The Orchardist - Softcover

Coplin, Amanda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780222742 ISBN 13: 9781780222745

Publisher: W&N, 2014

Synopsis

'A haunting and epic debut with shades of Steinbeck' [GRAZIA] about a makeshift family in the untamed American West. Includes Reading Group Notes.

At the turn of the 20th century, in a remote stretch of Northwest America, a solitary orchardist, Talmadge, tends to apples and apricots as if they were his children.

One day, two teenage girls steal his fruit at the market. Feral, scared and very pregnant, they follow Talmadge to his land and form an unlikely attachment to his gentle way of life. But their fragile peace is shattered when armed men arrive in the orchard. In the tragedy that unfolds, Talmadge must fight to save the lives of those he has learned to love while confronting the ghosts of his own troubled past.

THE ORCHARDIST is an astonishing and unforgettable epic about a man who disrupts the lonely harmony of his life when he opens his heart and lets the world in.

About this title

Review:

This is a powerful, wonderfully written first novel. (Kate Saunders THE TIMES)

Coplin's rendering of place invites comparison with William Faulkner's recreations of Mississippi. (Lucian Robinson TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT)

Amanda Coplin follows the path of American epic naturalist writers such as John Steinbeck in her beautifully written debut, in the way she tracks the movement of communities and examines the relationship between people and their environment...From brooding long over deceptively simple ingredients, Coplin has created a psychologically complex novel of considerable emotional power. (Rachel Hore INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)

The Orchardist is a powerful, finely crafted novel. (Suzi Feay FINANCIAL TIMES)

Amanda Coplin's The Orchardist is a haunting and epic debut with shades of Steinbeck. (GRAZIA)

An utterly enthralling, heart-breaking story. (EASY LIVING)

I was still thinking about this moving tale, set in early 20th century America, days after reading it. A reclusive man lives alone until two pregnant, feral girls ask for help. As he lets them in, stories of love, loss and revenge unfold. If you like emotional, historical fiction, you'll love this. (ESSENTIALS)

A powerful moving novel. (WOMAN & HOME)

This is a story about love, often intensely moving but far bigger than your common or garden tear-jerker and gorgeously written...There are echoes of Silas Marner, as the lonely man and the wild girls become an unorthodox family, but the outside world can't be kept out, as strangers on a mission bring violence into this Eden. The writing is vivid and poetic, with a strong sense of emotional wisdom. (Kate Saunders SAGA)

A beautifully evocative story (MARIE CLAIRE)

Book Description:

'A haunting and epic debut with shades of Steinbeck' [GRAZIA] about a makeshift family in the untamed American West. Includes Reading Group Notes.

About this edition

• Publisher: W&N
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1780222742
• ISBN 13: 9781780222745
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448