The Orchardist (P.S.) - Softcover

Coplin, Amanda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062188518 ISBN 13: 9780062188519

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2013

Synopsis

At once intimate and epic, The Orchardist is historical fiction at its best, in the grand literary tradition of William Faulkner, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Ondaatje, Annie Proulx, and Toni Morrison.

In her stunningly original and haunting debut novel, Amanda Coplin evokes a powerful sense of place, mixing tenderness and violence as she spins an engrossing tale of a solitary orchardist who provides shelter to two runaway teenage girls in the untamed American West, and the dramatic consequences of his actions.

About this title

Review:

"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)

"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

"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

"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

"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

"When you pick up THE ORCHARDIST, you will be lured at first by the lushness of the language. But soon enough the characters will take hold of you and you'll read on hungrily, as if under a spell. It's hard to believe that this is Amanda Coplin's first novel."--Wally Lamb, New York Times bestselling author of THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED

"Coplin's grave, graceful prose gives dignity to lives that otherwise might be too sad to contemplate. Her story, which turns in unpredictable ways, is both troubling and touching."--Columbus Dispatch

"A superb work from an abundantly gifted young writer"--Dallas Morning News

"The exquisitely described landscapes in this tale astonish, but so do the emotional lives of its characters...a wise and great American novel."--The Oprah Blog, Book of the Week September 17th

"[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

Book Description:

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0062188518
• ISBN 13: 9780062188519
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448