The author clearly knows a lot about plants and that aspect of the book I really enjoyed reading. However, the contents of each chapter didn't always link to the central theme of the chapter. The book's flow felt forced and there were two editorial mistakes where chunks of text where completely missing. Moreover, the author doesn't seem to contribute much to forensic cases with most cases resulting in not being able to find evidence or evidence that the author suggested being ignored.
Reviews and Comments
Non-fiction and occasional fantasy enjoyer.
This link opens in a pop-up window
citrus reviewed The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
citrus rated Guards! Guards!: 5 stars
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #8)
Insurrection is in the air in the city of Ankh-Morpork. The Haves and Have-Nots are about to face off. Again. …
citrus rated Who Killed Miss Finch?: 4 stars
citrus rated Good Material: 1 star
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
From the New York Times best-selling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About a story of heartbreak and friendship …
citrus rated Good Material: 1 star
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
From the New York Times best-selling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About a story of heartbreak and friendship …
citrus rated Prelude to Foundation (Foundation Novels): 3 stars
Prelude to Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov (Foundation (1))
Pyramids by Terry Pratchett (Discworld (7))
It's bad enough being new on the job, but Teppic hasn't a clue as to what a pharaoh is supposed …
citrus reviewed Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (Discworld (6))
citrus reviewed Murder Most Florid by Mark Spencer
citrus reviewed My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Malcolm Durrell
Entitled, cruel and boring
1 star
From what I heard, this seemed like the kind of book that I might potentially enjoy, insomuch as that I enjoy the natural world. It largely falls into either talking about Gerry's family or "other animals".
Unfortunately I found Gerry's attitude to nature was entitled and cruel, viewing it's existence to serve his own curiosity. Without giving spoilers, there were numerous animals that were snatched from their homes and families with little thought being given to repercussions of his actions. Numerous animals died directly due to Gerry's actions.
The Durrells themselves I found to be entitled, obnoxious and very dysfunctional. Each child (especially Larry) bossed around their Mother who did very little to reprimand any of them. They moved house numerous times on the whims of the children whilst the Mother cleaned up their mess.
All of this would have left a 2 star review had it not been for …
From what I heard, this seemed like the kind of book that I might potentially enjoy, insomuch as that I enjoy the natural world. It largely falls into either talking about Gerry's family or "other animals".
Unfortunately I found Gerry's attitude to nature was entitled and cruel, viewing it's existence to serve his own curiosity. Without giving spoilers, there were numerous animals that were snatched from their homes and families with little thought being given to repercussions of his actions. Numerous animals died directly due to Gerry's actions.
The Durrells themselves I found to be entitled, obnoxious and very dysfunctional. Each child (especially Larry) bossed around their Mother who did very little to reprimand any of them. They moved house numerous times on the whims of the children whilst the Mother cleaned up their mess.
All of this would have left a 2 star review had it not been for the incredibly boring writing style. I found this a real struggle to read and would have quit had I not being reading this for a book club. Nothing much happens but it lacked the quality of "quaint" due to the reasons stated above.
citrus rated The murder of Roger Ackroyd: 3 stars
The murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (The Agatha Christie collection)
The death of a weathy widow is believed to be an accident until her future husband is killed. The police …
citrus finished reading The murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (The Agatha Christie collection)
A quaint read that serves well to be read by the fire on a Sunday. That aside, it is not something that I would pick up again and I doubt that I will read any more books by the author.
I found Poirot rather an irritating character and the storyline was quite predictable.