Publisher: 28th July 2021 by Harlequin Enterprises (Australia)
Pages: 464 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: historical fiction
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Synopsis:
The fire took everything - except two women's fighting spirits. A sweeping, big-hearted Australian family saga for readers of Judy Nunn and Victoria Purman. 7 February, 1967. Walls of flame reduce much of Tasmania to ash.
Young schoolteacher Catherine Turner rushes to the Huon Valley to find her family's apple orchard destroyed, her childhood home in ruins and her brother dead. Despite her father's declaration that a woman will never run the orchard, Catherine resolves to rebuild the family business.
After five sons, Catherine's friend and neighbour, Annie Pearson, is overjoyed by the birth of a much longed for daughter. As Annie and her husband Dave work to repair the damage to their orchard, Dave's friend Mark pitches in, despite the fact that Annie wants him gone. Mark has moved his family to the valley to escape his life in Melbourne, but his wife has disappeared leaving chaos in her wake and their young son Charlie in Mark's care.
Catherine becomes fond of Charlie, whose strange upbringing has left him shy and withdrawn. However, the growing friendship between Mark and Catherine not only scandalises the small community but threatens a secret Annie is desperate to keep hidden.
Through natural disasters, personal calamities and the devastating collapse of the apple industry, Catherine, Annie and those they love battle to save their livelihoods, their families and their secrets.
My Thoughts
The Last of the Apple Blossom is the debut novel by Australian author Mary-Lou Stephens and it regales a wonderful family saga. Here is a sweeping tale that begins dramatically with the 1967 southern Tasmanian bushfires and concludes many years later with a tearful, tissue worthy ending.
There are many interesting components to this tale - it really does cleverly encapsulate so much. At its heart is lead character Catherine and the struggles she experiences as a woman trying to cement her place in the world of the 1960s and 1970s. The way Mary-Lou weaves historical fact and fiction throughout all the threads of her engaging tale is seamless.
What makes this feminine journey unique is how it all takes place within the Tasmanian apple industry. I grew up knowing that ‘Tassie’ was the Apple Isle and it was fascinating to learn more about the history of this humble fruit. Mary-Lou has certainly done her homework with everything from the vivid descriptions - whether they be of the fruit orchard, Huon Valley or the terror that was the 1967 fire - it all comes to life through impeccable writing. She not only accurately captured the operations of the apple industry and politics of the day but also seemingly simple social things from attitudes to drinks such as ‘Tang’. The reader will have to take care and refer to chapter heading dates to recognise the time periods and the intervals between chapters.
Ending in the present but mainly focused on recent history, Mary-Lou cleverly details small town life of the late 1960s early 70s. There are many poignant and heart-wrenching events that, in time, would come to be viewed as social/economic watershed moments outlined in this intricately woven tale. This is such an engaging story set against a well researched factual background that will sit with you long after you have turned the last tearful page.
‘At the end of the driveway she turned towards the ever-flowing river, beyond to the purple peaks of the Hartz Mountains and the arcing vault of cold blue sky. So much space. So much emptiness. And her, so small in the midst of it. So small and so utterly alone.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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