Scan barcode
averystrawberry's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't interested in like, everything that was described here, but it was beautiful nonetheless
jennybeastie's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first Roger Deakin book I have read, but it won’t be the last. Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees takes us around the world, from carefully maintained British woodlands to the Walnut forests of Kyrgyzstan. It’s not exactly a straightforward narrative; instead it is a meandering and beautiful contemplation, on trees, on living and on the natural world in general.
dancarey_404's review against another edition
4.0
I'll confess up front: the sections set in the Australian outback nearly lost me because the place is so foreign to my experience that I had little interest in Deakin's explorations there. But all the rest of the book made up for it, especially his stories of the walnut-growing regions of Central Asia.
As I reached the end of the book, I was feeling particularly aware of Deakin's untimely death and how sad it is that the world will not have lots more of his wonderful prose in years to come. I'll be starting [b:Notes From Walnut Tree Farm|4327583|Notes From Walnut Tree Farm|Roger Deakin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1330441657s/4327583.jpg|4375388] later this week.
As I reached the end of the book, I was feeling particularly aware of Deakin's untimely death and how sad it is that the world will not have lots more of his wonderful prose in years to come. I'll be starting [b:Notes From Walnut Tree Farm|4327583|Notes From Walnut Tree Farm|Roger Deakin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1330441657s/4327583.jpg|4375388] later this week.
rachmloh's review against another edition
5.0
When reading this last book Roger wrote before his death, one can really tell his huge love for trees and nature. Throughout the book, I found myself questioning his privilege (both as a White man and an accomplished writer) to have been able to experience what he did but throughout his chapters he would always acknowledge the realities of certain places and that it was a privilege. Still, this book served to remind me both of the beautiful intricacies of nature but also the immense privilege one must have in this world to be able to have access to that.
mroneil's review against another edition
2.0
I thought it was really boring and bourgeois at times. I was expecting something much different and so perhaps my opinion is a touch unfair. I thought it would be about the life of the woods, but it’s really about a guy who looks at wood.
sapphic_fairy's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't interested in like, everything that was described here, but it was beautiful nonetheless
btecbobdylan's review against another edition
3.0
Less of a book than a place you hang out for a while. It’s quietly lovely. I’d heard lots about Roger Deakin in the writings of Robert Macfarlane, a friend of his who clearly held him in high regard and took a lot of inspiration from the form of Wildwood - a book-length riffing on a theme, beginning in England, travelling around the world and circling home again, sprinkled with literary quotes and allusions. I think for my money I prefer Macfarlane’s take on this, but Wildwood is still a nice read and I suspect I will enjoy Waterlog even more.
corvidaeus's review against another edition
2.0
I don't want to call this book bad, because it's certainly well-written, but I think I just wanted it to be something else. I had expected more of a broad look at the ways in which trees have shaped human culture, with some personal accounts thrown in where relevant. Instead, the book is very autobiographical - each chapter is a personal essay of the author's travels to a place or a meeting with people. These accounts are, in theory, connected to the subject of trees, but in some cases the connection feels very tangential, and depending on where your interests lie, you may or may not find them engaging. Also since the chapters are mostly rather short, when I came across a topic that was interesting, I found myself wishing I could read more about that rather than moving onto something completely different and unrelated.