The Orchardist

The Orchardist
By Amanda Coplin (426 pages)
Published by Harper
Bookish rating: 4

Set in Washington (state!) at the turn of the century, near the Cascades, The Orchardist is one of those novels deeply tied to the sense of PLACE. Which I tend to like.

In fact, hanging out in South Dakota with my kin this past week, my horse-riding uncle asked me if I had read The Orchardist. I had! Aside from reminding me that I needed to generate a Bookish post about it, we were able chat about the novel. Ain't that something? Awwww, books.

So, the book: Talmudge is our aging orchardist hero who takes in two girls on the run from a very, very bad man. A family gets cobbled together among Talmudge, the girls, a baby, and the town's spinster midwife/herb lady.

The first half of the book, possibly because it contains greater drama, is stronger than the second half, and I found myself getting antsy for some forward movement plot-wise. And I'm usually not a reader who needs a lot of plot to be satisfied. Maybe my reading attention span is waning. Ruh-roh.

Overall, this book is beautifully written with extraordinarily complicated, interesting, and genuinely unique characters. Recommended, especially for those who dwell in the Pacific Northwest.