Botánicos: A novel

by Alan Meerow

Garwell Sorrentino was a legendary tropical botanist with the Cincinnati Botanical Garden, and arguably the world’s expert on the rain forests of southeastern Peru. Twenty-five years ago, he was believed lost when an ultra-light craft that he was piloting alone above the unbroken forests of the Río Madre De Dios watershed caught fire and crashed. No trace of Sorrentino was ever found. His last graduate student and best friend, Anton Kovac, was fired in disgrace from his botanist position at the Garden five years after Sorrentino’s disappearance. Kevin Hobart, the Garden’s director, and both his and Sorrentino’s former boss, contacts Kovac out of the blue, with rumors that his friend is alive. Anton and Garwell’s widow, Nell, travel to southeastern Peru, in search of Sorrentino. Ultimately, the adventure is transformative for both of them.

The novel is at once a love story, a tale of friendship and the bonds that tie us together. It includes moments of magical realism, intimacy and mystery, all against the backdrop of the Amazon forest.

299 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2023

Reviews

[Ira T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Botánicos hooked me from page one, Meerow’s rainforest setting in southeastern Peru is so vivid I could almost hear the insects and feel the humid air. The botanist mystery at the heart of the story gave it layers I loved.

[James I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how the novel uses the rainforest not just as setting, but as character. The pulse of the forest, the magic realism moments, the transformative journey, they all combine to give this story real depth.

[Jessica Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to be so moved by a story of a botanist’s disappearance, friendship and love. Anton Kovac’s journey into the jungle is both dangerous and strangely beautiful.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel blends science and mystery so seamlessly. The idea of searching for a legendary botanist, framed by the wild Amazon and a defunct friendship, is compelling and deeply human.

[Elma C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meerow’s writing shows his botanical background, the descriptions of plants and forest life are rich without ever becoming heavy. Botánicos feels like a love letter to nature and to the human heart.

[Norman D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The love story threaded through this botanical adventure is subtle yet powerful. Nell’s role, the widow of the missing botanist, adds emotional weight that lifts it above a simple mystery.

[Gary R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this novel hoping for a good mystery, but got so much more: relationships, transformation, the meaning of loss, and the deep hum of nature in the background.

[Charlene L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptions of the Amazon, the Río Madre de Dios watershed, the plants, they’re not just scenery, they’re immersive and sometimes magical. Botánicos made me feel I was walking in the jungle.

[Henrietta H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The friendship between Anton and his missing mentor is at the heart of this story. That bond, and the guilt, the longing, the hope, make it emotionally rich.