The Orchard

Written by Peter Heller

Narrated by Kate Marcin

“Like Mark Twain and Toni Morrison, Peter Heller has a rare talent that hooks both literary and commercial readers.” –Elle magazine

From the bestselling author of The Dog Stars and The River, The Orchard is an unforgettable coming of age tale reminding us that, even during the hardest of times, love, friendship, and the enduring power of nature will prevail.

Hayley and her seven-year-old daughter, Frith, live in a rustic cabin with no electricity in the foothills of Vermont’s Green Mountains. One of the world’s most renowned translators of poetry from China’s Tang dynasty, Hayley walked away from her career and her drug-addicted husband to raise Frith alone in a land populated not by ambition-fueled academics but by hawks, beavers, and other wild things—including their exuberant Bernese mountain mutt, Bear. They get by on what little they earn from their overgrown apple orchard and the syrup they make from their maple trees. Frith—precocious, homeschooled, and a voracious reader—considers herself queen of this backwoods paradise. She is too young to understand the pain and regret that have followed her mother here.

Season after season, it is the three of them—mother, daughter, and dog—until the sunny spring day when Rose Lattimore appears at their door. Rose is an artist and kindred spirit whose unexpected friendship upends Hayley and Frith’s solitary existence. Rosie takes the edge off the worries of day-to-day survival and encourages the playful aspects of living in nature: fishing, picnics, swimming in a quarry. Frith thrives under the loving care of Hayley and Rosie and, with a child’s innocence, assumes their happiness will last forever. Instead, their lives are shattered by unexpected tragedy and Frith must come to terms with heartbreak and fear.

Peter Heller is unique in his ability to capture the beauty and nuance of the natural world and its pull on women and men. In The Orchard, he pairs evocative storytelling with jewel-like poems—Hayley’s translations of her most beloved Tang poet, Li Xue—that echo Hayley and Frith’s life in the wilderness and tell their own tale of mother and daughter. By turns joyful and searing, The Orchard examines the fragility of childhood, motherhood, romantic love, and friendship, and celebrates the enduring solace of nature. At a time when so many of us are gripped by fear and uncertainty, Heller’s story is like a calming deep breath.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Everand Originals
• Release date: Oct 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781094400051

Peter Heller

PETER HELLER is the award-winning author of THE DOG STARS, a New York Times bestseller and a Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle and Atlantic Book of the Year, and THE RIVER, an Observer Thriller of the Year. Born and raised in New York, he has travelled the world as an expedition kayaker, writing about challenging descents in the Pamirs, the Tien Shan mountains, the Caucuses, Central America and Peru. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he received an MFA in fiction and poetry, and won a Michener fellowship for his epic poem 'The Psalms of Malvine'.

Reviews for The Orchard

[ytq4gx4wzn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mother daughter journey through grief and nature. This book sings beautifully

[Valeria Markova · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Simply beautiful! I felt like meditating in every phrase. The narrator is perfect.

[TaxBacc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nice, heartwarming story about a family of 2 and a dog in an Orchard. A story about nothing and everything. And poetry.

[Jamie R · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful story. I enjoyed the visuals of nature this brought out.

[annieinchania · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful piece of writing. I enjoyed this very much.

[leon gork · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a pleasure to listen to this story where one can feel the gentleness of all the characters, beautifully described

[Heather Cook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fabulously written book. This pulls you in and makes you want to keep on with this story line for as long as possible.

[Edward Dilloway · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The poetry and emotions of the writing are absolutely superb

[Norma Millner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book. A bit unconventional at times but interesting.

[allisonewoldt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The vital importance of relationships--to others, ourselves, and the natural world--are expressed eloquently in this truly lovely , poignant tale, and I loved how the weaving back and forth through time was achieved beautifully with great effect.

[Rebecca Byrne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful story of family, blood and otherwise, his-“stories” that make up who we are, and how those bonds and tales shape our future. Not all lives are “happily ever after”, but we manage to make the best of what we have.

[David Hawley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another beautiful Heller. This is uplifting and gentle. Exceptional flexibility from the author of Dog Star.

[Heidi Piper-Ward · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful images painted in my mind, quirky characters, lovely story

[Lydia Durkin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The beautiful relationship between mother and daughter and the untraditional upbringing.

[janet jones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written. Something different - no murders - a lot about love, not sexual. It's mostly about a mother and daughter and their beautiful relationship. Very well done.

[MaxieJane Frazier · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Poignant. Heller writes the truth of the academic world, nature, love, and loss.

[joanmdewittyahoo.com · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a heartfelt book. It helped me to process life and death.

[Lu Ward Hale · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The descriptions were fantastic. A true ode to the simple things in life

[Maria Elena Maravilla · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The love between mother and daughter is unbreakable. ❤️.?

[Kim Bonetti · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting, twist and turns keeps you holding to the ending.

[Mariam Shah-Rais · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely beautiful. Full of tenderness and highly evocative. A story about love and loss and remaining on your own true path.

[Jeanetta du Preez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes we have to choose to let go. I'm glad I finished the book as I was tempted to stop listening with all the F words etc but it turned out to be quite deep. Is there a follow up? Sort of just stopped...

[Sandy Alcorn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. There is absolutely no plot or character development

[Melinda Budgell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Believable plot, captivating characters! Easy listening! Highly recommend this book.

[Karen Duling · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

loved the first 1/2 - bored by the 2nd half.... couldn't even finish it. it was like 2 different books

[Lin Outterson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a beautifully crafted story, including some truly lovely poetry, and characters that come to life. The narration was equally perfect.

[Colleen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I can't exactly pinpoint how I feel about this book, there were moments of attention, when she talked about Chinese literature.

[GMunro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story is beautiful. Listening to this was like walking through a museum of words, arranged and displayed with eloquence and artistry. I listened to it all in one sitting and could listen/read this multiple times.

[Salty · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a beautiful story of art and love. Reading it was like watching an artist paint. I definitely enjoyed it!

[Marjorie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful and poetic! Hard to believe author is a man!