A new classic from the author of Oprah's Book Club picks
A Map of the World
and
The Book of Ruth
.
"This is the book Jane Hamilton was born to write... [it is] magnificent."
—
Ann Patchett,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Commonwealth
Mary Frances "Frankie" Lombard is fiercely in love with her family's sprawling apple orchard and the tangled web of family members who inhabit it. Content to spend her days planning capers with her brother William, competing with her brainy cousin Amanda, and expertly tending the orchard with her father, Frankie desires nothing more than for the rhythm of life to continue undisturbed. But she cannot help being haunted by the historical fact that some family members end up staying on the farm and others must leave. Change is inevitable, and threats of urbanization, disinheritance, and college applications shake the foundation of Frankie's roots. As Frankie is forced to shed her childhood fantasies and face the possibility of losing the idyllic future she had envisioned for her family, she must decide whether loving something means clinging tightly or letting go.
"Everything you could ask for in a coming-of-age novel— funny, insightful, observant, saturated with hope and melancholy."
Tom Perotta, author of
Little Children
The Leftovers
"Tender, eccentric, wickedly funny and sage...gives full voice to Jane Hamilton's storytelling gifts." - Nancy Horan, author of
Loving Frank
Under the Wide and Starry Sky