Whose story did you find the most poignant? The most joyous?

Whose story did you find the most poignant? The most joyous? What other emotions did you have as you read about each person's experience?

The Osgood's earlier days in the house together as they did the cuttings for the apple trees, then saw them come to fruition in the confines of their own home, and the planting and abundance of outcome were joyous times for the family. Faith's love experience was probably most poignant to me..her conflict between wanting an enriched relationship, versus her sense of obligation to her sister. Then, when she took that final step, the outcome was heart wrenching from a differing viewpoints. One was what happened next between the sisters; the other was the letter that the beau left for her. In the end, the house takes what it wants.

The most poignant: Chapter 10 when there was the description of going into the yellow house and reviewing all of the items of human/earthly possessions. It brought me back to my ancestors farm home and land where we had to go through all of my family's generations of "things." I was tearful and had to stop reading a few times because I felt that Daniel Mason was actually there looking at MY personal family history.

Then, of course the ending..........where the book then made total sense to me.

Definitely the most disturbing to me was the ending of the Osgood sisters’ story, but the beginning of their story was poignant, as the father discovered the apple tree and they started their orchard.

I really enjoyed the story of the apple...until it got really dark. I thought the story of the botanical scholar was the most poignant.

I thought the story of the historian was the most joyous. He ended up with a "happily ever after" ending, even though he was dead. I found most of the other tales somewhat sad - lots of unhappiness and longing. Perhaps the one I felt the saddest for was the artist. Had he been born later he could have lived his life in the open.

I too thought that the story about the sisters was the most disturbing. Isolation, fear, resentment, misguided loyalty, exacerbation of mental illness…all of these concepts we have become all too familiar with because of the pandemic. It just really emphasizes to me that human beings are social creatures. You can be an introvert or shy but you still need social interaction to be healthy. Poor Alice! How tragic!

As to joy, that award goes to Charles Osgood who actually achieved his heart's desire. Also, Morris Lakeman's story was happier than most. I felt sorriest for William and Erasmus and their families, who could not understand that it is possible to love different people in different ways. I felt the loneliness and isolation of so many of the characters to be heartbreaking.

I agree with other readers that the Charles Osgood story of finding the site of the "perfect" apple tree and planting an orchard with the cuttings from this tree as the happiest years of the yellow house in the North Woods. I would love to taste the Osgood Wonder! There were many sad residents of the house in the North Woods. The one that struck the saddest note for me was Lillian's story. Her anguish related to her son Robert's mental illness was life-long and most poignant.

I think Lillian's story was most poignant. She seems in the most distress and she definitely lost a lot. It was hard not to feel for her.

The most joyous was probably Charles Osgood. He finally got his wish of his apple orchard.