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At the Edge of the Orchard A Novel Tracy Chevalier 9780525953005 Books

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At the Edge of the Orchard A Novel Tracy Chevalier 9780525953005 Books

This story is about trees, apple trees, with Johnny Appleseed and giant Sequoias, with a continental scope, from Ohio to California or even from England to Oregon. It is a somewhat peculiar story with nearly every female character a prostitute or adventurous woman and every male, shy, conservative and tender or even weak. But the theme is trees, trees that are not sedentary, over time, but moving great distances relentlasly around the world. Perhaps that is the core of the story: how trees use men to transport them further than any bird or sguirrel can. The men and women think that they are searching for gold or exquisite taste, but are really doing the trees secret bidding. The story is from the point of view of the unwitting humans of the mid nineteenth century. Personally it reminds me of the time that my father and I stayed all night in a three sided cabin in the South Umpqua woods. The next morning Dad made the best cup of coffee I ever had, boiling grounds in spring water, and he wrote on a sliver of wood which he hung from a log rafter: ‘Viva the nineteenth century.’ It is still there, at least in my memory, along with the Yew tree I discovered thriving in the little clearing.


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At the Edge of the Orchard A Novel Tracy Chevalier 9780525953005 Books Reviews

This is the tale of the Goodenough family, with forebears from England who end up in Connecticut. James Goodenough and his feckless bride, Sadie, leave Connecticut to settle in the Black Swamp of Ohio. There James and Sadie lose five of their ten children to the fall illness that comes with the mosquitos.

James is intent on creating an orchard of fruit trees required for settling their claim on the land, favoring sweet Golden Pippin apples he obtains by grafting in branches originating from England. But Sadie prefers the sour apples that come naturally, which are used for making cider and the more intoxicating apple jack.

The apple feud grows heated, with James grafting more trees than agreed and Sadie intent on making James pay.

Then the book shifts to letters from Robert Goodenough, the son Sadie loved best and who was most able at the tree grafting that was James's pride and joy. Through letters we see Robert traveling further and further west, hoping to hear from his siblings, each letter indicating that he's heard no word.

The narrative resumes from Robert's point of view. Robert reaches California at the height of the gold rush, his stolid and cautious nature at odds with his gold-hungry fellows. After a few odd jobs, Robert ends up working with trees again, his childhood expertise coming into use helping William Lobb collect redwoods and sequoias for English Manors.

In the denouement, we learn the secret of Robert's flight from Ohio. The spoken truth opens up the future for Robert, and the book closes as Robert gazes hopefully into a golden sunset, thinking of the Golden Pippins that dominated the tales of his youth.

I take off a star for the gross inaccuracy of how sex is handled. It was a time when men knew sex created babies, and an libidinous woman was hardly the ideal life partner. Chevalier pastes in sexual activity and attitudes that make sense for modern readers, but which is not plausible for the mid-19th century.
What an interesting, different story! But I shouldn't have worried with Tracy Chevalier as every one of her books that I have read have been strong and excellent reading.

This one starts with the twist right at the beginning we meet one of the most mismatched couples I've ever met in a book (granted I don't look for books about mismatched couples ...). James and Sadie Goodenough may have been attracted to each other when they were happily settled in Connecticut but we meet them after they have left the Goodenough family farm and struck out on their own, in the Black Swamp of northwest Ohio.

Sounds like a place that would challenge anybody but James makes a good run at settling in this contrary and difficult patch of country. To maintain their land and raise their five children, they must tame their patch of land by growing a garden and an orchard of 50 apple trees. Its a struggle for any couple but made more difficult because Sadie is bitter and hates being on this patch of land and she is jealous of James' love for the orchard, especially, the "biters," fruit that is sweet and good for eating, vs. the "Spitters," used for juice and applejack.

The Goodenoughs are not a happy family and soon enough, their youngest child, Robert, flees the family home and travels west, eventually reaching California. With no more land further west in which to flee, Robert finding himself falling in love with trees as his father before him. In the midst of it all, Robert finds himself settling his past debts and adjusting to his life, striking a claim to a future of his own making and choosing.
This story is about trees, apple trees, with Johnny Appleseed and giant Sequoias, with a continental scope, from Ohio to California or even from England to Oregon. It is a somewhat peculiar story with nearly every female character a prostitute or adventurous woman and every male, shy, conservative and tender or even weak. But the theme is trees, trees that are not sedentary, over time, but moving great distances relentlasly around the world. Perhaps that is the core of the story how trees use men to transport them further than any bird or sguirrel can. The men and women think that they are searching for gold or exquisite taste, but are really doing the trees secret bidding. The story is from the point of view of the unwitting humans of the mid nineteenth century. Personally it reminds me of the time that my father and I stayed all night in a three sided cabin in the South Umpqua woods. The next morning Dad made the best cup of coffee I ever had, boiling grounds in spring water, and he wrote on a sliver of wood which he hung from a log rafter ‘Viva the nineteenth century.’ It is still there, at least in my memory, along with the Yew tree I discovered thriving in the little clearing.