A quiet, simple story about an old man and his orchard. The plot is minimal - some reflections on family - but the writing about gardening, cooking and the outdoors is lovely. ( )

I started off really enjoying this book but half way through I became bored with reading about the processing of another seasonal fruit. I would have preferred more emphasis on the family. I suppose, however it was a story about the contemplations of an elderly man in the final year of his life who lived much of it alone. ( )

This is a gorgeous story, gentle and lilting, taking us through the cycles of flowering and fruiting in Mr Wigg’s orchard. Mr Wigg is a retired farmer who has recently lost his wife and misses her every day. His son and wife and two young children live next door on the farm that has belonged to the Wiggs for generations, originally as part of a much larger property, but now much diminished, with the last parcel about to be sold to a wine maker. Mr Wigg is sad about this because not only will it be the end of the Wigg family farm but also he will miss his son and grandchildren, Fiona and Lachlan, who visit often to cook luscious cakes and desserts with him from the fruits harvested from his orchard. Although his son would like him to move to a retirement home in town, Mr Wigg is content on his own, working in his vegetable garden and his orchard and making fancy ironwork as a hobby in his workshop. Mr Wigg has nurtured and cared for each of his fruit trees since they were saplings many years ago and can hear them singing and muttering to him when he tends them or picks their fruit.

I love the way this novel is constructed, broken up into four sections aligning with the seasons and with each chapter named after a fruit or simple event in Mr Wigg’s life. The novel is full of the loveliest prose and also humour as Mr Wigg looks back on his life, plans a sculpture for a competition, helps his new neighbours plant their vineyard and listens to the cricket on the radio (this is the 70s so Lillee, Marsh and the Chappell brothers rule the pitch). When his grandchildren visit, Mr Wigg tells them the story of the Peach King and Orchard Queen – an enchanting fairy tale in it’s own right. The cover of the book states that this is ‘a novel that celebrates the small things in life’ and indeed it does, but it also reminds us that they are also important things that we should hold on to and treasure while we can. This is a very classy and elegant novel from a gifted writer. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I think author Inga Simpson sees it as a "nature" book, but to me the book was fundamentally about family. Mr Wigg is aging and this is his reflection on his life and family. His relationship with his children seems the main focus, although there's plenty of other stuff to keep you interested. I'm not sure about the talking trees, but they somehow did seem to fit in. Not everything has worked out well in his family relationships, and that remains so at the end of the book. Life is like that, isn't it? ( )

I won a copy of Mr Wigg in a Twitter competition and I’m really glad that I did. Otherwise I don’t think I would have read this wonderfully gentle book about getting old and gardening. After reading that sentence, you’re probably thinking that you wouldn’t care for it, but the book is so lyrical and mesmerising that you’ll fall under its spell. Simpson has done brilliantly with her novel.

Unsurprisingly, this book is about Mr Wigg, a widower living alone on a property in rural Australia. Times are changing in the 1970s – not only is the cricket playing short ‘one day’ games but Mr Wigg’s son gives up the land to move away, replaced by people who want to grow grapes for wine! Mr Wigg’s beloved fruit trees are the one constant in his life and he cares for them deeply. He also does a number of wonderful things with the produce – pies, jams and syrups. Her grandchildren are also a delight in his life and he often cooks with them while telling them fairy tales about the peaches in the orchard. Mr Wigg then has an idea for a sculpture after hearing about a competition running in town – but can an old man beat the young artists?

This book has a gentle pace as it trundles through the seasons. There is not a great deal of excitement, but it just works as Mr Wigg is such a lovable character. He could easily be your grandfather, plus he has incredible cooking and baking knowledge for a man of that era! Simpson tantalisingly describes the goodies Mr Wigg produces from the orchard, which in turn inspired me to produce more in the kitchen and remember my childhood surrounded by fruit trees.

The day to day life of Mr Wigg and his orchard are contrasted with the story Mr Wigg tells his grandchildren about the Peach King. This is a beautiful fairy tale and I found myself looking forward to the next instalment. The rivalries between the trees in the orchard were also a nice fantastical diversion from the inevitability of getting older and frailer. It is interesting that we don’t find out that Mr Wigg has Parkinson’s Disease ‘til later on – I suspect this is only as he comes to terms with it and realises his limitations as it worsens.

As I was reading this, I felt I knew what was going to happen at the end – it was somewhat inevitable, but I really didn’t want it to happen! The ending brought a tear to my eye – it was very fitting and handled well by Simpson.

I loved this book as it was kind of like slow food – time to sit and savour the prose and story rather than dashing through the pages madly. Warm and beautiful, it celebrates the life of older Australians.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )