orchid obsession

Orchids be crazy. Susan Orlean discovered this strange truth and deemed it worthy of The New Yorker article she ended up writing to shed some light on what's going on in the unexpectedly vast orchid world. This article, called "Orchid Fever," led to the eventual creation of this entire book, which I read alongside my classmates and enjoyed discussing. Because, seriously, as random as some of the information thrown into this book is, it's interesting and made even more intriguing because it's nonfiction. Orlean's writing style really grew on me, specifically how masterful she is in keeping herself as the author out of the narrative except for when it makes stylistic sense to make her presence known. Orlean physically followed a unique individual, John Laroche, around Florida to understand to the best of her knowledge what all the hype about orchids is. I got to the end of this book and found that, while I could see some of the motivations for orchid collecting and general obsession, reading about people spending copious amounts of money, emotional energy, and time on the fostering of this plant was fascinating. I also just learned an absurd amount of cool stuff about orchids I wouldn't have otherwise known that I do now. It's a whole world I'm not a part of (most people aren't), but deserves the recognition Orlean gives it. So much of the research she did to understand the history of "orchid fever" was fascinating too: early explorers, Floridian history, the Fakahatchee Strand, and key people on the current orchid scene (current to the late 90s, at least), just to name a few. Nonfiction isn't my preferred genre, but nonfiction books like this one with characters that seem more like caricatures and carefully constructed narratives grounded in thorough research are so so cool and writing I aspire to become better at in the future. I'll say it again: orchids be crazy.



One of my favorite quotes from The Orchid Thief:

"... most people in some way or another do strive for something exceptional, something to pursue, even at their peril, rather than abide an ordinary life." 

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