The Orchardist

Summary (from the publisher): Set in the untamed American West, a highly original and haunting debut novel about a makeshift family whose dramatic lives are shaped by violence, love, and an indelible connection to the land

"The Orchardist is like one of its characters: 'an egg encased in iron'-an elemental story filled with the perfection of the natural world. Nearly everybody in the book compels your admiration, either for their courage or for the heavy work they do, all the time and without complaint, even when wicked men are hunting them. Transfixing. I love this book straight through."-Salvatore Scibona, author of National Book Award Finalist The End.

You belong to the earth, and the earth is hard.

At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, a solitary orchardist named Talmadge carefully tends the grove of fruit trees he has cultivated for nearly half a century. A gentle, solitary man, he finds solace and purpose in the sweetness of the apples, apricots, and plums he grows, and in the quiet, beating heart of the land-the valley of yellow grass bordering a deep canyon that has been his home since he was nine years old. Everything he is and has known is tied to this patch of earth. It is where his widowed mother is buried, taken by illness when he was just thirteen, and where his only companion, his beloved teenaged sister Elsbeth, mysteriously disappeared. It is where the horse wranglers-native men, mostly Nez Perce - pass through each spring with their wild herds, setting up camp in the flowering meadows between the trees.

One day, while in town to sell his fruit at the market, two girls, barefoot and dirty, steal some apples. Later, they appear on his homestead, cautious yet curious about the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, Jane and her sister Della take up on Talmadage's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Yet just as the girls begin to trust him, brutal men with guns arrive in the orchard, and the shattering tragedy that follows sets Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect them, putting himself between the girls and the world, but to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.

Writing with breathtaking precision and empathy, Amanda Coplin has crafted an astonishing debut novel about a man who disrupts the lonely harmony of an ordered life when he opens his heart and lets the world in. Transcribing America as it once was before railways and roads connected its corners, she weaves a tapestry of solitary souls who come together in the wake of unspeakable cruelty and misfortune, bound by their search to discover the place they belong. At once intimate and epic, evocative and atmospheric, filled with haunting characters both vivid and true to life, and told in a distinctive narrative voice, The Orchardist marks the beginning of a stellar literary career.

Review: I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins.

The Orchardist is set in the late 1800s in the American west and focuses on Talmadge, a solitary man who runs an orchard for a living, and his relationship with two young girls who stumble upon his land and his giving nature. Still haunted by the disappearance of his beloved sister in the woods, Talmadge takes pity on the two teenage girls who appear frightened, wild, and hugely pregnant on his land. Their appearance on his property alters the course of their lives and Talmadge's own for good. This is ultimately the story of how their lives intersected.

Stylistically, I was intrigued by the author's choice of omitting quotation marks for dialogue. It gave this novel a sort of dream-like, underwater feel to me, probably because my eyes are so used to seeing quotation marks. At times, it was difficult to differentiate between thoughts and spoken words, or I would misinterpret the two. However, it did give the narrative a seamless, flowing style and seemed to fit with the simple way of life of the characters.

I loved the setting of this novel, and the beautiful image of the orchard, dutifully tended by Talmadge for years into a large and vibrant sea of fruitful trees. One of my favorite sections of this book was the description of how Talmadge came to live on the orchard as a child, and the difficult journey west for his mother, his sister, and himself. I wish I could have learned more about their story, and find out what happened to Talmadge's sister. Did she run away? Was she abducted? Did she stumble and fall and was never found? These are also the questions that plague Talmadge endlessly. 

However, ultimately I found multiple plot points unbelievable. Della's life story is stilted and vagabond in nature, which makes sense after considering the trauma she endured. Yet it was difficult to imagine a petite female living amongst men for so many years. Even more difficult to believe was Talmadge's attempt to free her from prison - it seemed out of character for a man that is depicted as staid, routine-oriented, and placid for decades. I think he loved Angelene too deeply to have acted in such a careless manner, disregarding the impact on her life. Additionally, I felt that the novel began to drag during the whole imprisonment section. It felt like interminable time was spent on traveling to and from the orchard and the jail. I was impatient to get on with the story.

The tone of this novel is solemn and filled with grief. Each of the characters from Caroline Middey to Talmadge to Della and Jane have experienced loss and hardship. The sense of time and the impermanence of our life's work and choices is felt clearly. In the end, the orchard is not the safe haven or the lasting presence it appears to be.

Stars: 3