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amiablebookworm's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Sweet book but a little dull at times - sometimes the history and the memoir parts felt a little disjointed and didn’t flow that well. Still made me want to get back out into the garden though.
1mpossiblealice's review against another edition
I'm just bored by this. The subject is one I'm interested in, but the way it's written just isn't gripping me at all. I don't know what it is. There's also been too much so far about the end of her relationship which I'm not really interested in. I liked the botanical history parts but I'd prefer to read a whole book on that, so I'm giving up.
alomie's review
Self indulgent waffle.
Not a fan of this at all. The bits about plants were genuinely interesting but the rest of it was not for me, I found it far to lacking in self awareness. I cannot cope.
Not a fan of this at all. The bits about plants were genuinely interesting but the rest of it was not for me, I found it far to lacking in self awareness. I cannot cope.
abi_sarah's review
3.0
Started off well with an insight into plants and gardening and how it is beneficial for mental health. I found it validating that I was not alone in truly enjoying gardening and using it as a method of grounding myself. As the author talked about specific plants, naming them and their features, I found it really interesting and was pleased to find that I knew a lot of the plants that she was talking about.
Later on in the book, she focusses less on plants and more on her experiences - it became much more of a memoir. I did enjoy reading it but I just wasn’t gripped. I didn’t find myself wanting to pick up the book because I wanted to read it. I ended up picking it up for the curiosity of the next development in this person’s story but mainly because I wanted to finish the book so that I could move on to something else.
I think my perception of this book was slightly off since I have never lived in London, there were lots of references to places and senses experience on a commute, for example, which I couldn’t really relate to.
Having just read Katherine Ryan’s autobiography, I wonder if my view of this book was tainted as a result, and maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would if I hadn’t read it along with other memoirs during Non-Fiction November.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Later on in the book, she focusses less on plants and more on her experiences - it became much more of a memoir. I did enjoy reading it but I just wasn’t gripped. I didn’t find myself wanting to pick up the book because I wanted to read it. I ended up picking it up for the curiosity of the next development in this person’s story but mainly because I wanted to finish the book so that I could move on to something else.
I think my perception of this book was slightly off since I have never lived in London, there were lots of references to places and senses experience on a commute, for example, which I couldn’t really relate to.
Having just read Katherine Ryan’s autobiography, I wonder if my view of this book was tainted as a result, and maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would if I hadn’t read it along with other memoirs during Non-Fiction November.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
jwolinski's review
3.0
An ambitious book which is part memoir, part travelogue, part botanical history, and part social commentary. It was enjoyable and well written, but I felt the narrative would have been stronger if the author had kept a narrower focus.
beaniereadinginreading's review
3.0
Read this off the back of something by Dolly Alderton and there are some similarities... A millennial memoir by someone in the media, very London, written by a relatively privileged and lost 20-something.
This one has more substance and audacity, though: as others have said, it has no discernible genre, for example. I loved that messiness - it's partly a tale of a breakup, partly about plants and partly about the history of gardens and parks in London. All aspects of the author's life swirl into something almost novelistic.
I found the opposite problem I had with Alderton's book here, though. The writer here has lots to say about loads of interesting stuff but I did find her writing style a weird combo of lofty and journalistic... I guess rather portentous but sometimes glib? She makes sweeping generalisations about people of her age and background that didn't ring true for me but she writes them like they're universal. We don't all live out our lives on social media, live in London and spend our summer at music festivals, like she believes we all do.
Despite her narrow worldview and odd writing style, I would recommend this one.
This one has more substance and audacity, though: as others have said, it has no discernible genre, for example. I loved that messiness - it's partly a tale of a breakup, partly about plants and partly about the history of gardens and parks in London. All aspects of the author's life swirl into something almost novelistic.
I found the opposite problem I had with Alderton's book here, though. The writer here has lots to say about loads of interesting stuff but I did find her writing style a weird combo of lofty and journalistic... I guess rather portentous but sometimes glib? She makes sweeping generalisations about people of her age and background that didn't ring true for me but she writes them like they're universal. We don't all live out our lives on social media, live in London and spend our summer at music festivals, like she believes we all do.
Despite her narrow worldview and odd writing style, I would recommend this one.
leapylees's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn't make my mind up about this book - I was loved and hated by it by turn, so in the end it gets a 3.5 stars rounded up. There are some lovely passages of writing and it was often just right for my current mood, but it felt also like a bit of a muddle of memoir, relationship angst, gardening, (natural) history, and feminism. And being a millennial. So much London media millennial. I'm only a year or two on the gen X side of the millennial/gen X cusp and I found that the claims to millennial uniqueness wearing (and often debatable).
peggy1993's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
A book which made me value the seasons of life. A book which intertwines botanical history with the authors life of transience living in London, growing houseplants and nature in her various flat shares, throughout her relationships. Her dedication to nature and plant life sees her through each devastating breakup and inspires others to appreciate nature.