The Seed Thief

by Jacqui L'Ange

Sometimes the thing you find is not the one you were looking for. When botanist Maddy Bellani is asked to travel to Brazil to collect rare seeds from a plant that could cure cancer, she reluctantly agrees. Securing the seeds would be a coup for the seed bank in Cape Town where she works, but Brazil is the country of her birth and home to her estranged father.

Her mission is challenging, despite the help of alluring local plantexpert Zé. The plant specimen is elusive, its seeds guarded by a sect wary of outsiders. Maddy must also find her way in a world influenced by unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies and the selfish motives ofothers.


Entrancing and richly imagined, The Seed Thief is a modern love story with an ancient history, a tale that moves from flora of Table Mountain to the heart of Afro-Brazilian spiritualism.

Genres: Fiction, South Africa

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Jacqui L'Ange was born in Durban, South Africa, and grew up across five continents. She now lives in Cape Town with her family and menagerie of other animals. Her debut novel The Seed Thief was published in 2015, and long listed for the Sunday Times Fiction Award and the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Literature. Ecological concerns permeate much of Jacqui's work. She is a former Deputy Editor of O - the Oprah Magazine, South Africa, and has also written a number of films and TV dramas.

Reviews

[Sabine Bamber]

The title somewhat gives the content away, although there is a surprise at the finish. While there is some resolution at the end, it ends too early for me. I would have liked to have seen the protagonist resolve more of her issues, tend the seedling, and see life come full circle.
The premise of the story is interesting and the author manages to kindle an interest for a people and its culture that I hadn't heard much about. It is a coming of age and/or coming to terms with childhood story spanning two continents. The protagonist travels to Brazil in search for a rare seed. She struggles not only with her childhood memories, relationship with her estranged father, but also a professional and ethical dilemma in regards to the collection of seeds.

[Brittany]

The type of story you can devour in one sitting on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

[Frances Sprei]

More accurately I would give it a 4,5. It was a slow read for me in the beginning but of good reasons because it made me pause and think and dream. In the middle it felt a bit more cliché. The woman who finds herself through the exotic lover. By the end I just needed to read more and more to know what was happening. Overall it really stuck to me and I learned a few things on the way

[Philisa]

The beginning where she's stuck in the airport takes so longgggggggg. If it was significantly reduced, more time could've been spent further developing the rest of story especially the ending.

What I do appreciate though is the author's clear love for nature - it's on every page. She's really good at imagery. I could see the worlds she was describing vividly.

I wrote down a thought that just says "feminine flip flops" but I have no clue what that could be in referenced to lol

A line I liked:
- "If the plants have the power, then it was they that found ways of enticing, captivating, addicting us, to the extent that we’d move mountains, conquer lands, trade people, betray loved ones - in order to possess them." (not sure if I fully agree but it did make me pause to ponder over it)

[Jessica]

Well written book by a local Cape Town author. I enjoyed reading this book. The story is quite intense and not quite what I expected. A thought provoking read.

[Joanne]

What a magnificent read! Really enjoyed this book.

[Wangũi]

https://youtu.be/T8QyU5dETqo

review on youtube plus a discussion about seed from an indigenous Afrikan perspective

[Lyn]

I loved this book!

[Lost in a Good Book]

Gem of a book, gorgeously written.

[Alison Smith]

A bold debut novel by Cape Town writer, Jacquie L'Ange. Better than an airline ticket to Brazil. Story starts in Cape Town, at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens - botanist Maddy is sent to Brazil to track down seeds of a now-extinct-in-Africa tree that's scarce, but still growing in Brazil. Kirstenbosch
wants to preserve the seeds in the global seed bank.
We encounter Maddy's personal problems, there's the thrill and challenge of living in Brazil; there's background history and current influences of the slave trade,; there's a very sexy Brazilian man who provides the love interest. Plus - and a big plus - a major ingredient of the story is the exotic Candomble' indigenous religious communities in Brazil, and their part in the seed saga.

An exotic and intriguing mix. I enjoyed the book.

[Madri]

Op die voorblad sê Gareth Crocker dat L'Ange 'n mens hipnotiseer. Beter kan ek dit nie stel nie. Die storie ontgin die magiese wêreld van Brasilië en Candomblé, die Afro-Brasiliaanse spirituele tradisie. Dit speel met "waarheid" rondom Maddy, die protagonis, se verlede. Dit bevraagteken die aard van verhoudings. L'Ange meng soos 'n alchemis die magiese met die eksotiese.

[Bernadine]

Beautifully written. Full of rich and evocative descriptions.

[Karina Szczurek]

Beautiful, sensual, flawless. I have become a L'Ange fan for life.