In California an old man named Magnus Johansen climbs the
ladder to begin the apple harvest, dreamily enjoying his
morning and THE APPLE ORCHARD. Meanwhile, Tess Delaney,
who
works for a San Francisco auction house, finds forgotten
treasures and establishes provenance, happy at her work -
but aware that she comes from a line of women who don't
keep men around for long.
We next meet Dominic Rossi, friend and neighbour of
Magnus. His career as a navy pilot ended with injury so
he
soaks up the relaxing sunlight - until he learns that
Magnus has fallen. When Dominic meets with Tess, at her
company's office, it's to give her some news about Magnus
-
whom Tess doesn't know, though he is her grandfather
according to Dominic, who now represents a bank trust in
Sonoma County. Tess can't help feeling a stab of
resentment. How come this young man got to be friends with
her grandfather, who knew of her existence, when Tess grew
up without relatives? Even harder news is to follow.
I liked the scrumptious apple recipes heading chapters,
Danish apple pie and apple chutney, interspersed with
other
delicacies such as Tweed kettle pie or lavender scones.
Some readers will be buying this book just for the
recipes. Also enjoyable is when Dominic takes Tess on a
journey in his seaplane, over the Bay, and when Tess
finally explores the wine country that she'd never made
time to visit.
The story gets slow in the middle, because everyone is
gradually meeting everyone else. Health troubles and
money
issues are discussed. This is contrasted with the terrible
uncertainty of life under the brownshirts in Copenhagen in
1941. Essentially the interwoven tale by Susan Wiggs asks
us to consider which is more important - treasures and
memories, or family and security. By putting her heroine
through life changes and reminding her that the office
still expects her to come in, the author encourages us to
explore, even if we already seem content. With plenty of
location detail and baking so good we can smell the waft
from the oven, THE APPLE ORCHARD will make new friends for
this popular author in a field which is more women's
fiction than romance, albeit with a strong fragrance of
love.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs brings
readers into the lush abundance of Sonoma County, in a
story
of sisters, friendship and the invisible bonds of history
that are woven like a spell around us.
Tess Delaney makes a living returning stolen treasures to
their rightful owners. She loves illuminating history,
filling the spaces in people's hearts with stories of
their
family legacies.
But Tess's own history is filled with gaps: a father she
never met, and a mother who spent more time traveling than
with her daughter.
Then Dominic Rossi arrives on the doorstep of the San
Francisco shop Tess hopes to buy, and he tells her that
the
grandfather she never knew is in a coma. Tess has been
named
in his will to inherit half of Bella Vista, a hundred-acre
apple orchard in the magical Sonoma town called Archangel.
The rest is willed to Isabel Johansen. A half sister she
hadn't heard of.
Isabel is everything Tess isn't: all softness to Tess's
hard
angles, warm and nurturing where Tess is tightly wound.
But
against the rich landscape of Bella Vista, with Isabel and
Dominic by her side, Tess begins to discover a world
filled
with the simple pleasures of food and family, of the warm
earth beneath her bare feet. A world where family comes
first and the roots of history run deep.
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