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cecropiansea's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, and Murder
beldaran1224's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
It is difficult for me to articulate everything that this book brought me. First, I must recommend the audiobook, narrated by the author. The way in which the book felt like a conversation - meandering in seemingly disconnected ways, until you see a broader picture of the interconnectedness of each of the various passages, is nothing short of masterful.
Dungy touches on a number of topics with this book. It is, all at once, a memoir, a story about many gardens, a political book and a history book. The history and politics in this book are intensely personal - they are driven by personal experiences and, I suspect, meant to remind that reader that ultimately ALL history and politic are personal.
It is a story that takes place nominally during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it isn't really about pandemic at all.
On a personal note, I simply could not stop talking about this book the entire time I was reading it. I became obsessive in my devotion to the topics it touches on, and my family, friends and coworkers were all brought on a bit of the journey with me. I learned things about places that I've been and that are intensely dear to me, and things about places I'd never even heard of before this book.
Dungy touches on a number of topics with this book. It is, all at once, a memoir, a story about many gardens, a political book and a history book. The history and politics in this book are intensely personal - they are driven by personal experiences and, I suspect, meant to remind that reader that ultimately ALL history and politic are personal.
It is a story that takes place nominally during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it isn't really about pandemic at all.
On a personal note, I simply could not stop talking about this book the entire time I was reading it. I became obsessive in my devotion to the topics it touches on, and my family, friends and coworkers were all brought on a bit of the journey with me. I learned things about places that I've been and that are intensely dear to me, and things about places I'd never even heard of before this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
elderwoodreads's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I would definitely recommend this as an audiobook to listen to while doing something like a craft - or even gardening! I found that Dungy moved from topic to topic in a way that I, personally, would find hard to follow if I was reading on paper or tried to concentrate on fully I would find hard to follow. I really enjoyed her storytelling, and she did a great job of weaving together experiences from her garden and the real world. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes gardening especially if you are trying to move towards the native plant/naturalist sphere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Racism
Minor: Vomit, Slavery, Gore, and Pregnancy
thebookcoyote's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
TW/CW: Racism, murder, police brutality, natural disasters, death
REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from Edelweiss Books and Simon & Schuster and am voluntarily writing an honest review.
Soil is a memoir, the story of a Black poet and mother who works to transform her Colorado lawn into a natural, diversified place that matches and strengthens the natural landscape around it. This garden becomes a metaphor for her life and history as she relates her garden, ecology and nature to the political and sociological realities of Black people, women, and mothers.
This is a beautiful story. Although I’m not an expert on plants or flowers, you don’t have to be to enjoy this book. Dungy’s writing is beautiful and often poetic (not a surprise since the author is a poet), and her talent with words causes her stories to hit deeper than they otherwise might. There is a great deal of sadness in this book, but there is also a great deal of beauty.
The one thing that bothered me about this book is that there were parts where it didn’t really seem to flow. It was kind of choppy in places and would drift back and forth from one topic to another without much of a segue. This isn’t something that makes me dislike this book – not at all – but I think it could have been even more powerful and beautiful if it was a little more organized.
As a whole, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in gardening, Black voices, and/or ecology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Police brutality, and Racism
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