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A review by lilibetbombshell
The Orchard by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry
5.0
I’ve always loved Chekhov’s play, “The Cherry Orchard”, because Chekhov not only had a lovely way with words, but because he could convey so much about the mutability of humans in a concise and clever way. The play is a classic for a good reason, and so when I saw there was going to be a novel not only about three times as long as the play but also updating the setting to Soviet Russia, I simply couldn’t resist. I wanted to know mainly if the author could capture the same story and the same lovely manner of storytelling as Chekhov without resorting to cheap tricks or melodrama. Would it be literary fiction or literary farce? My verdict? Literary fiction. An outstanding take on the classic play with the same feeling of ennui and mutability I cherished so much from Chekhov.
I have to let you know I annotated my copy very heavily, simply because so much of this book is not only beautifully written, but some of the narrative reveals and points are genuinely insightful and often scratchy with dry wit. Humor comes at unexpected times from unexpected sources, and yet even the humor that’s present is either morbid or almost bellicose in tenor.
This book is almost straight forward literary fiction, with a hefty chunk of the book relying on coming-of-age during the early 1980s. So you understand when I tell you this is not a quick read. The book is character-driven, with a large amount of characters all well worth taking the time to try and understand. The introspective passages about life in Soviet Russia, the notion of what makes a place home even if that place is absolutely terrible, how men and women do and don’t interact in a culture heavy with patriarchy, why so many Russians were absolutely okay with the autocratic version of Communism that reigned behind the Iron Curtain, and what it takes to be a survivor in a country that only cares if you live or die if you get in their way are all absolutely brilliant and the sentence-structure is lovely.
I can’t recommend this book enough. In a sea of novels updating old stories, it stands out as one of the best I’ve read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I have to let you know I annotated my copy very heavily, simply because so much of this book is not only beautifully written, but some of the narrative reveals and points are genuinely insightful and often scratchy with dry wit. Humor comes at unexpected times from unexpected sources, and yet even the humor that’s present is either morbid or almost bellicose in tenor.
This book is almost straight forward literary fiction, with a hefty chunk of the book relying on coming-of-age during the early 1980s. So you understand when I tell you this is not a quick read. The book is character-driven, with a large amount of characters all well worth taking the time to try and understand. The introspective passages about life in Soviet Russia, the notion of what makes a place home even if that place is absolutely terrible, how men and women do and don’t interact in a culture heavy with patriarchy, why so many Russians were absolutely okay with the autocratic version of Communism that reigned behind the Iron Curtain, and what it takes to be a survivor in a country that only cares if you live or die if you get in their way are all absolutely brilliant and the sentence-structure is lovely.
I can’t recommend this book enough. In a sea of novels updating old stories, it stands out as one of the best I’ve read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.