I just finished listening to The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. I “read the book by the cover” and grabbed this one. I didn’t read the description and assumed it would be a mystery “who dun it”…..was I in for a surprise.
There was no mystery. I was told “who dun it” immediately.
The book was interesting in that I learned more about orchids than I would ever want to know….especially being I don’t really love orchids. The book is an endless pile of descriptions that didn’t really tell a lot about the story. I don’t know why I kept listening…I guess I was sure something was going to happen, what, I have no idea.
Another tell tale sign that it was a horrible book….I stopped the reading three times and started again as I couldn’t believe the book just ended. There was no clue it was ending..it just ended. Nothing was wrapped up.
Here’s what Amazon had to say:“A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean—and the reader—will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion.”
Amazon readers gave the book 3.8 stars. I’ll give it one star. The educational part of the book I appreciated but even still it was too much and there was no plot….no nothing. What a waste of time. I’m actually embarrassed to say I finished it.
Have you seen the movie, “Adaptation”? It is based on this book, and interweaves the film script writer’s struggles on adapting the book for the screen, which I found funny. I haven’t read the book, but I did like the movie based on it, starring Meryl Streep, Nicholas Cage as Charlie Kaufman, the screenwriter, Tilda Swinton, and Chris Cooper. From what I understand, the book and the movie go down two different paths, but the one I took with the movie was an interesting journey.