At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest, a reclusive orchardist, William Talmadge, tends to apples and apricots as if they were loved ones. A gentle man, he's found solace in the sweetness of the fruit he grows and the quiet, beating heart of the land he cultivates. One day, two teenage girls appear and steal his fruit from the market; they later return to the outskirts of his orchard to see the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, the girls take up on Talmadge's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Just as the girls begin to trust him, men arrive in the orchard with guns, and the shattering tragedy that follows will set Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect but also to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.
Amanda Coplin was born in Wenatchee, Washington. She received her BA from the University of Oregon and MFA from the University of Minnesota. A recipient of residencies from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the Omi International Arts Center at Ledig House in Ghent, New York, she lives in Portland, Oregon.
Ow book what have you done....."Nothing, I did nothing!"
I am going to have a hard time to write a review on this book. I was looking forward to reading this cause I really like the cover and the synopsis sounded interesting too. When I started reading I had good hopes though I already caught some sounds from other people that it was not really what they expected.
Though the story is pretty much what I expected it is a bit colorless. It flows steadily but without much excitement. Coplin did a great job in describing the surroundings and setting an atmosphere but her characters and their interaction was almost non existent. These two where pulling so strong at each other that I never got involved in the story or got a chance to bind with one of the characters.
The Orchardist
Author: Amanda Coplin
Publisher: Harper
ISBN-10: 0062188526
ISBN-13: 9780062188526
Pages: 448
Format: eBook
Harper: eBook | Hardcover| Trade paperback
2 reacties
Write reactiesA pity you didn't enjoy this very much. I liked it a lot. I agree that the atmosphere and setting was a much stronger part of the book than the characters, but overall, I did like it.
ReplyI didn't like this one either. I couldn't connect with the characters and the story was too bleak and depressing.
ReplyConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon