In the Orchard

Minot (The Brambles) ponders motherhood in her nuanced if glacially paced latest, set during a day of apple picking. Maisie Moore, who just delivered her fourth child by C-section, dreams of the good life for her children and husband, Neil, while they spend beyond their means. Maisie is a protective mother but becomes as easily frustrated by looming financial woes as she is moved by the softness and smell of newborn Esme’s skin. She’s hypersensitive at events like an ambulance passing her or seeing an injured deer on the roadway, and is moved when her husband interacts with their children. The orchard trip provides more opportunities for the soul searching and memories that comprise most of the narrative, but Maisie’s impressions are continually clouded over by florid exposition: “How strange it was that feelings and reactions were what make up lives!” Sometimes these feelings are provocatively expressed; while chatting with a young mother at the orchard, Maisie compares Esme wrapped across her chest to a “small automatic weapon.” Though these observations offer an intimate view of a mother vexed by worries, they don’t cohere into a narrative. It’s a convincing portrait, but the lack of plot or tension makes it tough to stay interested. Agent: Melanie Jackson, Melanie Jackson Agency. (Apr.)