If ever there was a book that should only be available as an e-book, Seeds by Richard Horan must be it. This book seeks to celebrate trees, but it's brought to you by the many trees who lost their lives to share that celebration with us. That is really taking one for the team.
Seeds is described on the cover as," One man's serendipitous journey to find the trees that inspired famous writers from Faulkner to Kerouac, Welty to Wharton". OK. No where is there any disclaimer that none of these special trees were hurt in the creation, printing, packaging, labeling and shipping of this book. I hope the reader's copy I was sent of Seeds wasn't printed on wood pulped from the catalpa in the front yard of Muhammad Ali's childhood home or John Muir's fig tree.
I liked the idea of Seeds but sorry to say I found the execution self indulgent and self congratulatory. Horan's voice is too present in Seeds. Yes, it is about his 'serendipitous journey' (that actually seems quite planned in the book) but there is too little about why or how these trees 'inspired famous writers'. Seeds is more about how Horan arrived at the home of a writer and who he spoke to there than the power of nature to aid in creativity. Seeds has all the of the insight but none of the charm of a Hollywood Map of the Stars.
And.
'From Faulkner to Kerouac, Welty to Wharton'? Why not from Kerouac to Cather or Fitzgerald to Faulkner? The use of the alliteration for Welty and Wharton but not on Faulkner and Kerouac bothers me. It's very untidy.
Happy
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