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A review by beaniereadinginreading
Rootbound: Rewilding a Life by Alice Vincent
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.