THE BEANS OF EGYPT, MAINE

Some novels should be heard and not read, and Chute's classic about the tiny town of Egypt, Maine, and its mostly related residents, last name Bean, is definitely one of them. There is just no way to accurately write a backwoods Maine accent; you've got to hear it. When Joyce Bean and William Dufris speak in their characters' heavily Maine-inflected voices, Chute's characters are suddenly standing there right in front of you, even if you wish they weren't. As in William Faulkner's novel AS I LAY DYING, these characters provoke more disgust than sympathy, sinking lower and lower till they hardly seem human. The surprise is, they are human, and, partly due to beautifully understated readings, by the end of the book your heart is breaking for them. N.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2009]