The Orchardist - Softcover

Coplin, Amanda

3.79

46,276 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062564609 ISBN 13: 9780062564603

Publisher: Perennial, 2016

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The New York Times bestselling novel that is historical fiction at its best--a haunting story about a makeshift family in the American West that follows in the grand literary tradition of William Faulkner, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Ondaatje, Annie Proulx, and Toni Morrison--now available in a limited Olive Edition.

"A stunning accomplishment, hypnotic in its storytelling power, by turns lyrical and gritty, and filled with marvels."--National Public Radio

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 at 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 them but also to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.

Transcribing America as it once was before railways and roads connected its corners, Amanda Coplin weaves a tapestry of solitary souls who come together in the wake of unspeakable cruelty and misfortune. She writes with breathtaking precision and empathy, and in The Orchardist she crafts 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.

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Review:

Many contemporary novelists have revisited the question of what constitutes a family, but few have responded in a voice as resolute and fiercely poetic. --New York Times Book Review"

Amanda Coplin s somber, majestic debut arrives like an urgent missive from another century. You can only be thrilled by a 31-year-old writer with this depth of understanding the final epiphany equals in stark grandeur similar scenes in Emily Bronte s WUTHERING HEIGHTS and Pat Barker s ANOTHER WORLD... --Washington Post"

[A] beautiful, powerful novel THE ORCHARDIST has the sweep and scope of a big historical novel yet Coplin is exquisitely attuned to small, interior revolutions as well. Its language as rooted and plain as the apple trees Talmadge nurtures, this is a gorgeous first book. --Boston Globe"

There are echoes of John Steinbeck in this beautiful and haunting debut novel set in early-20th -century Washington State...Coplin depicts the frontier landscape and the plainspoken characters who inhabit it with dazzling clarity. --Entertainment Weekly"

A stunning debut THE ORCHARDIST is a poetic book, but its strength doesn t lie solely in its language. Coplin s understanding of abuse and the lasting effects of fear and loss on the individual psyche are deeply resonant. As a debut novel, THE ORCHARDIST stands on par with Charles Frazier s COLD MOUNTAIN. --The Oregonian (Portland)"

THE ORCHARDIST is engaging and enthralling. The reader wants to turn each page quickly as the story develops, and wants at the same time to dwell on the lyrical moments of sunshine, soil and love. --Seattle Times"

Amanda Coplin has depicted her northwestern landscape with such fidelity that readers will know its every sight, smell, and sound. Within this world are compelling characters and their equally compelling stories. THE ORCHARDIST is an outstanding debut. --Ron Rash, New York Times bestselling author of SERENA and THE COVE"

To read this mysterious, compelling, elemental novel is to immerse yourself in the world of an old folk song, in which the passions and sorrows of plain people rage unseen and then blossom as madly (and quietly) as apricot trees. In THE ORCHARDIST, Amanda Coplin shows us what s unknowable. --Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of National Book Award and NBCC Award Finalist for Fiction, AMERICAN SALVAGE"

THE ORCHARDIST is a stunning accomplishment, hypnotic in its storytelling power, by turns lyrical and gritty, and filled with marvels. Coplin displays a dazzling sense of craftsmanship, and a talent for creating characters vivid and true. --Jane Ciabattari, NPR"

A breathtaking work from a genuinely accomplished writer Coplin s lyrical style and forceful storytelling provide many unexpected twists before the poignant conclusion. --Library Journal"

Book Description:

A highly original and haunting debut about a makeshift family in the untamed American West.

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