Whew. Only two books reveiws this months and to be fair I didn't finish either. Busy month. Such is life.
[The Emperor of Ocean Park] - [Coming Home to Eat]
The Emperor of Ocean
Park
Stephen L. Carter
I actually started reading this book in August, but I never finished it. It stayed in my 'reading' pile, constantly pre-empted by a number of other books. I finally ran out of 'other' to read, so I had to face this again.
And I just couldn't. I managed to choke down another chapter, but it simply reinforced my decision earlier to put it down. This book is a muddy mess. No character is worth any sort of value and the protagonist is downright completely unlikeable.
Yet, this book still garners good reviews from others, so perhaps it's just me.
But I doubt it.
Coming Home to
Eat
Gary Paul Nabhan
The first 100 pages or so of this book are some of the most inspirational stuff that I've read in many years. The rest of it appears to be filler, including an unfortunate passage where the book grinds to a complete halt so that the author can describe having sex with his wife in terms that would make a Harlequin editor wince.
Nabhan's mantra is (to paraphrase) "Think Globally, Eat Locally". He explains quite clearly the idea that to 'know your foodshed', that is to eat truly native fauna and flora, we can reestablish connections with each other and the land that we live on. By putting a little thought into the food that we eat, we can stop the 'Frankenfood' effect, restore genetic diversity and encourage healthier lifestyles.
He is absolutely correct. The first few chapters of this book hit me hard and started me thinking about my small garden patch in December. (I've already resolved to triple it in size, at least.) It's a thought-provoking read, even if you disagree.
However, after establishing his case and laying out the facts, Nabhan decides to push on. And on. And on. Story after story of the exact same thing, he travels to different place. He talks to people. The all agree on the premise and shake their head about the current state of affairs. He goes home. Repeat ad nauseum.
To steal a quip from another context: "Inside this book there is a very good story trying to get out."