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allie8973's review against another edition
Not sure this type of book is for me. I did finish it because there were interesting tidbits but it was more a vibe than anything I remember..like a fever dream?
indeskidge's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
mikeerrico's review against another edition
5.0
Solnit is a whole thing. The whole thing, oversimplified: Take a concept and unravel it until you see a million sides you never considered, plus the interconnections to everything else until you're bumping up against something like a unified theory...if it could only fit in your head. Her prose is beautiful, sure, but you're also there for the ideas, the jumps, the "meander," as she puts it, between, through and around the superficially disparate, which is to say, the universally conjoined.
This time around, she hears that George Orwell planted roses in 1936, and wonders why. THAT'S IT, and it's not a spoiler. That's the launch pad. The book kind of ends nowhere, and that's not a spoiler, either, because you're there to spend time with a brilliant mind, and to hitch a ride into the wilderness. Enjoy it.
This time around, she hears that George Orwell planted roses in 1936, and wonders why. THAT'S IT, and it's not a spoiler. That's the launch pad. The book kind of ends nowhere, and that's not a spoiler, either, because you're there to spend time with a brilliant mind, and to hitch a ride into the wilderness. Enjoy it.
hnells's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Solnit describes this book as "rhizomatic," meaning nonhierarchical, reflective of the biological rhizome, a creeping root structure that twists and expands throughout the soil, spreading in numerous different directions. I certainly agree with this assessment. This book is structured around Orwell's understudied love for and engagement with the natural world, but it creeps out to cover a multitude of different topics, from the history of socialism, to flower farms in Colombia, to Stalin's cultivation of lemon trees. Just as it is a meandering exploration of the historical moment in which Orwell lived, so too does it engage often in close reading of his works with oftentimes enlightening results.
After reading this, I came away with many new interests and wanting to know more about a great number of things. Also, it provoked in me a curiosity and a desire to return to Orwell's works myself, most of which I have not read in many, many years. I love a nonfiction book that makes me want to read more nonfiction, and this book specifically was so beautifully written, thoughtful, and inspiring that I feel energized after reading it with the desire to educate myself even more. I highly recommend this.
After reading this, I came away with many new interests and wanting to know more about a great number of things. Also, it provoked in me a curiosity and a desire to return to Orwell's works myself, most of which I have not read in many, many years. I love a nonfiction book that makes me want to read more nonfiction, and this book specifically was so beautifully written, thoughtful, and inspiring that I feel energized after reading it with the desire to educate myself even more. I highly recommend this.
catherine_mack's review against another edition
4.0
Another thought-provoking and timely book from Rebecca Solnit based around George Orwell’s passion for gardening. This took me to many surprising places like rose farming in South America, has me going off to really learn more than my superficial knowledge about Stalin and raised my awareness of thoughtless consumerism even further So glad I picked this up. I’m keen to read 1984 again with new eyes.
jessvk's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0