- Hardcover: 246 pages
- Publisher: Random House (June 1979)
- ISBN-10: 0394439368
- ISBN-13: 978-0394439365
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This first novel by McCarthy (whose All the Pretty Horses won the National Book Award) is set in a remote Tennessee community between the world wars.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Book Description
Set in a small, remote community in rural Tennessee in the years between the two world wars, "The Orchard Keeper" is an early classic from one of America's finest and most celebrated authors. It tells of John Wesley Rattner, a young boy, and Marion Sylder, an outlaw and bootlegger who, unbeknownst to either of them, has killed the boy's father. Cormac McCarthy's debut novel is a magnificent evocation of an American landscape, and of a lost American time. 'The feeling for the land and seasons is so intense as to be part of the story and there are scenes one will never forget ...A complicated and evocative exposition of the transience of life' - "Harper's". 'A true American original' - "Newsweek".
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not too shabby to be McCarthy's first,
By Faulknernut "Faulknernut" (atlanta, georgia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Orchard Keeper (Paperback)
THE ORCHARD KEEPER, Cormac McCarthy's first novel, explores the nature of new versus old ways of life. It's a novel on nature. It deals primarily with three men: John Wesley, a young man coming of age; Marion Sylder, a bootlegger; and Uncle Ather, a hilarious, elderly man who refuses to take any crap from anyone. While these three run into each other throughout the novel, they are also connected to each other in a way through which none of them are aware--through the death of Kenneth Rattner. McCarthy's novel appears to be more of a character analysis than a plot driven story. While a plot does exist, it is not incredibly strong nor prominent. It's more like a series of anecdotes. However, the character depth and symbolism found in the pages of this book are tremendously wonderful. It's definitely a book worth reading again in order to catch all of these symbols and meanings. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy analyzing works, not someone who is just looking for something pleasurable to read. It's definitely not like reading Harry Potter : ). For example, at the beginning of this work, the narrator jumps from person to person, telling part of each one's story with little or no signal of whom is being spoken of. You have to take your time to figure out who the narrator is talking about. This can be rather frustrating at first, so beware! However, if you can tolerate this writing style and don't expect much of a plot, the piece is rather enjoyable, filled with comic elements and brilliance.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing at times, frustrating at other times,
By
This review is from: The Orchard Keeper (Paperback)
I am a big William Faulkner fan and after reading the great four (Absalom.., As I Lay Dying, Light In August, and The Sound...) tried All the Pretty Horses a few years ago. Everyone said it was great so like a good prisoner of the "you must read this syndrone", I started it. I found it incredibly beautiful in terms of prose style and language but after 100 or so pages I did not really care about the characters. I thought it was my fault and not McCarthy's so I left it and decided that I would reapproach it later on. It is now three years later and I figured I would read his first book before I started the now completed Border trilogy. This is a tremendously artful and in many ways wonderful book. Nobody since Faulkner has as dense and intense a prose style. You must have an unabridged dictionary beside you to really get everything he gives you. The reason I write this review is for those who want a deep, meaningful book and are thinking of reading this like I was. If you are such a person and do not have alot of time on your hands, I would suggest going elsewhere for one reason only. Another Amazon reader talked about the plot of this novel as being extraordinarily inconsequential. I think that this is McCarthy's point. It is a story about the land and people that personify independance. It is about an age of rural Southern life that no longer exists. It is not supposed to tie it's points up in ribbons and to keep you passionately turning pages unless your there for the art of it (of which there is a considerable amount). My frustration was that when I finished this, I got it and appreciated it but was not particularly moved in any way. I read the last three chapters again to see if I was an idiot or if this was just an erudite, muted text. I came out of it thinking that that's exactly what it was. If you haven't read the four big Faulkner's or All the Pretty Horses, start there, this is a book written by a master but it left me too lukewarm to give it more than three stars.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gestating Genius,
By
This review is from: The Orchard Keeper (Paperback)
This is not in the same league as McCarthy's later masterpieces. The prose is unnecessarily difficult. The writing is often murky, and it is difficult sometimes to tell exactly what is happening. But the story is original, and it is worth reading if you are a McCarthy fan. This is an early work, and as such it is a fascinating look at genius in its developmental stage.
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