The Milagro Beanfield War (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
Que Viva Snuffy Ledoux!I read this book 35 years ago for the first time when I was fifteen years old. It remains one of my all time favorites. After re-reading - because one of my friends told me I reminded him of Amarante Cordova - and because I always considered myself to be more of a Jose Mondragon - the themes remain contemporary. They remind me why I consider this timeless piece of literature to be such a great demonstration of artistry and craftsmanship.Milagro Beanfield War is an enchanting story, told by a man who has a deep and abiding respect for the people he wrote about. His descriptions of the colorful characters and the beautiful landscapes reveal a man who is faithful to describing northern New Mexico Latino culture with clarity and sensitivity to all their quirky nuances.Nichols reminds me why I love the northern part of the state so much. The rugged terrain is as breath-taking beautiful as its hard-scrabble inhabitants. I am convinced their vibrant culture and world view has been shaped by the land in which they live. Their ingenuity and tenacity are not as caricatured as you might be given to conclude according to Nichols' descriptions. Their bravado, sense of pride, chutzpah are not an exaggeration at all. Moreover, extraordinary things do happen up there and what is even more unusual is that is is not seen as anything out of the ordinary at all. Nichols does such a fantastic job of describing the terrain that he reminds me why I love Northern New Mexico - Taos in particular - so much.Plainly put, this story is entertaining, comical and it sheds light on yet another group of Americans whose peculiarities spice up an already delicious story.I felt a connection to all of the characters. However, if pressed to choose one, I believe my favorite would be the immortal Amarante Cordova who buys bullets for his antique .45 with food stamps.Aside from Pacheco's huge, white pet pig that continually escapes and wreaks havoc in Milagro, the cast of characters include;Joe Mondragon, the sawed-off banty rooster. The protagonist who unwittingly starts the war when he decides to irrigate his little bean field - of course the symbolism should not be wasted here as beans cause gas and Joe's little field caused a big stink.Bernabe Montoya, the tired though politically astute sheriff whose comic-tragic life is measured by making mountains out of mole hills and mole hills out of mountains,Seferino Pacheco, the illiterate old man who can nonchalantly critique Steinbeck, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Juan Ramon Jimenez, Platero, Asturias, Garcia Lorca and Pablo Neruda but spends the lions' share of his time haplessly chasing down his wayward, errant pet pig,Onofre Martinez, the one armed enigma who lost his arm to a fleet of butterflies and whose claim to shame is marked by having a son become a state police officer,Charlie Bloom, the Harvard Lawyer cum honorary Chicano and publisher of a little news paper called 'The Voice of the People,'A host of bad guys led by the evil, Ladd Devine III, an equally pugnacious, little white man whose size belies his ambitions, andthe women of Milagro who range from a pebble-tossing granny to loyal, devoted and equally nutty, delightfully powerful women.These characters represent the tapestry of Milagros' comedic bravado and cloaked angst with its temperaments and dispositions.I have read that some people do not like Nichols' depiction of the dominant culture and actually take exception to what has been described as the 'white man's burden.' Such detractors are really missing the point because the story is about a nostalgic look at a culture and way of life that is quickly waning. As a case in point, Onofre Martinez articulates the point quite eloquently (p 150)when someone makes an off handed comment about gringos;"'Wait a minute!' Onofre Martinez stammered excitedly, emotionally placing his hand on Ray Gusdorf's shoulder, 'This is my neighbor, and he is a gringo, not even a little bit coyote [half-breed:]. But he's been in the valley as long as I remember, and I consider him to be of my people. And that white man over there told us these things about the dam and the conservancy and showed us the maps, I consider him of my people too, even though he is a lawyer, even though he speaks funny Anglo Spanish you can hardly understand. But I believe he at least tries to speak the truth,and a lawyer who does that should get a big gold medal to hang around his neck. I don't consider Nick Rael to be of my people because he works against my interests... So, I don't believe this is a brown against white question. This is a only one kind of people against another kind of people with different ideas. There are brown people and white people on both sides...People are people...The brown people and white people on our side are better people because they are on the correct side, that's all..."While many of the antiheroes in this story happen to be Anglo and the protagonists are mostly Latinos, the story would not change if the protagonists happened to be a group of backwater whites who were facing similar circumstances. Consequently, I don't really understand why someone, anyone would get ruffled about a white author writing about bad white guys. Apparently, Lonesome Dove doesn't evoke the same sort of bristled criticisms and, for that reason, I find the attacks on John Nichols unwarranted.John Nichols has created a masterpiece, attentively woven with its muted colors of incredulity, tempered fatalism and brilliant splashes of hope.I sincerely hope his magnum opus is not discounted because he has the temerity to celebrate the true essence of what is unique about being an American; diversity.Finally, If you like magical realism, this book is perfect for you. ps: There's nothing wrong with being like Amarante Cordova - although I still consider myself more like Joe Mondragon. And, hey Tony! You are crazier that Pacheco's pig!
The only reason why I actually finished this book is because I had to for English class. I did not like this book for many reasons. First off, while I respect Nichols' need for many characters to weave the story, I found it quite useless. He brought in so many new characters in the beginning that I had a hard time keeping track of them all. This made the story less enjoyable because after a whole the characters and their story lines started to blend in and they became indistinguishable. Secondly, this book is overly sexual, as well as violent. I read this as a freshman in high school and I don't think that the level of violence and sexual content is appropriate for that age. While I consider myself mature enough to handle it, I found myself uncomfortable with the amount of violence and the descriptive nature of it. Also, I feel as though the summary misrepresents the storyline. The book seemed to barely mention the conflict with Jose. And while after reading it, I understand sort of why that was done, I feel like I would've understood the book more if we had had more insight into Jose's past. Because the only reason he seemed to be irrigating his field was because it was his land and he could do what he wanted with it. And that got rather boring to hear. Another point is that people find this book funny. I honestly don't see how. I guess you have to have a dark and dry sense of humor to find this book comedic. There is barely any humor in it at all, and I only found myself smiling a handful of times. This book is more serious than it is funny. This book honestly isn't for teenagers. Due to the content and the vocabulary, this book is better off in the hands of adults. However, I will give it some credit, it had a few decent moments.
What do You think about The Milagro Beanfield War (2000)?
I rated it 3 stars, but I consider this a generous score. I liked the book and found it compelling and quite funny--but also really long. The premise is great, important even, but I think the story could have been told in 300-350 pages—instead of nearly 500. There's a lot of fluff. There are dozens of characters who are all quirky and charming and all have something to say about poverty and about the inevitable conflict between Anglos and Latinas. I think Nichols could have synthesized a number of these points into a smaller cadre of characters, bringing more depth to each of them and keeping the story moving. I've seen the Redford movie based on this book, and I think this is one of those rare cases where the movie is better. The movie did boil the story down to more of its essence.
—Michael Sump
I first read The Milagro Beanfield War years ago, but in June 2009, while traveling, encountered the author's photo essay about how he came to write the book. That got me interested in a re-read. It was worth it. Nichol's prose is dense and rich, so descriptive that I find myself re-reading paragraphs just for the joy of the images evoked by the words.This novel contains a large number of finely drawn characters with fascinating back stories, which Nichols manages to weave into the main narrative without losing the thread. Indeed, these back stories turn out to be integral to the main plot. The characters are caught up in events they don't quite understand but nevertheless, without really being sure how they did it, manage to influence. As a side benefit of reading an excellent novel, you'll get an analysis of water rights in the western U.S. without reading a text book---sadly, the issues affecting small farmers in tiny rural areas have not (judging from recent coverage in the news) changed much in the intervening decades.
—JoyfulK
I was a little leery about this book when I first got into it. A cast of thousands--and all sharing, at most, 5 last names. There were sidetracks and flashbacks and meandering moments of conversation, but OMG, the characterization of the people who live in the bleak little town of Milagro just blew me away. No need for me to summarize the plot as it's available to read on GR and multiple places. And honestly, the plot is secondary to the characters who populate Milagro.Nichols' prose is layered and rich with sharp flashes of wit that poke fun at not only the vagaries of human nature but the beauracracy and corruption of state and local governments. There are serious undertones as well, reminders that the right palms greased with the appropriate amounts of cash can benefit one and ruin the futures of so many. Joe Mondragon and his bean field are the main characters of the story--or so we think at first, but he shares as much limelight with Milagro's infamous pig, Joe's chicken-slautering wife Nancy and the seemingly immortal Amarante Cordova. There are several others which I won't list here, but if you get a chance to read this book, you'll find yourself wanting to meet and chat with some of these eccentric, pragmatic and ultimately fascinating characters. The last time I read a book that left such a lingering impact on me once I finished it was Dorothy Dunnett's King Hereafter--another book where the characters just knocked me breathless.
—Grace
