JD Mitchell's Reviews > The Beans of Egypt, Maine

This was a debut published almost 40 years ago. Read it because I’m visiting Maine next month and Lily King recommended it. And I thought it was fantastic. Character-driven. Really great comedic relief. Also tragic and hopeless at times. Chute is outspoken about being poor and not fitting in with society and she’s written an absorbing novel about poor, rural Maine. But there’s so much else in this book: the various ways we try to escape the conditions of our lives, outsiders, family, violence, masculinity. Will definitely read something else by Chute.