At what point did you suspect time didn’t flow normally around Clearwater Orchard? Had you figured out the secret before Autumn’s confrontation with Sasha? What hints did you find, either while reading or in hindsight?
Created: 06/05/24
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At what point did you suspect time didn’t flow normally around Clearwater Orchard? Had you figured out the secret before Autumn’s confrontation with Sasha? What hints did you find, either while reading or in hindsight?
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From the beginning pages, it was clear that the concept of time would be an important element in the story. On her way to town with a load of pecans, Lil can't remember how long the road has been closed. Sasha's digital watch just shows four zeroes. Jason tells Lil, "You can't stop time." Autumn asks Sasha, "How long has t been like this?" speaking about the town's decay. Sasha can't answer. Autumn doesn't want anything from Sasha except more time. Lil's sense of time is measured in harvests. Sasha's watch still flashes zeroes. Lil says maybe Autumn needs more time before she can talk to Sasha. Sasha checks her watch again -- still zeroes. Autumn needs a little time to process.
Now, halfway through the book, Autumn finally tells Sasha that her thirtieth birthday was twenty-nine years ago. In the Autumnal Interlude with its oft repeated, "I always wondered if I should tell you," it becomes clearer what has happened to the town.
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I think the fires that people saw - the ones that weren't really there - or hadn't happened yet - were my first indication. Then the closed road made more sense - not that it was still closed but that they were working on it but it was never fixed. I saw that something was up when Autumn told Sasha that 29 yrs had passed and Sasha had no recollection of the movement of time.
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