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bethany_crenol's review against another edition
4.0
When I bought this book, I never knew how many parallels it would have with my own life. Reading Alice Vincent’s tales of life at Newcastle University brought waves of nostalgia crashing over me, and her musings on her professional life in London echoed the feelings I have towards my own. Insightful anecdotes, such as her hedonistic experiences at Glastonbury Festival and life affirming trips to New York and Tokyo, pepper this book with millennial wisdom. I enjoyed the way that Vincent’s often candid and touching reflections on life as a woman in her mid-late 20s are also interwoven with fascinating horticultural history. A must-read for 90s babies with a penchant for anything that grows.
thomasgoddard's review against another edition
2.0
I think this one is a case of a book trying to do too much. Pitched as a mix of memoir, botanical history and biography (although it wedges in some gender politics, travelogue and generational commentary too) it just fails to register as enough of any of them to become something substantial.
It feels like a great first book. (Though the author has written a guide to gardening before this in 2017). It's a well written book, but it's the same as an elegant speech about three different subjects... You're never going to get much because there's not enough space for anything to grow.
I kept wanting to stay on the one trail of thought. But every time the author would switch to a new subject and it would annoy me.
And besides that, I didn't care much about her love life. It wasn't dramatic enough to be interesting or insightful enough to be informative. She just left one guy, pottered around thinking she was growing, but instead used a ton of other things as crutches and never really gained more than a false epiphany and sense of psuedo-transformation that wasn't at all convincing.
So, regrettably, I rate this one 2/5. The title is apt, the whole thing just got rootbound and needed repotting into several other pots. The author could have had three great books, rather than one bad one.
That said. I will keep an eye out for her next and give that a go. She is very good at her descriptions and can carry a story.
It feels like a great first book. (Though the author has written a guide to gardening before this in 2017). It's a well written book, but it's the same as an elegant speech about three different subjects... You're never going to get much because there's not enough space for anything to grow.
I kept wanting to stay on the one trail of thought. But every time the author would switch to a new subject and it would annoy me.
And besides that, I didn't care much about her love life. It wasn't dramatic enough to be interesting or insightful enough to be informative. She just left one guy, pottered around thinking she was growing, but instead used a ton of other things as crutches and never really gained more than a false epiphany and sense of psuedo-transformation that wasn't at all convincing.
So, regrettably, I rate this one 2/5. The title is apt, the whole thing just got rootbound and needed repotting into several other pots. The author could have had three great books, rather than one bad one.
That said. I will keep an eye out for her next and give that a go. She is very good at her descriptions and can carry a story.
mnels's review against another edition
4.0
Moving memoir about how gardening and plants helped a Millennial woman cope and find her footing after a breakup. I enjoyed the descriptions of London parks and the English countryside. Each chapter represents a month of the year and historical botanical anecdotes are included throughout.
a_violentfemme's review against another edition
3.0
I found the plant and park history very interesting but was overall very repetitive.
unfiltered_fiction's review against another edition
Could not get along with the narrative style of either the personal reflections (which felt extremely self-pitying) or the sections on biology (which read as pretty dry, and in places inaccurate).
mel_jackson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
whogivesabook's review against another edition
2.0
I think this one is a case of a book trying to do too much. Pitched as a mix of memoir, botanical history and biography (although it wedges in some gender politics, travelogue and generational commentary too) it just fails to register as enough of any of them to become something substantial.
It feels like a great first book. (Though the author has written a guide to gardening before this in 2017). It's a well written book, but it's the same as an elegant speech about three different subjects... You're never going to get much because there's not enough space for anything to grow.
I kept wanting to stay on the one trail of thought. But every time the author would switch to a new subject and it would annoy me.
And besides that, I didn't care much about her love life. It wasn't dramatic enough to be interesting or insightful enough to be informative. She just left one guy, pottered around thinking she was growing, but instead used a ton of other things as crutches and never really gained more than a false epiphany and sense of psuedo-transformation that wasn't at all convincing.
So, regrettably, I rate this one 2/5. The title is apt, the whole thing just got rootbound and needed repotting into several other pots. The author could have had three great books, rather than one bad one.
That said. I will keep an eye out for her next and give that a go. She is very good at her descriptions and can carry a story.
It feels like a great first book. (Though the author has written a guide to gardening before this in 2017). It's a well written book, but it's the same as an elegant speech about three different subjects... You're never going to get much because there's not enough space for anything to grow.
I kept wanting to stay on the one trail of thought. But every time the author would switch to a new subject and it would annoy me.
And besides that, I didn't care much about her love life. It wasn't dramatic enough to be interesting or insightful enough to be informative. She just left one guy, pottered around thinking she was growing, but instead used a ton of other things as crutches and never really gained more than a false epiphany and sense of psuedo-transformation that wasn't at all convincing.
So, regrettably, I rate this one 2/5. The title is apt, the whole thing just got rootbound and needed repotting into several other pots. The author could have had three great books, rather than one bad one.
That said. I will keep an eye out for her next and give that a go. She is very good at her descriptions and can carry a story.
amyalicejakob's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
storyandthread_'s review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0