The Orchard

What I like about books such as this is not only the story told but that I, the reader, is challenged with what the writer is trying to say be that via philosophical thoughts, analogy, metaphor and much more.

What I really really do like! is when an author brings to my attention people and places I have either not heard of or know little about. For example, at one point, the unnamed narrator is given a gift of the works of Canadian classical pianist Glen Gould. As I type these words, Gould has appeared in a streaming playlist I am listening to with a piece from his Goldberg Variations. Perfect timing, I mused to myself, I must explore Gould works later. I must also look to see the art of Stella Bowen, I must revisit the art of Ian Fairweather, art that I have seen and enjoyed, I must also one day read Virginia Woolf.

Which brings me to what I got out of this odd little read, and that is rather a lot. The unnamed narrator tells what may be an autobiographical tale told in 5 parts. Some combines what I presume is lifetime experience and then adds essays, history and myth into the tale told. This seemed a little ham fisted at times as opposed to being seamless, but did not stop the enjoyment of the journey. I can be truthfully honest and say that I had no idea what the old fairy tale of The Handless Maiden that was referred to occasionally through the telling and specifically at the end had to do with the main protagonists, but then analogy and metaphor have never been a particular for me.

Be that as it may, this read had its charms and challenges. In the chapter The Adultery Factor the factor of adultery from a women's (feminist) point of view was thought-provoking. The chapter Sight and Solitude, an essay on just that, sight and solitude, was for someone as myopic as me so good I reread it immediately. For those of us that read a book about 297mm from our nose as the best distance to get anything clear, the unnamed narrator had a lot to say that I for sure related to. The Winterbourne was a chapter reminiscing for school days unrewarding. The Orchard was about the gardens that some love.

The solitude of the individual and their garden may just have been the pervading theme. Maybe? I am not sure, but then so what. If a read such as this provokes such thoughtfulness in me, I can hardly complain.

Recommended to those that like their solitude and their garden.