The Family Orchard

Rating:
Summary: almost 4 stars--it has its moments
Review: "The Family Orchard" is a book I was saving for a rainy day. It had gotten wonderful reviews and I had been looking forward to it. Unfortunately it didn't live up to its billing.

The story is a rambling account of a Palestinian (later Israeli) Jewish family. At the roots of the family tree are two 19th century European Jewish immigrants to Jerusalem. They marry, have kids, their kids marry and have kids, etc. down to the present. The book is episodic, with the most detailed narrative devoted to the most recent branches of the family, who, aptly enough, make their living as fruit growers and orchard owners. The author uses the literary conceit of matching her father's scanty account of the family history with her own imaginings of it. At times this is effective, but at other times it has an artificial ring to it. The main metaphor of the book, that of grafting new stock onto old, is given a rather heavy handed factual treatment at the end of the book--all you ever wanted to know about tree grafting but never cared to ask.

Overall, I found the book frustrating. There were parts that were absolutely charming and parts that were quite powerful. The story of Gabi, the "different" child, was as heartrending a description of a family quietly devastated as any I've read. The descriptions of the twins and their grandfather were wonderful, as was the story of the founding pair. But the major problem was that the book was just too episodic. Several of the earlier chapters had been published separately as short stories, and it showed.

I wouldn't quite call the book disjointed, because I think that Eve was trying to hint at the fragmentary nature of what we know about our family histories and the individuals from who we are descended. Most of us know only a few scattered facts about the lives of our forebears. There is much that is unknown to us and we have to fill the gaps with our imagination. I think that's what Eve is doing in this work that seems to be based on her own family history. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it?s an interesting attempt nonetheless.


Rating:
Summary: A creative first effort
Review: I have to admit that after reading some of the reviews of "The Family Orchard" my expectations were a little high, so I'll couch my disappontment in praise. This story of a family's history interwoven with the development of Israel was fascinating at first. Eve does a fine job at the beginning of giving you a small glimpse into some aspect of the lives of different members of her family tree. I thought it was very creative to juxtapose the father's knowledge/memory of one of the narrator's ancestors, and then to show a "true" glimpse into that person's heart and mind. This conceit works well until we approach modern times. At that point, Eve's characterizations become too shallow and sketchy to keep the reader's interest. I read 3-4 books of fiction a week, and I have to admit that I didn't even finish this one! Also there are times when this novel really feels written, the text gets a little labored and the author's writing obscures the story. Still, an ambitious and admirable debut

Rating:
Summary: Eve makes you feel like a member of the family
Review: I really liked this book. Nomi Eve makes you feel like a member of this long extended family. I did not find the book boring at all, in fact, I looked forward to times when I could sit down and read it. I found myself wondering about the characters when I was not reading it.

I especially appreciated the way in which Nomi portrayed the part of the family that dealt with a child with a disability. Having a child with a disability myself, I understood the fear, the doubt, and the helplessness.

This book is about relationships and family. It is a wonderful read and I would highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Eve makes you feel like a member of the family
Review: I wanted to like this book. It sounded fascinating. It could have been great.

Instead, it ended up being in increasingly dull romance novel. If I wanted that, I would have gotten something from the grocerystore bookshelf.

Instead of a storyline or a sense of the rich history of Palestine, it resorts to graphic sex to keep the readers attention. And not even THAT kept my attention. I actually found myself groaning and saying, "Not again" and trying to flip passed it all. That was all there was to these characters. Copulating in various places that they "shouldn't". I would put the book down and the next night pick it up to read and not even remember what it was about. I finally gave up. That's $$$ I'll never get back...

Rating:
Summary: Ended up giving it away to Goodwill...
Review: I wanted to like this book. It sounded fascinating. It could have been great.

Instead, it ended up being in increasingly dull romance novel. If I wanted that, I would have gotten something from the grocerystore bookshelf.

Instead of a storyline or a sense of the rich history of Palestine, it resorts to graphic sex to keep the readers attention. And not even THAT kept my attention. I actually found myself groaning and saying, "Not again" and trying to flip passed it all. That was all there was to these characters. Copulating in various places that they "shouldn't". I would put the book down and the next night pick it up to read and not even remember what it was about. I finally gave up. That's $$$ I'll never get back...

Rating:
Summary: Sorry, didn't like it a bit
Review: Like a lot of reviewers, I thought the concept sounded interesting. I usually love this kind of generational epic, but this one, is really tedious. I don't enjoy the writing or the descriptions at all. The idea of her starting many of the chapters with an overview of her family history in her fathers' words, and then her elaborating was kind of cool...at first. But, after a few chapters, it was clear that all it would amount to was her father's family narrative and her descriptions of what the characters did in bed. Blah, Blah, Blah. If I wanted graphic sexual descriptions about people that I don't care what happens to, I'll get porn.

Rating:
Summary: Boring and poorly written!!!!!
Review: Nomi Eve takes an interesting approach to a novel on her family history. Using a few paragraph at the beginning of each chapter subtitled "my father writes", Eve lays down family history as recorded by her father. Following the "father" paragraphs is an imagined embellishment based on these stories that she was told.
The story begins in Palestine in 1837. The history of this Jewish family is interesting because parts of it are factual and a general overview of this historical period is accurate(the author documents several sources that helped and inspired her). The manner in which the story is told gets to be a bit disjointed and the flow of the story seems impeeded. Some characters are so full and lush, and several are very one dimensional
Another facet to the novel is the information on life with an orchard. The family has a citrus orchard and the facts on grafting, along with detailed drawings and a manual of orchard terms attempts to draw you into the life of the family and to confirm their reality. It too is an interesting method, although questionably effective if that was the intent.
Overall this was an interesting novel and in this era of religious/political unrest it was an interesting take on a Jewish perspective and that in itself makes it worth the time to read.

Rating:
Summary: (1.5) Needs pruning...
Review: The Family Orchard begins with the linking of "what my father says" and "what I say", alternating perspectives as each new member of the family tree is introduced. As well, each succeeding chapter adds diagrams of the growing family.

The scene is Palestine in 1837, certainly a fascinating period of historical perspective. So I was disappointed as I read further into the book and lost any sense of connectedness. I was unable to continue: the relatives became more confusing, their chapters too short to retain in memory. When a writer brings history to life, flesh and blood with human failings, it becomes knowable and informative, almost visual. This book did not offer that reality to me.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Ultimately this novel goes in too many directions. It starts off strong with rich sensuality but about half-way through it loses its strength.