On the HahaFiction shelf

The Milagro Beanfield War

by John Nichols

The New Mexico Trilogy · Book 1

Joe Mondragon illegally diverts irrigation water onto a beanfield in the struggling New Mexico town of Milagro. Local farmers begin to see his crop as a protest against losing their land and water rights. Developers and political operators see a threat to their plans, and a field of beans becomes the focus of a much larger fight.

Contemporary & literary Farce Satire

From the publisher’s blurb

“fought more by tactical retreats than by battlefield victories”

Read the full description at Holt Paperbacks, publisher description

Search on Amazon

Paid link · We earn commissions from qualifying Amazon purchases. Affiliate disclosure

What makes it funny?

Milagro’s residents can’t agree on why Joe watered his field: explanations range from hunger to divine orders to start a revolution. The prologue then reaches into local legend for a boy who takes a bishop’s ceremonial slap as a reason to punch him back. The bishop falls against the baptismal font.

The comedy at work

Nichols lets the neighbors explain Joe through their own worries and grudges. A storekeeper sees unpaid debts and ammunition sales; a landowner sees an attack on his empire. The same act looks petty, reckless or revolutionary depending on who is talking.

Try this if…

Community politics and land disputes take up the space that a single hero might occupy in a tighter adventure. This suits readers who enjoy an unruly cast, earthy storytelling and sympathy for people resisting powerful development interests. Kirkus praised its comic energy while finding the story shaggy.

Good to know

The prologue uses profanity and bawdy language, including the explanation of an insulting dog’s name. The broader conflict includes gun violence, and the story addresses economic pressure on a Chicano community.