Jim Brown reviewed The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger
For the love of plants
I skipped around in this book, and I had a difficult time getting into it. To be fair, I am not the target audience. I'm not a science writing person. But I found that Schlanger's discussion of her own love/enthrallment with plants (as well as similar feelings among the scientists she interviewed) was kind of grating after a while. I have noticed this among similar texts - that there is a lot of time talking about the sense of wonder around plants and nature...a lot of discussion of care for houseplants and walks in the garden. It sometimes feels over the top.
I skipped around in this book, and I had a difficult time getting into it. To be fair, I am not the target audience. I'm not a science writing person. But I found that Schlanger's discussion of her own love/enthrallment with plants (as well as similar feelings among the scientists she interviewed) was kind of grating after a while. I have noticed this among similar texts - that there is a lot of time talking about the sense of wonder around plants and nature...a lot of discussion of care for houseplants and walks in the garden. It sometimes feels over the top.