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lorenadraghici's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
ravensruin's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
novelette's review against another edition
2.0
This book is very slow and extremely boring.
The characters seem like an afterthought, after the trees and apples. Sadie was horrible. Sal was horrible. The Days? Nope, horrible. Cal was horrible. Molly wasn't that grand. I could not tell you how many children were lost to "swamp fever", nor did I really care.
I could not care less about the trees or apples.
In fact, the only interesting thing in the novel is the fact that the Landlady, Doty, is a real person. Her daughter won in an auction, the right to have her mother's name used in the novel.
The characters seem like an afterthought, after the trees and apples. Sadie was horrible. Sal was horrible. The Days? Nope, horrible. Cal was horrible. Molly wasn't that grand. I could not tell you how many children were lost to "swamp fever", nor did I really care.
I could not care less about the trees or apples.
In fact, the only interesting thing in the novel is the fact that the Landlady, Doty, is a real person. Her daughter won in an auction, the right to have her mother's name used in the novel.
cdjdhj's review against another edition
5.0
This is a decent historical fiction novel about the Goodenough family who settles in Ohio after leaving Connecticut in the 1830s. The family, with a highly dysfunctional, alcoholic mother and a farmer father who loves growing apple trees and does his best to support and keep his family together. John Chapman (historic Johnny Appleseed) is a character in the first part of the novel and was actually the reason I was attracted to the book. Johnny Appleseed is not the main character however, and the story focuses on the youngest son in the family Robert, and how he strikes out on his own when violence takes the lives of his parents. Robert ends up in California in the 1850s, where he pans for gold for a while and then discovers Giant Sequoias and a beautiful place now known as Big Tree State Park in the Sierra Nevadas. This is a lovely story of nature, love and family that is different from anything I have ever read. The story gracefully meanders through three decades and across the continent as a young man searches for and eventually finds what he did not know he even wanted. I read and own a hard copy version of this book, which I plan to hang onto because it is an excellent book. I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads.
drusmilford's review against another edition
Listened to on tape. May try picking up the book.
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier is not what I expected. James Goodenough and his wife, Sadie leave Connecticut (and the rest of the Goodenough family) to find a farm of their own. They end up in Black Swamp, Ohio (because it was so muddy they could go no further). James and Sadie had ten children (but only five lived because of swamp fever from the mosquitoes). Life is hard in the swamp, but James is determined to make a go of his apple orchard. James and Sadie do not get along. Sadie resents the apples (because her husband pays more attention to the apples than her) and does her best to sabotage the trees. Sadie is a drunk (on applejack) the majority of the time. Things do not end well for the couple and their youngest son, Robert takes off. We then have a series of letters that explain what Robert did for the next seventeen years. Robert ends up working for William Lobb as a plant collector in California. We get to see how his growing up years affected the rest of his life and the choices he makes.
At the Edge of the Orchard was okay. I normally love Tracy Chevalier's books, but I was not a fan of this one. It is a slow paced book with unengaging characters. Parts of the book are told in the first person (Sadie and James) point-of-view. Sadie's part is hard to understand with her backwards way of talking (and accent). The rest is told in the third person (about Robert). The descriptions of the apples, the orchards, and the plants/trees in California were lovely and interesting. The pace of the novel, though, is slow (I think apples grow faster). The writing is good, but the story is depressing. There is domestic violence, foul language, sex, and incest in this novel (just fair warning). I give At the Edge of the Orchard 3 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
At the Edge of the Orchard was okay. I normally love Tracy Chevalier's books, but I was not a fan of this one. It is a slow paced book with unengaging characters. Parts of the book are told in the first person (Sadie and James) point-of-view. Sadie's part is hard to understand with her backwards way of talking (and accent). The rest is told in the third person (about Robert). The descriptions of the apples, the orchards, and the plants/trees in California were lovely and interesting. The pace of the novel, though, is slow (I think apples grow faster). The writing is good, but the story is depressing. There is domestic violence, foul language, sex, and incest in this novel (just fair warning). I give At the Edge of the Orchard 3 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
extraaardvark's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Builds slowly to an unmissable historical drama.
I loved Girl with a Pearl Earring and saw Chevalier had written another historical piece, the setting fascinated me - frontier America, just before the Gold Rush.
A warring couple who settled with their children in the swamp their wagon got stuck in are just about surviving in Ohio. Sadie is permanently fuming at her husband's obsession with his apple trees and takes petty revenges whenever she can. She has no problems with the applejack their fruit provides her with, however. James watches his fruit grow and his children die of swamp fever around him every year.
Their remaining children grow amidst the damp and desolate swampland as their parents' bickering only worsens.
We then jump forward 15 years to the Gold Rush era, when one son, Robert, is writing home to his family in Ohio. Just why did he leave home at 12? And what future can he make for himself in a land overtaken by greed? His present and past eventually collide, and we learn the Goodenoughs' fate and legacy.
I was entranced by this story. The setting is incredibly vivid, the sense of mud and decay in the swamps hard to see through. Sadie is quite a character, her muddied emotions regarding her family if not ones we would share, very human. The difficulty in surviving and thriving in these conditions is made clear, the ease with which death could take you shocking.
Robert's story is hard to put down, his travels taking us across America with him, his letters home hinting at events we can only guess at, and which come full circle as his past returns to him all of a sudden and he is forced to make choices he has avoided since childhood.
There are some very strong and powerful women in this story, not overtly so, but those with 'sass' and a lifeforce that means that even though it is men who hoed and dug and worked, the women were also breaking new frontiers too and doing it a lot more quietly than their male counterparts. Some rather admirable examples here.
A great story, almost an epic if not in length. I hope the story is one day continued. Loved the setting, the characters, the slow reveal and structure - a winner.
I loved Girl with a Pearl Earring and saw Chevalier had written another historical piece, the setting fascinated me - frontier America, just before the Gold Rush.
A warring couple who settled with their children in the swamp their wagon got stuck in are just about surviving in Ohio. Sadie is permanently fuming at her husband's obsession with his apple trees and takes petty revenges whenever she can. She has no problems with the applejack their fruit provides her with, however. James watches his fruit grow and his children die of swamp fever around him every year.
Their remaining children grow amidst the damp and desolate swampland as their parents' bickering only worsens.
We then jump forward 15 years to the Gold Rush era, when one son, Robert, is writing home to his family in Ohio. Just why did he leave home at 12? And what future can he make for himself in a land overtaken by greed? His present and past eventually collide, and we learn the Goodenoughs' fate and legacy.
I was entranced by this story. The setting is incredibly vivid, the sense of mud and decay in the swamps hard to see through. Sadie is quite a character, her muddied emotions regarding her family if not ones we would share, very human. The difficulty in surviving and thriving in these conditions is made clear, the ease with which death could take you shocking.
Robert's story is hard to put down, his travels taking us across America with him, his letters home hinting at events we can only guess at, and which come full circle as his past returns to him all of a sudden and he is forced to make choices he has avoided since childhood.
There are some very strong and powerful women in this story, not overtly so, but those with 'sass' and a lifeforce that means that even though it is men who hoed and dug and worked, the women were also breaking new frontiers too and doing it a lot more quietly than their male counterparts. Some rather admirable examples here.
A great story, almost an epic if not in length. I hope the story is one day continued. Loved the setting, the characters, the slow reveal and structure - a winner.
t8r's review against another edition
4.0
I'd never read anything by [a:Tracy Chevalier|1973|Tracy Chevalier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1439297099p2/1973.jpg] when I started this book, so I didn't know what to expect.
I was pleasantly surprised. This is a great book: it contains action, love, hatred, lust, and conflict between new and old, and practical and romantic.
The audiobook narrator was very good.
I was pleasantly surprised. This is a great book: it contains action, love, hatred, lust, and conflict between new and old, and practical and romantic.
The audiobook narrator was very good.