The Orchid Thief

Susan Orlean

There were places in Washington which I truly missed as I left to begin my journey in the Arizona desert. One of those places was a small plot of land encased in glass. This magical place belonged to my sister's husband and behind those walls of glass he nurtured and loved a wondrous collection of orchids. There were times of the year you could visit and as you walked through the door, your reality was transposed to color and light and the most fragile images, some orchids sat suspended with their flowers reaching through the air like a promised whisper. Other's would strut boldly from their austere homes with the confidence of soldiers. It is understandable that while reading "The Orchid Thief", I was often taken back to the memories of this small, enchanting plot of land and I emerged with greater understanding of his love for same. It is seven years from seed to the first bloom of an orchid plant, this can only be the patience which loving something well bestows. When The Orchid Thief first came to the shelves of bookstores, I was intrigued with its premise, but at the same time, leery of its promise. It seemed at once to be a tale of an eccentric orchid collector, but also a textbook of botany and orchid history. It was the last impression which made me keep sidestepping around this book, not sure that such formula would work to keep my interest. I finally gave in to my curiosity and picked it up, and from page one there was no turning back. This is not a book of botany, it is not merely a book about orchids, it is so vast in its scope and offerings that it is many things at once and most of all, it is truly fascinating. In the hands of Orlean, those things which would seem mundane take on a force all their own. It opens the world not only to orchids, this in itself an engrossing subject, but also to human obsessions and the lengths to which we'll stretch to meet them. Orchids have caused as much grief as they have joy through the centuries. They have caused human beings to commit murder in pursuit of rare species, to catapult headlong into the collection of same, forsaking everything else to this one pursuit. Susan Orlean takes you to Florida, and there she introduces you to some of the most prominent people in the orchid industry, the orchid moguls. As well, she doesn't fail to overlook the dreamers, who seem to live on just that, a dream of owning that one very rare species which will transform their lives to one of wealth and fame. But she doesn't stop there, within all these pieces, she also weaves a history of Florida, its native peoples, the land, its fauna and flora. She does this so well that there is never a prosaic moment in this book. I truly found it difficult to put down and always eager to get back too. Interspersed with all the history are tidbits which delight, such as the fact that Darrow, the creater of the world famous boardgame Monopoly, was himself an avid collector of orchids who took his Monopoly money and at the age of 46, retired to devote himself to his orchids. Florida remains today one of North America's largest producers of orchids. Many still grow wild within the confines of the Fakahatchee Strand, but are now protected under the Endangered Species Act. Though the craze of the late 1800's seems to have waned, there is still big business in orchid smuggling and big prices paid for the rarer species. It's early in the year, and I've lots of books to go, but at this point in time, The Orchid Thief is easily slotted for a Top Ten read. I recommend this, you won't be disappointed.