The Family Orchard

by Nomi Eve

Book Overview

In the bestselling tradition of The Red Tent, The Family Orchard is a spellbinding novel of one unforgettable family, the orchard they've tended for generations, and a love story that transcends the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375410767
• ISBN13: 9780375410765
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

orchard growing and old jerusalem

...two things i knew nothing about when i picked up this book. I found this family story of succeeding generations, renewing the cycle of life over and over, to be fascinating. The author takes the bare facts her father writes down and lets her imagination take her back to tell the stories of her ancestors, starting in Jerusalem in the 1830s. Her use of language is wonderful, and she adds tidbits of etymology throughout. The book is enhanced by 31 illustrations, a growing family tree, and an appendix explaining orchard terms. I'd like to refute the negative reviews that I don't think do the author justice. People seemed not to like this book for two reasons: it had graphic sex and it was boring. The only graphic sex was in the first chapter, for those that didnt read any further. In no way is this book filled with graphic sex or gratuitous sex scenes thrown in just to sell the book. One person compared it to pornography and I can't imagine what book they were reading! I also did not find it boring, when I read fiction I want to learn about new things and places. Not everyone has been to Israel or has studied the history of pre-1948 Palestine. I am amazed this book has't come out in paperback (update, it appears it is now in paperback and i'm glad to see people reading it). I would highly recommend it and already have to some friends.

A superlative book

I finished The Family Orchard recently. It took only a few daysto read it this first time because the world Eve has created is filledwith so much love and interest that I couldn't put it down. I snuckit in on my 'lunch' break, grabbed a few pages on my walk home, andpeeked at it in the elevator to and from my office. Reading it waslike wrapping myself in a cashmere throw with a whimsical design --both luxurious and casual, warm and inviting. There is so much that Ilearned in it. I knew very little about Israeli history, for one.The reading of this book has inspired me to learn about the manypeople who held this land for so long and the struggle to definefreedom that seems never ending there. I felt that I met so manynew friends -- people I wanted to spend my evenings with and now theyhave all returned to their own lands, the visit is over. I also felta bit of shame, of embarrassment because of the intimacy of thestories... I mean the intimate knowledge that I gained as a readerinto who these people were (or who Eve imagined they were). Theirlives were dreamlike, magical just like our own dream lives. Loveholds the book together -- a love for family, ... a couple's love andthe author's love of words. The strength and abundance of love likethis is rare and usually shared with only a few people. To share itso powerfully and with such imagination made me blush with pleasureand shyness. It was a superlative book, the kind you find sometimesburied in your 'must read' stack; the kind that you share with friendsbut share with yourself over and over again through rereads; the kindthat changes perception and opens a window into the world behind thetangible. Pick it up and read it.

Share with friends and family

It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel. Eve paints vivid characters that you can reach out and touch. The characters experience the glory of everyday life from the mundane to the extraordinary, from love and sex to death and sorrow. Each generation in this family "tree" captures a different facet of this experience we call life. In addition, the unique structure of the novel is extraordinary. The interplay of narrative voices (reminiscent of Talmudic commentaries) reflects the interplay of voices in everday life. This reader appreciates how the author questions the notion of where truth lies. This is a "big" book, Ms. Eve has masterfully succeeded in creating a new way to tell a story that everyone can relate to. Tell your family and friends that they will be rewarded many times over when they read The Family Orchard.

THE PICK OF THE CROP!

Every once in a while a writer captivates even the most disparate critics. Such an author is Nomi Eve, whose debut novel has garnered accolades for its imagination, narrative strength, and lyrical prose. For those unfamiliar with "The Family Orchard," it is a multigenerational novel encompassing five generations who live through Palestine's turbulent history and the birth of Israel. Readers are privy to love affairs and long hidden family secrets by characters who are fully drawn and fascinating - Ms. Eve is a master storyteller as she relates her tale through the mouths of a father and a fictional Nomi. To hear the accomplished Fritz Weaver and the inspired Polly Draper bring these individuals to life is tantamount to Broadway's finest. Tony Award-winner Weaver is by turns taciturn, sometimes didactic, while the ebullient Polly Draper never misses a beat in embroidering memory. This pairing is inspired, as are their readings.

memory and mystery

This book is a fabulous read! I could not put it down once I started. The author has succeeded on two levels: first the book has a great narrative; you really care about these people. Second - the author weaves a spell of enchantment of mythology, memory and sensuality that pervades the story with an atmosphere of love for both family history and the more direct physical love of a woman for a man.