Fionnáin reviewed Weeds: The Story of Outlaw Plants by Richard Mabey
A nice idea, but flawed
2 stars
I love things that grow or live where they are not supposed to be. A book about weeds is right up my alley, and I like the way Richard Mabey writes articles, so I expected to enjoy this. This is a book about weeds, their histories, their travels around the world, and why we think of them as we do.
The chapters each begin on a theme or a story about a weed, but often deviate unpredictably, and this makes the book a little loose and difficult to read. Mabey also has a tendency to situate all of the writing within a British perspective on weeds, which would be OK if he stated this as part of the book, but it feels as if it is just unconscious bias. As a result, the anecdotal moments about weeds growing in bomb sites or the paranoia of giant hogweed being a cold …
I love things that grow or live where they are not supposed to be. A book about weeds is right up my alley, and I like the way Richard Mabey writes articles, so I expected to enjoy this. This is a book about weeds, their histories, their travels around the world, and why we think of them as we do.
The chapters each begin on a theme or a story about a weed, but often deviate unpredictably, and this makes the book a little loose and difficult to read. Mabey also has a tendency to situate all of the writing within a British perspective on weeds, which would be OK if he stated this as part of the book, but it feels as if it is just unconscious bias. As a result, the anecdotal moments about weeds growing in bomb sites or the paranoia of giant hogweed being a cold war weapon are a little tainted, and the book failed to hold my attention.