Review: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

The Orchardist follows the life of Talmadge, a man who moved to central Washington as a young boy and has built a life after the death of his mother and disappearance of his sister tending an apple orchard. He lives a solitary life isolated from most of society apart from a few close friends. However when Jane and Della, two pregnant young teenagers, arrive at the orchard, his quiet peaceful life is permanently altered.

This book is a slow read. However, for the first half of the book I enjoyed the pace. I found the setting of the book, an orchard in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, to be completely engrossing. The environment and scenery almost become a character in themselves.
The character development in The Orchardist was excellent. Coplin tells the reader just enough about the characters to be able to care about them deeply, while also allowing the reader to put together the pieces themselves. I also enjoyed that the story was told from the perspective of several different characters, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of their interactions.

However, in many senses I felt the book climaxed about half or two-thirds of the way through. Some of the behaviour of the characters at this point felt a little far-fetched based upon the way they had been built by Coplin during the first part of the book.

Two themes of the book in particular resonated with me: that it is not necessary to define or label love, and that loss can echo through our lives more than we may ever realise.

The love Talmadge has for Della and Angeline, Jane's daughter, cannot be defined by traditional relationships. It is not quite parental love, as he is not their father. It is neither romantic love, nor the love for a sibling, nor is it simply the love of a good friend. It is something more and something different entirely. However, Coplin demonstrates that defining love and relationships through traditional characterisations is unnecessary. Talmadge's love for Della and Angeline undeniable. and the existence of that love is all that matters in their relationships and lives, not the category it falls under.

After the death of his mother Talmadge lives on the orchard with his younger sister, Elsbeth. One day Elsbeth goes out into the forest to pick herbs and simply disappears. Talmadge's grief following the disappearance of his sister remains with him for the rest of his life. His interactions with Angeline and his reaction towards Della's decisions are influenced by this grief. He later finds himself mourning both the disappearance of his sister and the departure of Della. Della is likewise haunted by grief, grief created by both the fate of her sister and for her loss of innocence caused by Michaelson, the man who abused her and caused her pregnancy. To an even greater extent than Talmadge, Della lets this grief define the direction of her life. While the characters are not able to fully see the way this loss affects their behaviour, Coplin makes its influence clear to the reader.

While I enjoyed reading the first part of this book far more than the second, The Orchardist was overall a great read, and I found the themes of the book both poignant and delivered in an original, nuanced way.