The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy is the author’s debut novel, a haunting and poetic exploration of life in rural Tennessee during the mid-20th century. The novel weaves together the lives of three men—an old orchard keeper, a young boy, and a fugitive—whose paths cross in a violent and mysterious landscape. McCarthy’s sparse, lyrical prose captures the beauty and desolation of the natural world, while also delving deeply into themes of isolation, mortality, and the struggle for identity. The novel is rich in symbolism, drawing on the harsh realities of life in the Appalachian foothills as well as the transcendent qualities of the human spirit. The Orchard Keeper is a meditation on the complexity of human relationships and the ways in which past actions reverberate through time. McCarthy’s distinctive style and exploration of the human condition make this novel a poignant and evocative work in the American literary canon.