At once intimate and epic, "The Orchardist" is historical fiction at its best, in the grand literary tradition of Michael Ondaatje, Marilynne Robinson, and Annie Proulx. In her stunningly original and haunting debut novel, Coplin evokes a powerful sense of place, mixing tenderness, and violence.

At once intimate and epic, The Orchardist is historical fiction at its best, in the grand literary tradition of William Faulkner, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Ondaatje, Annie Proulx, and Toni Morrison.

In her stunningly original and haunting debut novel, Amanda Coplin evokes a powerful sense of place, mixing tenderness and violence as she spins an engrossing tale of a solitary orchardist who provides shelter to two runaway teenage girls in the untamed American West, and the dramatic consequences of his actions.