One day, without any forethought, he taps into a main irrigation canal and diverts water onto a sere little patch of ground he owns and plants a bean patch. Because of his drinking and his hair-trigger temper, Joe is not the most popular person in town. Joe keeps his family afloat by doing any number of odd jobs from carpentry, to farming, to mechanical work. The Milagro citizens face a tough existence, and they barely scrape by. He, like virtually every citizen of Milagro – a small town set in the hardscrabble wildness of northern New Mexico – is uneducated, unrefined and, you might say, unfettered by wealth. Take the titular “hero” of the story, Joe Mondragon, for example. It might not be the logic you or I would choose, and that’s just what gives the book its considerable charm. “The Milagro Beanfield War” makes its point using a zany and lovable cast of characters who follow their own logic. The class conflict in “The Milagro Beanfield War” is the real thing, with the warring parties literally not even speaking the same language.īut don’t be put off by its decidedly serious theme.
Tabbed as this year’s One Book, One Denver selection, “The Milagro Beanfield War” is a delightfully comedic take on the serious subject of class warfare. But chances are good that you will find even more to like if you pick up another copy of John Nichols’ “The Milagro Beanfield War.” You have probably seen the movie and, maybe, you even read the book when it was all over the place two decades ago. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu
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