Orchard

BOOK DESCRIPTION: The best-selling author of Montana 1948, Larry Watson spins an unforgettable story of obsession and betrayal, set against the stark backdrop of rural Wisconsin. Like so many women who crossed the lonely Atlantic before her, Sonja Skordahl is told that she will have a new life in America. Yet once she comes to this country, she soon finds herself defined, like so many other mid-twentieth century women, by her roles as mother and wife. She marries Henry House, a third-generation orchardist, in picturesque Door Country, Wisconsin, and together they set about the business of raising their two children. But tragedy soon interrupts that placid life, and out of a desperate concern for her family, Sonja agrees to pose for Ned Weaver, an internationally acclaimed artist. Under Weaver's gaze, Sonja gains a new identity. Her beauty has always made her an object of desire, but now she becomes a muse as well. When both Ned Weaver and Henry House insist on possessing her, their jealousies threatening to erupt into violence, Sonja must find a way to placate both men without sacrificing her hard-won sense of self. Obsession and possession, art and responsibility, the varieties of love and beauty--Watson weaves his provocative themes in prose both lyrical and rugged. Orchard has the drama of a classical tragedy and the texture and subtlety of an Impressionist painting.