Wednesday, November 7, 2012

What We're Reading: Debbie

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
A gentle orchardist, known as Talmadge, tends his rows of apples and apricots in the turn of the twentieth century Pacific Northwest. His quiet, solitary life is interrupted when two pregnant, starving, teenage girls enter his orchard, and his life. He ends up risking everything, even his own freedom and life, to give them a chance at life that they had never been given. I loved reading this book. The writing is beautiful, and the story, though one relating unspeakable cruelty and misfortune, is one that really got into my heart. The many moral questions in the plot would make this a great selection for discussion in book clubs, and the beauty of the setting and the depth of the characters would make a great movie too. This novel is one of my all-time favorites.