At the Edge of the Orchard

by Tracy Chevalier | Audiobooks |
ISBN: 1611764718 Global Overview for this book
Registered by indygo88 of Lafayette, Indiana USA on 7/29/2016
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Friday, July 29, 2016
"1838: James and Sadie Goodenough have settled where their wagon got stuck – in the muddy, stagnant swamps of northwest Ohio. They and their five children work relentlessly to tame their patch of land, buying saplings from a local tree man known as John Appleseed so they can cultivate the fifty apple trees required to stake their claim on the property. But the orchard they plant sows the seeds of a long battle. James loves the apples, reminders of an easier life back in Connecticut; while Sadie prefers the applejack they make, an alcoholic refuge from brutal frontier life.

1853: Their youngest child Robert is wandering through Gold Rush California. Restless and haunted by the broken family he left behind, he has made his way alone across the country. In the redwood and giant sequoia groves he finds some solace, collecting seeds for a naturalist who sells plants from the new world to the gardeners of England. But you can run only so far, even in America, and when Robert’s past makes an unexpected appearance he must decide whether to strike out again or stake his own claim to a home at last."

Acquired via PaperBackSwap. (Unabridged on 7 CDs; read by Mark Bramhall, Hillary Huber, Kirby Heyborne, and Cassandra Morris)

Journal Entry 2 by indygo88 at Lafayette, Indiana USA on Thursday, September 23, 2021
It's 1830's America, and the Goodenough family has moved west from Connecticut, settling in the black swamp of northern Ohio because they couldn't get any further. Their wagon got stuck in the mud, and there they stayed. James, the father, comes from a family of apple growers, and he starts his own apple orchard. His life revolves around the apples. Sadie, his wife, is bitter and ruthless, and though she hates the life the apple trees have thrust upon her, she does love the alcoholic applejack that can be made from them, and spends many of her days drunk and mean. Sadie has birthed 10 children, though only 5 have managed to survive the hard frontier life, many succumbing to fever. When a tragic event occurs, their youngest child, Robert, flees their home and heads west, eventually reaching California, where he attempts to make a life for himself there while trying to forget the memory of his family.

Tracy Chevalier can always be counted on for a good historical fiction novel. Sometimes the cadence is a little slow-moving and there is not a lot of what I'd call action in her novels, but she does a good job with accurate research and the historical aspects are always well-written. I found this story to be similar. The story was engrossing in a gradual way, and I was never sure how it was going to come full circle or how it was going to end until I got there. In all honesty, I found this story depressing. It tells of a very toxic marriage and a hard life. I didn't like most of the characters in this novel, though they were well-written and seemed authentic. I was hoping for maybe a little more "uplift" by the end of the story, which I didn't feel ever came, and that's probably why I didn't rate this book higher. But it was well-written and seems to appeal to those who have a thing for trees.

Journal Entry 3 by indygo88 at Lafayette, Indiana USA on Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Released 2 yrs ago (3/15/2022 UTC) at Lafayette, Indiana USA

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Sending off to PBS member. Enjoy! :')

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