What We Thought: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

Evening Readers

Tuesday, April 25

The Orchardist

by Amanda Coplin

“The roses you gave me kept me awake with the sound of their petals falling.” -- Jack Gilbert, an American poet, on the front page of the book

Amanda Coplin’s debut novel was a hit with the Evening Readers. All remarked positively about how the author’s beautiful writing crafted an aura of enchantment. It was as if the narrator was sitting high up in the orchard and spinning a complex fairy tale of characters that were influenced by the time and place of early 20^th-century Washington state in the rural Pacific Northwest.

Readers were captivated by the how the threads of the characters and their lives were woven together as if in a dream. Exact details about how people went about the routine business of daily life were not clearly spelled out but readers didn’t care and suspended belief about how things were working out. There was a greater focus on the interior lives and motives of characters which led to the thoughtfulness of readers' interest and relaxed their critical reading. Readers commented that the characters didn’t seem real and were portrayed as if through a filter.

Conversation was centered on what ifs and how alternative outcomes could have been influenced. In the end it was decided that the story went in the direction that was preordained. Other conclusions would not have fit. Several questions were asked:

 “What happened to Talmadge’s sister, Elsbeth, and could she have been related to the girls, Jane and Della?”

"What exactly was Talmadge’s heritage, could it have been Native American?”

“Why did Talmadge’s paternal feelings for Della change from passive protection to active involvement in the latter stages of her life?”

“Why didn’t Della stay in the orchard with Talmadge where she could have had a sheltered and peaceful life?”

"Could Della have found Elsbeth in her travels?”

“Why was the prison storyline necessary to the flow of the story?”

The story was not just about Della, but her story drove the discussion about relationships including that of her niece Angelene. An essential part of the story was William Talmadge’s relationship with Angelene and how it differed with that of Della’s life in the orchard. She was raised differently from Della and Jane. Her life became something beautiful out of the tragedy of the older girls. The topic of blood relationship and family bonds of unrelated individuals was noted by readers. Does blood matter, and how does it influence behavior, were other questions that remained unanswered.

The male characters were as well drawn as the females. Clee and his band of Native American horse traders fit into the fabric of the story. Everyone thought the Wrangler sidekick was a neat guy. Caroline Middey -- friend, neighbor and confidante -- was the dominant female presence in the life of Talmadge and his girls. She was as kind and generous with her talents and friendship as anyone could have been. Readers praised her highly. Michaelson was the one truly malevolent character in the story and nobody expressed sympathy or understanding for him and his horrific life.

The evening’s discussion concluded with a question about the author’s intention in writing the story. Did the author plan for the intense introspection and judgment that resulted, or was she so talented a writer that this naturally flowed from the story to the reader?

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This Month's Selection: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

Evening Readers
Tuesday, March 24

6:30 p.m.

The Orchardist
by Amanda Coplin

At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest, a reclusive orchardist, William Talmadge, patiently tends to his apples and apricots. A gentle man, he's found solace in the sweetness of the fruit he grows and 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. Scared and 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 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.

What We Thought: Combined Book Club Potluck, Delicious! by Ruth Reichl

Combined Book Club Potluck

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 6 p.m.

Delicious!

by Ruth Reichl

All three Holmes Public Library adult book clubs -- Evening, Afternoon, and our new Mystery Readers -- joined together to enjoy a potluck supper on a February evening celebrating a respite from a series of unrelenting snow storms.

A hearty winter’s meal was served buffet style with Asian and Brussels sprout salad, bruschetta, corn pudding, homemade brown and white bread, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed chicken thighs, kielbasa in a sweet sauce, tuna casserole, taco corn bread casserole and franks and beans.  A winter cider and cranberry punch added color and warmth to the menu. After the main course all adjourned to the Library’s reading room for a book discussion accompanied by desserts; white cake, frosted cupcakes, gingerbread squares, chocolate cookies, and amaretto truffles.

Book club members generally agreed that the book was a very good read but members had various opinions about the main point of the story. Was it about Billie’s relationship with her sister Genie, and their father’s relationship with both of them? Was it about Billie’s quest to forge her own way in her life path and career in New York City at the Gourmet-style magazine, Delicious!? Was Billie’s emotional tie to her perfect, older sister shaping her choices as well as holding her back from achieving her desires in love and friendships? One reader quoted from the book, “The worst crime is to ignore your gift,” and Billie’s gift was her extraordinary palate and cooking skills.

The story of the letters Billie discovered in a secret room behind the magazine’s recipe library became a large part of the plot, and led Billie and other characters on a treasure hunt of sorts. Billie’s lawyer father became involved and, as a result, father and daughter became closer which resolved her guilt about her sister Genie’s terrible accident. A few readers thought that the letters were a distraction, but most said the story behind them was an important theme and led to yet another discovery about the history of the Delicious mansion and the original intent of the secret room on the third floor.

Several readers noted that this book had a large cast of characters. But all of the New York group contributed to Billie’s growth. She developed a strong and independent spirit and everyone she met really liked her and took her under their wings. There were enough characters for everyone to have a favorite. Several liked Sammy from the magazine and wished they had a friend like him. A few were interested in Mitch the complainer from the Italian deli. The expectation of his character and when his true background was revealed surprised everyone. Because the author wrote such vivid descriptions, readers were able to spend a lot of time talking about the characters and their place in the story.

Everyone liked the story of Delicious! Even the guests who didn’t read it yet.

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