At the Edge of the Orchard

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier             Audio Book: 9 hours     Hardback book:  304 pages            

A true word artist.   This author paints such vivid pictures in your mind it is like watching a film in your head.   The characters are so real you will see the freckles on their faces and sense the sweat soaked bed linens when family members come down with swamp fever after moving to Ohio.    I kept thinking, “Swamps in OHIO?   WHAAAAT?”  But then I remembered St. Louis has swamp land – there are still to this day marshy soft swampy bogs in places around the Muny in Forest Park.    And Chouteau’s Pond (now the main post office and Union Station downtown) was known for its being swamp and full of flies and horrible smells.     As in the title the story revolves around the main characters apple tree orchard.    First the main characters lived in Connecticut where main character James Goodenough’s father had an apple orchard planted from Golden Pippin apple seeds brought over by his father from England.   In the excitement of expansionism James decides to move his wife, Sadie and their children west to Ohio.    The Goodenoughs lost 5 of their 10 children to what was known as swamp fever living in the swamp lands.   Horrible deaths and horrible emotions to endure and keep on keeping on.   Sadie becomes sullen and often talks aloud to the children they have buried.   She does not allow herself to get attached to the children still living.    She uses them to work the garden, work the orchard, cook, sew, pretty much everything she chooses not to do she makes the children do.    There are few kind words exchanged in the Goodenough home.    The parents fight like wildcats, Sadie’s words like she is poking James with a stick constantly berating his farming skills and ability to find them a good place to live forcing them to exist in this muddy, depressing bug infested hell hole.   Doesn’t stop James from reaching for her at night, though, he only speaks to her as needed till those times her constant berating get to him and he begins beating her.    He also beats the children within an inch of their life if they get out of line in any small infraction of his rules.    Sadie gets more and more depressed and when a local man comes to sell them seeds, seedlings and sapplings to help get their orchard going seeds for eaters and spitters (apples that taste good and are edible and spitters that are sour but make good cider, apple butter and to Sadie’s delight Apple Jack which the local man, known as John Appleseed, turns Sadie on to as a soother for her aches and pain and also to help with her grief.    There is an underlying heat between Sadie and John.   Is it sheer loneliness on her part, sympathy on his part or is there more there?    Men seem to find her comely.  J   There is a lot to this story and it is written so well it is like a visit to the past, every detail meticulously researched and related in such a way the reader feels they are there in whatever space in time and location is being presented.    The story covers the gold rush days, too, with apples being a connecting thread all throughout the story.    It is REALLY a good story – and appealing I think to both men and women.       The characters are written with such rich details you can feel the fabric described it is that tangible.    Descriptions of all the work involved and detailed canning procedures you can almost smell the apples.    Great story about rough times and the strength of the people that endured them.