The Orchid Thief : A True Story of Beauty and Obsession

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Summary: where passion meets beauty
Review: I approached this book thinking, "orchids....what could I possibly care about orchids?" But, was I ever in for a surprise, because Orlean had me hooked on her subject and her characters by page 2. This book does what all great books do: it lures you into its world, holds you there and doesn't let you go until long after you've read the final page. This is a stunningly original work by a writer of extraordinary talent and enthusiasm for her subject. Like the flowers she writes about, "The Orchid Thief" is a rare and brilliantly exotic thing that will be loved and admired by all who encounter it.

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Summary: excuse me?
Review: In this book is revealed John Laroche's guide to "mutating" plants, and his general theory of mutation. Laroche says that mutation is responsible for some people being real smart. Like him, for example. He tells Orlean that what must've happened is that he was exposed to some kind of toxic stuff when he was young and was then mutated into the brilliant person he is today. I am not joking. This is in the book. Apparently either Orlean is making the whole thing up (quite possible) or John Laroche actually believes in a comic book account of genetic mutation. I guess this is where his lack of formal education really starts to show.
As any schoolboy who has not gone to school and instead has learned about life from reading comic books knows, people are mutated by being pivotally exposed to some radioactive or otherwise toxic agent. This is how they derive their superpowers. In the case of John Laroche, the superpower is extreme intelligence. Laroche then goes on to state that he has "mutated" lots of plants by putting germinating seeds in the microwave. Now, again, there is a popular misconception, propagated by the media, that microwaves are in some way "radioactive" This is not so. Microwave ovens do nothing but excite water molecules with non-visible light, making the water heat up. Laroche would have achieved the same result by putting the plant seeds under a heat lamp. The result would be that the germinating seeds would wither and cook and die. The result would NOT be that they would "mutate." So this is all nonsense. The only thing difficult to determine is whether Laroche actually believes any of this. I'm guessing he just made it up as he went along while talking to a captive audience in the form of Susan Orlean.

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Summary: round two
Review: okay, here's another run at why this is unbelievably bad writing. When I "watched" Adaptation (see my review of this stinker for details) I initially thought it was based on a fictitious book. When I learned otherwise, I couldn't believe that such malarkey existed, though of course I should have known better.
Some writers are the biographers of Einstein. Some are the biographers of saints. Susan Orlean is the biographer of a piece of white trash with a mental disorder. It is supposed to be very quixotic and eccentric, but at bottom we are hit with a guy who is an obsessive collector of random things. He is also not above breaking the law to suit himself, hence the title. In this degenerate age, this is all we can hope for when looking for an exemplary life. This guy's life is not even very interesting, let alone inspiring.
And then there is the matter of disingenuousness. The author tells the reader that Laroche - the collector - was writing a guide to growing plants which he was going to advertize in High Times. However, marijuana plants "grown according to his instructions would never mature and hence would never be psychoactive." See, this Laroche is keeping kids on the straight and narrow. We should laud him. Except for the fact that this "information" is completely false. I have grown my fair share of marijuana and have found first-hand that it certainly is not just budding plants which are psychoactive. In fact, sadly, not one of my plants ever made it that far: I smoked them long before that.
So if this part is a load of BS, just think what else may be completely made-up.

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Summary: Read the Book: Move to Florida
Review: Believe it or not, The Orchid Thief was one of the reasons which, when I had to choose a place to move, I chose Florida. I had always been a "fan" of Florida, but frankly, most of what I knew of it was from the Florida Novel. Though that seems a bit like the cliched story of a foreigner's opinion of the States being based on having seen some old movies, still, the Orchid Thief rings much more true. It really does go a long way to enhance one's appreciation of the opportunities in Florida. I wouldn't be at all surprised if by next year, thanks to the book, I'm involved in some way with orchids, and, if you happen to live in Florida, I think once you read The Orchid Thief you'll be motivated to at least drop in on some of the natural or commercial locations described therein as well.

Here, in non-fiction form, are all the ingredients of the Florida Novel. (See my review of Jimmy Buffet's "A Salty Piece of Land.") We are given an illuminating glimpse into the historic background of the state along with two of the driving forces in Florida culture: botanicals and obsessions. We are shown the fascinating development of the orchid and its impact on society.

At one time orchids conferred a prestige on the owner, who had to be immensely wealthy to own one, and there are still vestiges of this mind set notwithstanding the fact that you can buy a live orchid for as little as $2.49. On the other hand, it must be added, an orchid recently sold for as much as $202,000.

We have the description of voyages through the swamps. We are privy to conversations by people who are still suffering from various forms of orchidelirium, including the obsessed private collector, the field collectors, the people who cater to the collectors, the growers, the competitive shows, all of it, everything which represents the beautifully wild and weird nature of the environment and culture of the F state.

And, the book is well written. Grammar and syntax are flawless, there is no sense of condescension...the writer targets her audience with superb precision. The book even has a plot: a search for a ghost orchid. It has a sense of humor. Obviously the character development (including the character of Floridian society) is the sine qua non of this work, and there are the usual "odd" Floridians in contrast to the equally improbable visitors. I, for one, found the book in no way disappointing.

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Summary: Great Fun!
Review: I don't know what took me so long to read this book.....maybe I do.I did not start reading non-fiction until recently, and what I knew about this book, or thought I knew, was related to the movie. So, I had no interest. Something made me pick up this book when I was in the book store, and I'm so glad I did.
I used to live in Florida and my mom would tease me that every once in a while, something would pick up the states and shake and all the weirdos would drop into Florida. I had to agree. This book just proves it all over again. The only reason I gave it four instead of five, is the author told some stories twice and I think once, even a third time. I was surprised at that, but all in all, a great book.
Those obsessed orchid collectors? Who knew?
This book is a very, very , interesting and fun read. Well worth the couple of days it took me to race through it!

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Summary: Quirky...makes you wonder about people's sanity.
Review: This is a bizarre and very unique story. It fizzles a bit when she delves into the history of every orchid known to mankind. It reminds me of the peculiar lives of those in 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.'

Note: The movie 'Adaptation' takes a nose-dive into left field with the whole porn, etc. plot. What a disgrace.

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Summary: Orchids, Florida, biology, Indian tribes . . . and orchids!
Review: At some point, a reader of Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief" has to ask "what is this book about?!" That's a justified question, to which there are some good answers. Numerous themes run through the book, as Orlean writes about various topics that surround a strange mid-1990s theft of rare and protected orchids from a South Florida swamp. At first the reader is led to think that the theft of these orchids is the real story. But not so fast . . . Orlean's own on-scene investigation into the incident reveals a deep, exciting and unexpected layer of sub-topics!

Orlean starts off by writing about John LaRoche, the actual "Orchid Thief," who is always working some angle in hopes of getting rich quick. His aim, for much of the book, is cultivating and reproducing a rare orchid known as the Ghost Orchid. As Orlean gets to known LaRoche, she comes into contact with the personalities that inhabit the orchid world - an odd and eccentric assortment of individuals who will do anything to purchase, sell, smuggle, collect, cultivate and even clone orchids. She enters this world herself and braves the murky swamps of the Everglades in hopes of finding a rare Ghost Orchid.

During her time in Florida, Orlean delves into the history of orchid collecting and cultivation - how orchids were "hunted" in various exotic locales and the extent to which upper-class and well-to-do collectors would seek to obtain them. She also gets into the genetics of orchids - how orchids have been pollinated and cross-pollonated to produce exquisite and fascinating new kinds of orchids. Later, she writes about how Florida became one of the hotbeds of orchid collecting. In a way, Florida becomes one of the major sub-topics, as she writes about Florida's climate, the swamps, the landscape, the history and the people. She describes, in detail, the famous land-scams of the 1950s and 60s, the growth of the Seminole Indian Nation and its current successes, the urbanization of South Florida and its lifestyle, and the attempts at preserving and reclaiming the Everglades.

Readers will enjoy "The Orchid Thief" for all of these topics and sub-topics. In the end, some might still wonder what the book is really about. But for the imaginative reader, the wide selection of topics provided by Orlean allows one to make that a personal choice. That is, the book is about whatever you want it to be about - orchids, Florida, biology, Indian tribes, history, and . . . again, orchids.

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Summary: Flowers can cause such a ruckus!
Review: Susan Orlean travels to Florida and follows John LaRoche, an independent soul who is enamored of orchids but has been arrested for stealing them while managing a nursery for the Seminole Indian tribe. In the author's desire to understand orchid growing, she visits nurseries of well-known orchid retailers and a prestigious orchid show. The Fakahatchee swamp becomes her focus as she joins LaRoche in pursuit of seeing a rare ghost orchid.

A history of orchids, the mysterious places they grow, and the people to whom they mean so much leave the reader with a deep appreciation of how plants can affect people. It's a hobby; it's a career; it's an obsession. The writing conveys so much of the excitement of keeping orchids that I, myself, ran out to buy a Phalaenopsis orchid from my local Trader Joe's (who I learned imports them from Thailand) in order to view it closely.

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Summary: A true life vignette of Life in South Florida
Review: The book "Orchid Thief" is wonderful. When I started reading the book I couldn't put it down. It seriously messed up my daily routine for several days as I stole time to read a chapter here, then another chapter there. I stumbled across the book after I saw the movie "Adaptation" on satellite TV several months ago. I then had to see the movie several more times and the movie left me confused and hungry for more information. Since the movie was in my hometown, about something I knew about, I decided to research Susan Orlean on the Internet and realized that the movie was more fiction than fact. I ordered the book and here I am reviewing it.

Well I admit being biased. I grew up in South Florida. I've been here since 1960 with the exception of 8 years that I lived in Northern New England and Pennsylvania. It's a well-written series of "vignettes" of the zany colorful people living and dead here in South Florida and of the economic agricultural trade in this sub-tropical part of the Deep South. Its as much a book about Florida as it is about Orchids and the incredible Flora and Fauna that we have here. Many people don't realize that the habitable part of Florida is just a sliver of land 10-20 miles along the coastline and that the interior is a swampy wild wetland. Protected State and Federal land where you could be charged with a felony for just picking a wild daisy. And every year we have an influx of Latin Americans, Europeans and Northerners moving into our sliver of habitable land.

I suffered from orchidelirium for several years back in the mid-1990 right around the time that Laroche was on trial. I read about the case in the local paper and never thought much about the event. But I did spend thousands of dollars on Orchids at several of the nurseries mentioned in the book. Many of those orchids are still growing and blooming in my garden. Many died off because of fungus or drought. I collect several of the species named in the book. I have also bought from some of the growers mentioned by Orlean. I met R. Fuchs and his partner, M.Coronado, two of the worlds foremost successfull orchid people in the world, personally and they took my girlfriend and me on a tour of their home next to their nursery in Homestead in the mid 90's, just exactly like Susan Orlean describes. The community in Homestead among plant nurseries is very friendly and open. The book is about real people, and about real history and rumors in a very tightly knit community. South Florida has a very unique history and some of the most colorful southerners you'll ever read about, or know. The early inhabitants of Miami-Dade county date back to the early 1920's and spoke with a unique southern accent. I grew up among the native Miamians. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that South Florida changed dramatically to a Latin culture with the large influx of Latin Americans. Many of these original zany native-Miamians are now a vanishing breed and Susan Orlean captures the quality of some of these characters exquisitely well. To me the book has no distinctive classification. Its not a book about Orchids, its not a book about Laroche, the so-call "Orchid Thief". It's more like a vignette of personalities and stories that deal with Florida. I would say it's the best book written about Florida that I've read.


Rating:
Summary: More Exciting than it Sounds
Review: The Orchid Thief is an unconventional nonfiction work which traces the fascinating history of orchids, their cultivation, delicate nature, mystical properties, and the dangerous exploits searchers are willing to undertake to satisfy their obsession. Susan Orlean explores this obsession by presenting John Laroche, a Florida man who risks his life and time in prison in the pursuit of the rare Ghost Orchid. This book is worth reading if only for Orlean's description the eccentric Laroche. Orlean also intersperses her story with botanical descriptions of orchids, Florida history, and Seminole folklore.