The Orchardist

By: Amanda Coplin

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

“[A] mysterious, compelling, elemental novel….In The Orchardist, Amanda Coplin shows us what’s unknowable.”
—Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of National Book Award finalist, American Salvage

“Within this world are compelling characters and their equally compelling stories. The Orchardist is an outstanding debut.”
—Ron Rash, New York Times bestselling author of Serena and The Cove

“Coplin is a masterful writer, the teller of an epic, unvarnished tale that sits comfortably with other novels in the tradition of great American storytelling.”
—Wally Lamb, New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed

At once intimate and epic, The Orchardist is historical fiction at its best, in the grand literary tradition of William Faulkner, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Ondaatje, Annie Proulx, and Toni Morrison. In her stunningly original and haunting debut novel, Amanda Coplin evokes a powerful sense of place, mixing tenderness and violence as she spins an engrossing tale of a solitary orchardist who provides shelter to two runaway teenage girls in the untamed American West, and the dramatic consequences of his actions.

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.