The Orchid Thief

Yesterday, I did something I haven't done for a long time: I sat down and read a book cover to cover in one day.

The book? The Orchid Thief, by Susan Orlean. This book may be familiar to those who have seen the movie Adaptation, which is based on this book. I've been looking forward to reading this since I picked it up 6 months or so ago at Half Price Books for $0.50. I love the movie, I love orchids (although I know very little about them), and I love books.

The book follows Orlean as she explores the world of orchids. About half of the book revolves around John Laroche, an orchid cultivator who went on trial for picking wild orchids, a crime in certain parts of Florida. The movie version depicts Laroche just as described in the book: a wildly obsessive and intelligent man who carries the physical form of a redneck. An unlikely hero, Laroche jumps from obsession to obsession but completely immerses himself in whatever he decides to be collecting at the moment. As odd as he seems, we soon realize that most true orchid lovers share much of his qualities.

The other half of the book goes into various background information: the history of orchid hunting and cultivation, scientific information about how orchids live, grow, and reproduce, and even a history of Florida itself. While this may seem like a diversion from Orlean's quest to learn about the very mechanisms that drive orchid passion, they play a key role in describing several "characters" that play a key role in the book: the Florida wetlands, the orchid itself, and passion.  All three are intertwined and ultimately serve as the true subjects of the book despite Orlean's untiring inquisitiveness and Laroche's quirky charm.

Orlean proves her mastery of the writing form through this book, seamlessly transitioning from informational writing to narrative with equal mastery in each style. She is able to tie everything together in a way that creates a compelling work. The Orchid Thief wound up being a very satisfying one-day read.

For fans of the movie, don't expect anything weird from the book. Adaptation is a wonderful movie, but it breaks from the book in many ways. Everything with the "Charlie Kaufman" character (played by Nicholas Cage) is purely fictional, as is everything in the movie between Laroche and Orlean after you find out that Laroche's passion has switched from orchids to pornography (that's not really a book or movie spoiler...you are told from the outset that Laroche jumps from passion to passion). The first half of the movie, however, sticks very well to the book.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (yeah, I know I said this would rarely happen - and now it's been 2 out of the three books so far!)
In A Sentence: The Orchid Thief is a masterful book about orchid passion that immerses you in the topic and then spits you out, yearning for more.




3 books, 12 days...at this rate I'll read 91 books.