Apr 07, 20161_Great_Book rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I think Chevalier is in a slump. I absolutely LOATHE Sadie Goodenough and she could have been cut from the story completely.
Plot and style of writing vary - it's like 3 mini stories grouped together, and goes from first person vernacular free-flow thinking to vague details in badly written letters, to third-person impersonal narrative by the end.
The apple tree story really doesn't have anything to do with the sequoia/redwood story, other than planting things in developing America. I am disappointed in this variance from Chevalier's usual tight, well-balanced narrative on more interesting topics with better developed characters. Her themes from European history better are much better than this American one.
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At the Edge of the Orchard