The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

The group of eleven book club members varied on whether they liked the book or were frustrated with it.  One member could not finish it .  One person said they liked "the author's descriptive writing style" and another said she liked "the short chapters and that the story was told from a variety of perspectives."  One person said "they had a hard time getting into the story, though she agreed that the writer was able to craft colorful descriptions of characters and settings."  One member found the cast of characters interesting, also and another said the strong female characters were appealing.  Some of the members said that they were disappointed with the ending, and another said she was frustrated with the lack of closure in the ending.  One member said was a good effort for a first time author.

There were three themes members noted through the story.  The first was the interweaving of tenderness and violence, cowardice and courage.  The second theme was the exploration of the difference between solitude and loneliness and the third was how traumatizing experiences early in life affect the remainder of one’s years.

One thing that some found frustrating was how the failure to communicate resulted in so many avoidable problems. For instance, Talmadge often withheld information from Angelene, supposedly to shelter her. But it ended up causing her far more angst than the truth would have had he been more forthcoming.

One member pointed out that the Nez Pearce Indians seemed accurately portrayed. They traditionally were very good with horses, and were partial to Appaloosas.

Thanks again to one member who brought apples, plums, and apliums (a cross between an apple and a plum) to share. Very much in keeping with the orchard theme of our book! Another also treated us to some of the harvest from her garden, in the form of delicious chocolate chip zucchini cookies.