The Apple Orchard

Beautiful.  Beautiful and predictable - but in a good way.  

It’s funny, I seem to always want a story to go a certain way and when it does, I’m all; ‘yup, saw that coming from a mile away’.  But when it doesn’t, I get pissed.  

Regardless, The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs was a nice little getaway.  It took a week or two to read which is an appropriate time frame for a pregnant wifey with a 1.5 year old, and it was somewhat of a page turner, but as far as literary depth - not so much.  However, I’m not complaining.

This is the summary that drew me in prior to reading the book:

Tess Delaney makes a living returning stolen treasures to their rightful owners. She loves illuminating history, filling the spaces in people’s hearts with stories of their family legacies. But Tess’s own history is filled with gaps: a father she never met, and a mother who spent more time traveling than with her daughter. Then Dominic Rossi arrives on the doorstep of the San Francisco shop Tess hopes to buy, and he tells her that the grandfather she never knew is in a coma. Tess has been named in his will to inherit half of Bella Vista, a hundred-acre apple orchard in the magical Sonoma town called Archangel. The rest is willed to Isabel Johansen. A half sister she hadn’t heard of.

The author has a lovely way of painting a picture of a gloriously warm and sunny small Sonoma town that piqued this pregnant woman’s interest just ever so slightly into considering taking a sip of a light white (even with 7 weeks to go).  The characters are believable and interesting and the recipes at the beginning of most chapters also heighten taste buds interest and kitchen skills.

But perhaps the best part of the novel lies in the flashbacks of a 1939 world when German soldiers were ransacking homes and terrorizing families in countries like Poland.  These awful situations are given hope and life when we are introduced to one character - Magnus - who possesses quick witted thinking and sharp skills.  He easily gets his own skin out of trouble on a regular basis with the Germans, but also by chance, he saves the life of a young woman.  Fast-forward 60 plus years to current relationships that will be effected by this small act of kindness that happened so long ago.

‘Shop girl’ (a blog that I follow) recommended this read so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised or disappointed that it wasn’t a full on Pillars of the Earth or The Alchemist type.  I’m just hoping The Drums of Autumn (next book I’ll be diving into) stimulate and satisfy my reading needs.  It’s been a little bit of a while since I’ve had that book rush.

Thanks for all of the book suggestions and please keep them coming!  I’ve got three waiting in the wings thanks to you guys!  Finding Alaska is next in line after Drums of Autumn and four different girls recommended this one to me!  Really excited.  Time to get my read on!