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Mijn wilde tuin
Wanneer Meir Shalev verhuist naar de Vlakte van Jizreel in het noorden van Israël, treft hij daar een haveloos stuk grond aan. Hij legt een nieuwe tuin aan, met wilde bloemen, struiken en bomen, die hij liefdevol onderhoudt. Net als het schrijverschap vraagt tuinieren geduld: soms duurt het een tijdje voordat het schoonheid oplevert.
De zieke citroenboom vervangt hij door een grote poteling die tweemaal per jaar vrucht geeft, ‘want ook ik ben al een vrij oude citroenboom en ik wil niet te lang wachten tot hij me vrucht geeft’.
Elke plant, elk dier dat Shalev ziet, brengt hem op gedachten en inzichten over de natuur, literatuur en koken: Mijn wilde tuin bevat het ook enkele recepten. Een zelfportret van de schrijver als tuinier, vol levenswijsheid en humor.
De zieke citroenboom vervangt hij door een grote poteling die tweemaal per jaar vrucht geeft, ‘want ook ik ben al een vrij oude citroenboom en ik wil niet te lang wachten tot hij me vrucht geeft’.
Elke plant, elk dier dat Shalev ziet, brengt hem op gedachten en inzichten over de natuur, literatuur en koken: Mijn wilde tuin bevat het ook enkele recepten. Een zelfportret van de schrijver als tuinier, vol levenswijsheid en humor.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2017
113 people are currently reading
3115 people want to read
About the author
Meir Shalev
57 books349 followersMeir Shalev (Hebrew: מאיר שלו) was one of Israel’s most celebrated novelists. He received many awards for his work, including the National Jewish Book Award and Israel’s Brenner Prize, both for A Pigeon and a Boy.
A columnist for the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Shalev lived in Jerusalem and in northern Israel with his wife and children.
A columnist for the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Shalev lived in Jerusalem and in northern Israel with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
November 18, 2020
I adore Meir Shalev as a writer and a thinker. When I saw that he had published a new book and that it was a gardening memoir I read it as soon as it became available. I am an avid gardener and have read dozens of gardening memoirs but I have never read a gardening memoir like this one. How could it be anything like the American and British memoirs I have read? Shalev is an Israeli author who grew up on a Moshav (farming community). His grandfather was a professional planter of grapes and as a child Shalev would watch his grandfather woking, completely enchanted. From his father his received lessons about the Bible and all matters of intellectual topics. From both he learned the Talmud. He learned his lessons well and imparts some of his knowledge in this book.
No matter the topic, Shalev writes with great humor, charm, knowledge and honesty. I often went back and listened again to passages, allowing his words to soak in to my brain and my heart. His most important message is to live peaceably with the creatures around the garden, to be a good steward of the land and a good person in general. This, of course, has wider implications for living in peace with his neighbors in Israel (one of the topics on which Shalev writes professionally).
Shalev makes a point, starting with the title, that he grows a wild garden which means he only grows plants which grow in the wild in Israel. For Shalev, the wild nature of it looks right given that it sits on the tip of the Jezreel Valley. He does not have, like his neighbor, a beautifully and professionally designed garden with special plants grown in pots which come from the nurseries which need to be irrigated and cared for year round. Shalev's plants do need care, but of a different kind, and he spends a lot of time doting on them, e.g. replanting them from seed, an exercise in patience because most of the plants he grows from seed take 3 years to show any flowers. Because of his choices he has a limit of about a dozen plants plus trees, including fruit trees, that he grows but his love for these plants and trees is so great that his family and non-gardening friends think he is crazy given the amount of time and effort he puts into attending them. They think he should be writing instead. But he is not able to concentrate on his writing if there is something to be done in his garden. I understand his obsession so well.
Shalev also thinks that it's amazing that he ever gets any writing done because there is always something to do be done in the garden or something to enjoy and he enjoys his garden a great deal. The biggest distractions for Shalev can be unwitting strangers tromping all over his plants trying to take a picture of the valley behind his house. Or it can be a war with the Mole Rat which eats the roots of his plants, decimating them ( I know this situation all to well having lived through the same devastation). Or he can go to war with certain weeds which strangle the life out his plants and suck up all the nutrients from the ground. Or it can be that he dropped 2 tiny cyclamen seeds below his desk and he cannot get back to work knowing that those seeds could turn into 2 more plants which will reproduce and turn into innumerable plants over time if only he took the time to find those seeds. Which he does, of course. Shalev confesses that his behavior is a bit irrational because he already has 100 cyclamen plants in his garden. But any gardener understands this irrational and obsessive behavior and can only smile with recognition.
Shalev waxes poetic about his favorite plants, their beauty, fragrance and charm just like any other garden lover and like other gardeners he discusses food and drinks which he makes from his plants and even gives recipes. He also discusses tools, compost, twine, critters which enter his garden (and there are a lot of them because he lives on the edge of a forest) and countless other topics. But what makes this memoir unique is that no matter the topic Shalev goes on interesting and humorous tangents discoursing at length on whatever comes to mind. These tangents often sound rabbinical. For instance, any word in Hebrew has a 3 letter derivation which can make up many other words with varying and keeping meanings which can be linked back to biblical words and passages. Shalev does't miss a chance to go into these word derivations and meanings which I found fascinating. He would start with the simple name of a flower, for instance, and arrive at instruction in philosophy, the Bible, Israeli and/or Arabic history and well as Greek history. Shalev also mentions his time in the army and tells a funny story about sneaking off base to visit a famous local garden (the Bahai Gardens). In another very funny chapter Shalev gives anecdotes about other gardeners who criticize his gardening methods.
The whole time I was listening to this book I wanted to be there, living, learning and gardening with Shalev. In lieu of that I will be buying this book in a paper edition so that I can read and reread favorite passages. Since this is such a unique book it will only have a small audience, especially in this country. But just the right reader will adore this book. You know who you are.
No matter the topic, Shalev writes with great humor, charm, knowledge and honesty. I often went back and listened again to passages, allowing his words to soak in to my brain and my heart. His most important message is to live peaceably with the creatures around the garden, to be a good steward of the land and a good person in general. This, of course, has wider implications for living in peace with his neighbors in Israel (one of the topics on which Shalev writes professionally).
Shalev makes a point, starting with the title, that he grows a wild garden which means he only grows plants which grow in the wild in Israel. For Shalev, the wild nature of it looks right given that it sits on the tip of the Jezreel Valley. He does not have, like his neighbor, a beautifully and professionally designed garden with special plants grown in pots which come from the nurseries which need to be irrigated and cared for year round. Shalev's plants do need care, but of a different kind, and he spends a lot of time doting on them, e.g. replanting them from seed, an exercise in patience because most of the plants he grows from seed take 3 years to show any flowers. Because of his choices he has a limit of about a dozen plants plus trees, including fruit trees, that he grows but his love for these plants and trees is so great that his family and non-gardening friends think he is crazy given the amount of time and effort he puts into attending them. They think he should be writing instead. But he is not able to concentrate on his writing if there is something to be done in his garden. I understand his obsession so well.
Shalev also thinks that it's amazing that he ever gets any writing done because there is always something to do be done in the garden or something to enjoy and he enjoys his garden a great deal. The biggest distractions for Shalev can be unwitting strangers tromping all over his plants trying to take a picture of the valley behind his house. Or it can be a war with the Mole Rat which eats the roots of his plants, decimating them ( I know this situation all to well having lived through the same devastation). Or he can go to war with certain weeds which strangle the life out his plants and suck up all the nutrients from the ground. Or it can be that he dropped 2 tiny cyclamen seeds below his desk and he cannot get back to work knowing that those seeds could turn into 2 more plants which will reproduce and turn into innumerable plants over time if only he took the time to find those seeds. Which he does, of course. Shalev confesses that his behavior is a bit irrational because he already has 100 cyclamen plants in his garden. But any gardener understands this irrational and obsessive behavior and can only smile with recognition.
Shalev waxes poetic about his favorite plants, their beauty, fragrance and charm just like any other garden lover and like other gardeners he discusses food and drinks which he makes from his plants and even gives recipes. He also discusses tools, compost, twine, critters which enter his garden (and there are a lot of them because he lives on the edge of a forest) and countless other topics. But what makes this memoir unique is that no matter the topic Shalev goes on interesting and humorous tangents discoursing at length on whatever comes to mind. These tangents often sound rabbinical. For instance, any word in Hebrew has a 3 letter derivation which can make up many other words with varying and keeping meanings which can be linked back to biblical words and passages. Shalev does't miss a chance to go into these word derivations and meanings which I found fascinating. He would start with the simple name of a flower, for instance, and arrive at instruction in philosophy, the Bible, Israeli and/or Arabic history and well as Greek history. Shalev also mentions his time in the army and tells a funny story about sneaking off base to visit a famous local garden (the Bahai Gardens). In another very funny chapter Shalev gives anecdotes about other gardeners who criticize his gardening methods.
The whole time I was listening to this book I wanted to be there, living, learning and gardening with Shalev. In lieu of that I will be buying this book in a paper edition so that I can read and reread favorite passages. Since this is such a unique book it will only have a small audience, especially in this country. But just the right reader will adore this book. You know who you are.
June 24, 2017
Reading anything by Meir Shalev is always a magical treat. This is no exception. A wonderful, clever, witty, and sensitive book about life in all its forms.
June 16, 2021
I am not saying this is the best book I’ve read this year (2021) but it is certainly the one I’ve enjoyed the most. I savored this book in a way I haven’t savored a book in a long while. And because I borrowed a copy from the library, I am now aching to own a copy for myself. The writing was delicious and the illustrations were gorgeous. The marriage of gardening and writing (although you need not be a gardener nor a writer to enjoy this marvelous book) was a sheer delight.
May 1, 2020
I read an other book of this author before, and it didn’t appeal to me. I got this book ‘by accident’ to read, and I LOVE it. First of all by the lovely pictures and drawings, but also by the impressions, the thoughts he writes. The short chapters, the lightness, it made it to perfect book in these times.
September 3, 2024
Книга для повільного медитативного читання.
Усякі замітки і короткі оповідання про сад ізраїльського письменника, якого я читала вперше. Тут, на відміну останньої Olivia Laing, рослини більш персоніфіковані, подані майже особистостями. Автор дуже любив свої морські цибулі, цикламени і лимонне дерево. Цікаво що сталося з цим садом.
Усякі замітки і короткі оповідання про сад ізраїльського письменника, якого я читала вперше. Тут, на відміну останньої Olivia Laing, рослини більш персоніфіковані, подані майже особистостями. Автор дуже любив свої морські цибулі, цикламени і лимонне дерево. Цікаво що сталося з цим садом.
November 10, 2018
Meir Shalev houdt van taal (en dan uiteraard vooral het Hebreeuws), van het land waarin hij geworteld is, van wilde planten (en sommige dieren) en van pure, lekker smakende dingen die je kunt maken van vruchten, kruiden en alles wat het land om je heen kan voortbrengen. Die liefdes worden samengebundeld in de passie van Shalev voor zijn wilde tuin, waar oorlogen worden gevoerd en vredes worden gesloten, liefdes ontluiken, frustraties en woede ontstaan, het dode levend wordt en het levende onvermijdelijk ook sterft. Dat alles beschrijft Shalev in miniatuurtjes. Net als in zijn tuin vindt alles de juiste plek. Het is prachtig geïllustreerd en het is een boek dat je moet lezen op dezelfde manier als je een goede en milde whiskey (Meir Shalev zelf zou kiezen voor limoncello)drinkt: met kleine beetjes tegelijk.
January 1, 2018
קשה להאמין שספר שכל כולו תיאורים של גינה, ועוד כזו שחלק מן השנה היא בעיקר יבשה, מסוגל להעניק לקורא חוויה כה עמוקה. אני מניח שזה בשל השילוב של התיאורים המפורטים, מבלי להיות טרחניים של פרטי חי וצומח והגיונם, עם הומור נהדר, התייחסות לשפה, איזכור תקופות וספרים אחרים של שלו, התייחסויות למקורות היהודיים והישראלים ועוד דברים שבעלי השכלה רחבה יוכלו להתענג עליהם במיוחד, ואילו אחרים ירכשו כאן כזו.
זה אחד מקבוצה קטנה של ספרים בשנים האחרונות שגרמו לי לצפות במשך היום לרגע בו אוכל להמשיך ולקרוא אותו.
כמה ציטוטים האהובים עלי במיוחד:
עמוד 23: למה חשוב לילדים ולילדות בני ארבע וחמש לדעת את כל זאת? האמת היא שזה לא ממש חשוב. גם מי שאין להם הידע הזה יוכלו לגדול ולהיות אזרחים שומרי חוק ובעלי מקצוע טובים. אולי אף ימציאו אפליקציה חדשה ויושיעו בה את המין האנושי. אבל ילד שלומד דברים כאלה בגיל ארבה יהיה אדם טוב יותר כשיהיה בן שש, ובסיכוי הזה אין להקל ראש.
עמוד 97: חזירי הבר מעוררים בי גם חשש. פעם אחדת אף נאלצתי לטפס ולעמוד על שולחן ההנבטות שלי, כי שמעתי פתאום את נחרות הזעם של נקבה שבאה עם גוריה ובכבר התכונה להסתער. כמה דקות עמדנו זה מול זה, אני על השולחן והיא על הקרקע, קיללנו, נחרנו, דיברנו דופי ועשינו זה לעומת זה תנועות חזיריות. בסופו של דבר הבינה החזירה שאני דוגמה רעה לילדיה, קראה להם והסתלקה.
עמוד 112: טוב, נמאס לי להקליד, אפשר לקרוא.
זה אחד מקבוצה קטנה של ספרים בשנים האחרונות שגרמו לי לצפות במשך היום לרגע בו אוכל להמשיך ולקרוא אותו.
כמה ציטוטים האהובים עלי במיוחד:
עמוד 23: למה חשוב לילדים ולילדות בני ארבע וחמש לדעת את כל זאת? האמת היא שזה לא ממש חשוב. גם מי שאין להם הידע הזה יוכלו לגדול ולהיות אזרחים שומרי חוק ובעלי מקצוע טובים. אולי אף ימציאו אפליקציה חדשה ויושיעו בה את המין האנושי. אבל ילד שלומד דברים כאלה בגיל ארבה יהיה אדם טוב יותר כשיהיה בן שש, ובסיכוי הזה אין להקל ראש.
עמוד 97: חזירי הבר מעוררים בי גם חשש. פעם אחדת אף נאלצתי לטפס ולעמוד על שולחן ההנבטות שלי, כי שמעתי פתאום את נחרות הזעם של נקבה שבאה עם גוריה ובכבר התכונה להסתער. כמה דקות עמדנו זה מול זה, אני על השולחן והיא על הקרקע, קיללנו, נחרנו, דיברנו דופי ועשינו זה לעומת זה תנועות חזיריות. בסופו של דבר הבינה החזירה שאני דוגמה רעה לילדיה, קראה להם והסתלקה.
עמוד 112: טוב, נמאס לי להקליד, אפשר לקרוא.
July 12, 2021
This set of vignettes is a delightful description of gardening and life in Israel.
December 28, 2022
3.5 stars
The writing is great, and I loved learning about the native flora and fauna of Israel. I have some complaints - going too deeply into some Bible stories, the way gender is treated as an utter binary - but overall it was a fun, light listen when I needed exactly that.
More detailed thoughts in my December Mid-Month Wrap Up.
The writing is great, and I loved learning about the native flora and fauna of Israel. I have some complaints - going too deeply into some Bible stories, the way gender is treated as an utter binary - but overall it was a fun, light listen when I needed exactly that.
More detailed thoughts in my December Mid-Month Wrap Up.
August 1, 2020
This book was just a joy to read. As a fellow avid gardener, I appreciated every one of his observations. I laughed along with him, and shed a tear or two as well. I thought about the legacy of gardens, and reflected on my own mortality in relationship to what we sow in so many parts of our lives in anticipation of future generations. I found this book to be such a perfect reflection on how gardening, a seemingly mundane task to some, can be so utterly profound and teach us lessons throughout life that ultimately develop into deep wisdom.
May 9, 2017
A nice book about Meir Shalev's wild flower garden.
In his special humoristic style he gives us a description and anecdotes from his special garden that has mostly wild flowers. The book is flavored with related anecdotes from the old testament, and many funny descriptions from the various tasks, plants, animals and people related to his garden.
The book has sketches of the various corners in his garden and they add to the experience too.
Some of the stories are familiar from reading his weekly column in the newspaper and altogether it is a freshening fun read.
In his special humoristic style he gives us a description and anecdotes from his special garden that has mostly wild flowers. The book is flavored with related anecdotes from the old testament, and many funny descriptions from the various tasks, plants, animals and people related to his garden.
The book has sketches of the various corners in his garden and they add to the experience too.
Some of the stories are familiar from reading his weekly column in the newspaper and altogether it is a freshening fun read.
July 4, 2021
Een heerlijk boek dat je leest met een glimlach. Meir Shalev gaat er helemaal vanuit dat planten en bomen net zijn als mensen, maar met een groot verschil: ze kunnen niet van hun plaats af.
Hij praat met zijn bloemen, bemoedigt ze en beschermt ze als het nodig is.
Ik heb het als e-book gelezen, maar miste de mooie afbeeldingen van de planten. Daarom heb ik de editie behouden van het "gewone" boek.
Hij praat met zijn bloemen, bemoedigt ze en beschermt ze als het nodig is.
Ik heb het als e-book gelezen, maar miste de mooie afbeeldingen van de planten. Daarom heb ik de editie behouden van het "gewone" boek.
February 17, 2018
אין לי מילים לתאר עד כמה הספר הקטן הזה מצליח לגעת באנושיות שבתוכנו דרך הגונה של מאיר שלו. קריאת חובה אבל קריאה איטית. זה ספר שמשאירים ליד המיטה וקוראים לאט לאט, כל יום פרק או שניים.
March 1, 2020
מלא קסמאישי חמוץ מתוק
November 21, 2020
2020 bk 381. I picked up this book anticipating an interesting read and look into an Israeli Garden. What I gained was a keeper, a book filled with delightful essays to digest, read slowly, and revisit. The words delightful, insightful, wonder, joy, and awe are perhaps adequate to describe the emotions I felt on reading the many different essays Meir Shaleve has written and shared about his wild flower garden in a village in Israel. The memoir for his cat, the story of his father's poetry being reflected in the garden of the son, the obvious love he has for the climate, land, and place of his home, even the essay on spiders and snakes were all stories that made me feel happy. Even the small drawings scattered throughout the book - and the two pages at the back of the book enhanced the experience of the read. Definitely a keeper and one that will stay near my bedside, to be dipped into on those nights when it is hard to sleep - I'll make a short visit to Shalev's garden and smile.
October 17, 2024
In dit boek deelt Meir Shalev zijn liefde voor de natuur. De korte verhalen zijn doorspekt met weetjes over planten en dieren, waaronder soorten die we hier niet kennen: blindmuis, cyclamen, zeeajuin - iemand?
Verder ook etymologische weetjes (weliswaar Hebreeuwse) en interpretaties van bijbelverzen, beschouwingen over leven en dood. De Israëlische maatschappij is nooit ver weg, net zoals de humoristische knipogen waar ik enorm van hou bij deze auteur: heerlijk!
Gezien de actualiteit is het misschien niet populair om de lof te zingen van een Israëlische auteur. Maar Shalev was geen voorstander van het huidige beleid, hij was eerder linksgeoriënteerd en overleed in april ‘23. Dus geen kind-en-badwater-toestanden hier.
Verder ook etymologische weetjes (weliswaar Hebreeuwse) en interpretaties van bijbelverzen, beschouwingen over leven en dood. De Israëlische maatschappij is nooit ver weg, net zoals de humoristische knipogen waar ik enorm van hou bij deze auteur: heerlijk!
Gezien de actualiteit is het misschien niet populair om de lof te zingen van een Israëlische auteur. Maar Shalev was geen voorstander van het huidige beleid, hij was eerder linksgeoriënteerd en overleed in april ‘23. Dus geen kind-en-badwater-toestanden hier.
August 29, 2025
Lovely meditations on gardening and the nature of wildness, poignant insights into modern Jewish culture. I found the jaded misquoting and misapplying of countless Old Testament tales and outcomes to be revealing and heartbreaking.
April 21, 2022
מאיר שלו בכישרונו הרב, בשפתו המרהיבה ובחוש ההומור הידוע שלו הצליח להשאיר אותי קורא בספרו עד סיומו למרות שהנושא. לא ממש בתחומי העניין שלי.
עמה סופרים בארצנו מסוגלים לזה? כנראה שלא הרבה…
עמה סופרים בארצנו מסוגלים לזה? כנראה שלא הרבה…
June 10, 2023
Pure delight for a fellow gardener!
July 3, 2024
טוב, בהשראה מאחותי אשתדל לבקר על הספר הזה באותה השפה שבה הוא נכתב.
מאיר שלו הוא הסופר האהוב עלי (בתיקו צמוד עם אתגר קרת), ורק על פי כן בכלל שקלתי לקרוא את הספר הזה - קשה לי לדמיין הרבה אנשים שאקשיב להם מדברים למשך שעה על הגינה שלהם, מילה שאקרא סיפור שלם עליה למשך שבועיים. אבל למזלי הספר הזה כתוב על ידי מאיר שלו, ולכן בהחלט נהנתי. למרות שאולי עם קריאה יותר עמוקה הייתי לומד יותר על בוטניקה, התפלאתי לגלות שבמקום זאת למדתי על משוררי ישראל, על סיפורים תנ"כיים, על היסטוריית שטח המדינה, וביעקר על השפה העברית.
לכל אוהבי מאיר שלו כמוני אני ממליץ על הספר החמוד הזה והאיורים הנחמדים בתוכו, ולכל השאר אני ממליץ בחום קודם כל לקרוא את "הדבר היה ככה", ואחרי שהתאבתם במאיר שלו, לקרוא את הספר הזה.
מאיר שלו הוא הסופר האהוב עלי (בתיקו צמוד עם אתגר קרת), ורק על פי כן בכלל שקלתי לקרוא את הספר הזה - קשה לי לדמיין הרבה אנשים שאקשיב להם מדברים למשך שעה על הגינה שלהם, מילה שאקרא סיפור שלם עליה למשך שבועיים. אבל למזלי הספר הזה כתוב על ידי מאיר שלו, ולכן בהחלט נהנתי. למרות שאולי עם קריאה יותר עמוקה הייתי לומד יותר על בוטניקה, התפלאתי לגלות שבמקום זאת למדתי על משוררי ישראל, על סיפורים תנ"כיים, על היסטוריית שטח המדינה, וביעקר על השפה העברית.
לכל אוהבי מאיר שלו כמוני אני ממליץ על הספר החמוד הזה והאיורים הנחמדים בתוכו, ולכל השאר אני ממליץ בחום קודם כל לקרוא את "הדבר היה ככה", ואחרי שהתאבתם במאיר שלו, לקרוא את הספר הזה.
August 20, 2024
Shares much that I am thinking about these days: Plants as sentient beings (see quote below that fits right in with Zoe Schlanger's Light-Eaters), and being slightly daft and stubborn about one's garden. The quote: "Whether or not they produce fruit we can eat and enjoy, trees possess qualities common to humans and animals: they are born and die; they eat, drink, multiply, grow, fall sick; they sense light, heat, touch, moisture, and perhaps even time. Some of them actually have the ability to move--toward the sun, for example, or in search of support or something to cling to. One of my olive trees, for example, does not like the big terebinth tree that grow beside it and clearly inclines away, ..."
November 22, 2024
Lievelings boek ooit
February 25, 2021
This is a book of thoughts about the garden surrounding the author's home that he attempts to keep more 'wild' than cultivated. Admittedly, he does purchase some of his trees - specifically mentioned was a beloved lemon tree - from professionals but most of his flowers are transplanted from the side of the road just before they're buried or dug up by construction equipment.
Considering himself a 'modest grower of wildflowers', Shalev - who lives in Israel - talks about his garden as well as what the animals, birds and plants have taught him over the years.
Owls and mole rat and beetles. The poppies and chinaberry tree and woodpeckers. Various types of squill and an olive tree and snapdragons. Cedar and cyclamen and bats. Anemones and snakes and spiders. Lemon trees and making lemoncello. Water and drought and asking for rain. Sabras - or prickly pears - and thorns and chopping down a tree. Collectors disease and patience and persistence. Going barefoot and connecting with the earth.
All of them and more are topics that Shalev touches on. It may seem a bit disorganized but these are more like a collection of thoughts in short article form. Each one is only a few pages long.
And the illustrations provided by Refaella Shir are absolutely gorgeous. Bright colorful watercolors of flowers as well as full page black-and-white scenery. The illustrations are almost enough to make the reader want to plant their own garden.
2021-038
Considering himself a 'modest grower of wildflowers', Shalev - who lives in Israel - talks about his garden as well as what the animals, birds and plants have taught him over the years.
Owls and mole rat and beetles. The poppies and chinaberry tree and woodpeckers. Various types of squill and an olive tree and snapdragons. Cedar and cyclamen and bats. Anemones and snakes and spiders. Lemon trees and making lemoncello. Water and drought and asking for rain. Sabras - or prickly pears - and thorns and chopping down a tree. Collectors disease and patience and persistence. Going barefoot and connecting with the earth.
All of them and more are topics that Shalev touches on. It may seem a bit disorganized but these are more like a collection of thoughts in short article form. Each one is only a few pages long.
And the illustrations provided by Refaella Shir are absolutely gorgeous. Bright colorful watercolors of flowers as well as full page black-and-white scenery. The illustrations are almost enough to make the reader want to plant their own garden.
2021-038
Read
August 14, 2018Warm aanbevolen. Alleen weet ik niet meteen aan wie. Zelf aarzelend begonnen, na enkele hoofdstukjes beginnen twijfelen. Maar uiteindelijk met heel veel leesplezier verslonden. Ja, het gaat over plantjes, en dieren en over klusjes in de tuin. Maar het gaat ook over taal, en over Israël en over de Bijbel. Nooit nadrukkelijk maar hier en daar een zaadje en een scheutje water. Het gaat ook over de schrijver en over zijn vader. En je krijgt zin om (nog) meer van Shalev te lezen. Aanbevolen aan lezers dus.
March 26, 2020
Thanks to Knopf Books for my ARC
As long as you do not expect this book to be something it's not, it's delightful. It's chock full of beautifully poetic observations, gardening tips, and even a few recipes. But it is very much a series of "notes," not a memoir or anything like that in the traditional sense.
With that being said, the notes do sort of seem to have some sort of logical flow to them. Even if this book just sort of gently bears you along on Shalev's observations, it still feels like a well-ordered, cohesive whole.
As long as you do not expect this book to be something it's not, it's delightful. It's chock full of beautifully poetic observations, gardening tips, and even a few recipes. But it is very much a series of "notes," not a memoir or anything like that in the traditional sense.
With that being said, the notes do sort of seem to have some sort of logical flow to them. Even if this book just sort of gently bears you along on Shalev's observations, it still feels like a well-ordered, cohesive whole.
August 10, 2021
i am not a gardener- i actually dont know the first thing about gardening. u need no prior knowledge of gardening 2 become fully immersed in this book- altho after reading, i am tempted 2 pick up the hobby.
this book is a work of art- from the breathtaking illustrations 2 the poetry of shalev's language- i fell in love w this book. the parallels between gardening and the principles of existence weave 2gether effortlessly in this beautiful novel. whether u are an avid gardener or a voracious reader, this book contains multitudes 4 everyone 2 dwell on.
this book is a work of art- from the breathtaking illustrations 2 the poetry of shalev's language- i fell in love w this book. the parallels between gardening and the principles of existence weave 2gether effortlessly in this beautiful novel. whether u are an avid gardener or a voracious reader, this book contains multitudes 4 everyone 2 dwell on.
February 29, 2020
לקח לי המון זמן מרגע שקניתי את הספר עד שקראתי אותו. פחדתי קצת שישעמם אותי. אבל - זוהי דוגמה נפלאה לספר בלי עלילה שהוא בכל זאת מרתק. הוא מורכב מסיפורונים קטנים על גינת הבר של שלו, וניתן ממש לראות את האיריסים ולהריח את פריחת הלימון. הוא משעשע וכנה וחכם ואני חושבת שגם אלו שלא מתעניינים בגינון יהנו ממנו.
July 18, 2021
Un bon livre pour ceux qui sont passionnés par la botanique. Shalev écrit de belles anecdotes sur les créatures et les plantes de son jardin sauvage situé en Israël. Ponctué de références bibliques et de petits mots d'humour, ce livre a été un plaisir à lire et une belle découverte parmi les traductions de 2020.
February 28, 2022
Heerlijk boek voor wie van tuinieren houdt en en passant wil genieten van tal van uitweidingen over t Hebreeuws, geschiedenis, ultra-orthodoxe tuiniers, spaghetti met salie en zo nog wat vermakelijke verhalen.
April 3, 2018
Vriendelijk boek, van het type verzamelde columns. Grappig en informatief, beslist geen roman. Dus die moet je ernaast lezen....
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