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 ofLittle Childrenand The Leftovers
"Tender, eccentric, wickedly funny and sage...gives full voice to Jane
Hamilton's storytelling gifts." - Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank
and Under the Wide and Starry Sky
