The Orchardist

By: Amanda Coplin

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

At the turn of the 20th 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 from 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 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.

©2012 Amanda Coplin (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Still missing the main character!

This is a lovely book - one to savor and enjoy. Some might respond to its the slow way the story is revealed but I loved it and fell in love with the main character. The story is excellent and unusual, the setting very accessible and the characters are well drawn and exceptional. There are some places where you can tell this is a first novel, but those places are not in the least way distracting - more charming. This is an author to watch.

Excellent on every level.

Wonderful narrator. loved the characters. Will think about this story for a long time.

Waste of time.

A well written total waste of time about pathetic characters who deserved not one gram of respect or sympathy. A bleak look at a man who never reaches, or tries or really does anything to inject life into anyone. He just observes, without passion and acts with little will.

Length matters!

struggled to finish!!! good story but too long. The tale itself had promise;however I would have liked more depth from the characters.

Beautiful in every way

This maybe one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. The story is realistic the language is carefully crafted.
A story of unexpressed but faithful love.
The performance is unparalleled and well matched to the story and language.
In a word: magnificent.

Written by woman, but read by a man

She makes you care about these people. You an almost hear the horses, & smell the orchard, even taste an apricot. Compelling story about a grief stricken man, who loves deeply & ceaselessly. Beautifully written.

One of the best books I have listened to in ages.

Where does The Orchardist rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the Greatest

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Orchardist?

All of it!!

Which scene was your favorite?

All of them!!!

Who was the most memorable character of The Orchardist and why?

Angelina.........Her love of life and humanity.

Any additional comments?

What can I say, the book was amazing.

interesting

I liked the book, but it had a alot of repeated story. the information about the Orchard was really interesting

Great book

This has been the best book I’ve listened to in a long time.Great writing and narration was the best. I totally lost my self in this book.

An Unsentimenal Look at the Power of Relationships

What made the experience of listening to The Orchardist the most enjoyable?

The lyrical way in which the author writes about the American West on the brink of modernity, on the brink of losing its agricultural way of life as the 20th century barrels toward the orchard.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Orchardist?

The way Talmadge, a very solitary man, unfolds the hard layers of his personality and opens his long dormant heart to the possibility of forging new relationships with Della and Jane.

What does Mark Bramhall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think it would have to be his slow, deliberate voice. He was always steady, never getting carried away with the emotion of the language which really painted a very specific picture of the main character for me.

Any additional comments?

I fell in love with this book. The author's prose, her descriptions of the landscape and its people were so beautiful that I could fully imagine the orchard in my mind's eye. I liked the slow development of the plot as this really allows you to come to know the characters, to wonder about their motives, to form relationships with each of them. This book is meant to be savored rather than devoured as you contemplate Talmadge's quest to create "family" despite the trouble it invites into his life.