nichols’s well-known novel from a used bookstore and was eager to turn pages.
At 445 pages, The Milagro Beanfield War is not a short work, and my brief daily reading window didn’t help. However, I enjoyed each and every page before my eyes failed to focus.
Set in the beautiful and harsh climate of Miracle Valley, New Mexico, The Milagro Beanfield War is a story about poverty and progress, history and wealth, community and culture and, a problem pig, a man who cannot die, and finally — water.
While I can’t say that the story was profoundly moving, it is thoroughly engrossing. Nichols doesn’t show us a story; he brings us into a community of characters unlike any I’ve known in life or fiction. Nichols paints the ensemble with such vibrancy that the reader cannot avoid laughing, empathizing, loving, and longing at the many faults in morals, behaviours, reactions, and motivations of each.
