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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
What a wild romp through an area of Florida I've never heard of with an eccentric cast of characters.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I read this because:
1. Everything Susan Orlean writes is brilliant, and
2. I’m going through an Orchid Phase, wherein I rescue grocery store clearance orchids and try to convince them to survive and rebloom.
1. Everything Susan Orlean writes is brilliant, and
2. I’m going through an Orchid Phase, wherein I rescue grocery store clearance orchids and try to convince them to survive and rebloom.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this because everyone else in my class found it excessively descriptive, tedious, and boring. I absolutely love it. I find it fascinating that Orlean uncovered such a complex web of information and history based on a newspaper article on an orchid.
Full of interesting information about Florida, the Seminoles, and of course, orchids.
This was long and meandering, but in a peculiarly engaging way. Orlean is dry and witty and her descriptions are lush in the same way one imagines the Florida she describes
3.5 stars? I started out being so into this book and it got a bit dry and took me almost two months to finish, and I live in FL, and also never miss a night of reading.
Wow, was I slow coming to this book but damn is it wonderful. I think I avoided it because of the hype, and that was my loss. It's a riveting look at community and individuality, at ruined landscapes that take themselves back, at obsession--at orchids. I particularly love that, as far as my google searches tell me, the orchid on the front isn't the infamous ghost orchid, which feels so right after you read this book.
I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as [b:The Library Book|39507318|The Library Book|Susan Orlean|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524238338l/39507318._SX50_.jpg|61126110]. Parts seemed choppy and parts seemed tedious. I also have no idea how the author got so caught up in Laroche. I am also surprised that any author couldn't understand being intensely passionate about something, given that writing and publishing books also requires a great deal of passion. On the other hand, some parts were great and there was some interesting information, which is why I gave it the rating I did.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced