Would I reread The Orchardist? Yes. I think that after I’ve cooked in literary classes for another decade (ha!), and built up my own “read” pile, I’d like to take a second peek at this one and see if my perspective blooms. Talmadge, Della, Angelene, and Jane will live within me for a while... Opening lines: “His face was as pitted as the moon. He was tall, broad-shouldered and thick without being stocky, though one could see how he would pass into stockiness; he had already taken on the barrel-chested sturdiness of an old man...”. Favorite passage: “How like the orchard she was. Because of her slowness and the attitude in which she held herself, seemingly deferent, quiet, it appeared even a harsh word would smite her. But it would not. She was like an egg encased in iron. She was the dream of the place that bore her, and she did not even know it”. Favorite characters: Caroline Middey (Talmadge’s neighbor): “Who has a childhood, she often said, in these parts? When one was born, death was right there waiting for you, right there in the room. And she would know this because as well as being the herbalist she was also the town’s midwife. You’d better learn to recognize his, Death’s face right away, she said”. About the Author: Amanda Coplin was born in Wenatchee, Washington. She received her BA from the University of Oregon and MFA from the University of Minnesota. A recipient of residencies from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the Omi International Arts Center at Ledig House in Ghent, New York, she lives in Portland, Oregon.