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Rootbound: Rewilding a Life
When she was a girl, Alice Vincent loved her grandfather's garden - the freedom, the calm, the beauty of it. Twenty years later, living in a tiny flat in South London, that childhood in the garden feels like a dream.
When she suddenly finds herself uprooted, heartbroken, living out of a suitcase and yearning for the comfort of home, Alice starts to plant seeds. She nurtures pot plants and vines on windowsills and draining boards, filling her new space with green, and with each unfurling petal and budding leaf, she begins to come back to life.
Mixing memoir, botanical history and biography, Rootbound examines how bringing a little bit of the outside in can help us find our feet in a world spinning far too fast.
When she suddenly finds herself uprooted, heartbroken, living out of a suitcase and yearning for the comfort of home, Alice starts to plant seeds. She nurtures pot plants and vines on windowsills and draining boards, filling her new space with green, and with each unfurling petal and budding leaf, she begins to come back to life.
Mixing memoir, botanical history and biography, Rootbound examines how bringing a little bit of the outside in can help us find our feet in a world spinning far too fast.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 30, 2020
124 people are currently reading
1899 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
March 25, 2020
I think this one is a case of a book trying to do too much. Pitched as a mix of memoir, botanical history and biography (although it wedges in some gender politics, travelogue and generational commentary too) it just fails to register as enough of any of them to become something substantial.
It feels like a great first book. (Though the author has written a guide to gardening before this in 2017). It's a well written book, but it's the same as an elegant speech about three different subjects... You're never going to get much because there's not enough space for anything to grow.
I kept wanting to stay on the one trail of thought. But every time the author would switch to a new subject and it would annoy me.
And besides that, I didn't care much about her love life. It wasn't dramatic enough to be interesting or insightful enough to be informative. She just left one guy, pottered around thinking she was growing, but instead used a ton of other things as crutches and never really gained more than a false epiphany and sense of psuedo-transformation that wasn't at all convincing.
So, regrettably, I rate this one 2/5. The title is apt, the whole thing just got rootbound and needed repotting into several other pots. The author could have had three great books, rather than one bad one.
That said. I will keep an eye out for her next and give that a go. She is very good at her descriptions and can carry a story.
It feels like a great first book. (Though the author has written a guide to gardening before this in 2017). It's a well written book, but it's the same as an elegant speech about three different subjects... You're never going to get much because there's not enough space for anything to grow.
I kept wanting to stay on the one trail of thought. But every time the author would switch to a new subject and it would annoy me.
And besides that, I didn't care much about her love life. It wasn't dramatic enough to be interesting or insightful enough to be informative. She just left one guy, pottered around thinking she was growing, but instead used a ton of other things as crutches and never really gained more than a false epiphany and sense of psuedo-transformation that wasn't at all convincing.
So, regrettably, I rate this one 2/5. The title is apt, the whole thing just got rootbound and needed repotting into several other pots. The author could have had three great books, rather than one bad one.
That said. I will keep an eye out for her next and give that a go. She is very good at her descriptions and can carry a story.
April 25, 2020
I enjoyed the gardening, but at times got a bit bored of the millennial focus and the hand - wringing of Alice's heartbreak.
Maybe I'm too old and cynical.
Maybe I'm too old and cynical.
February 23, 2020
Alice Vincent’s book Rootbound made me understand why I have spent ten years with my hands in the cold, hard and unyielding clay soil coaxing life and beauty into this corner of my life. I saw it with fresh eyes through her writing. I saw how angry I was when the cherry blossom dared to burst into bloom the day my dad died and how I now feel such peace when the season changes and I remember him. The children waiting for the raspberries, the first tomato, the year I made ketchup and used every pan in the house and destroyed the sieve. The lunches, the parties, the drawing pins stuck to the fence from my daughters 5th birthday (she’s now 14), the beauty of the garden after rain. A lovely Sunday read.
November 25, 2021
1.5 stars
This book should be retitled "My Big Fat Book of my ex, JOSH!!! (oh and some plants here and there)"
Don't get me wrong, the book started off well, there is talk of a breakdown in relationship and the healing and therapeutic effect of plants/gardening/nature. So far, so good, we've all been there, a hobby/activity to get you out of your break up funk.
There are asides here and there about family, gardening history snippets, the perils and advantages of living in London, the hardships of being a millennial, the difficulties of the London job and housing market and other such topics. Vincent comes across at times as whiney and hard done to, when in actual fact, she probably has a better job situation than many millennials out there. Try working in a warehouse on minimum wage, in a care home for £8 an hour wiping arses, or working 12 hour shifts in a supermarket serving pretentious people like you organic bok choy and quinoa!
Rather than do something about her situation, Vincent then decides to wantonly "tit about" for months, cycling about and sofa surfing and moaning to friends and family, when she actually co-owns a flat that she could be bought out of, or sell on! Just get on with it love and stop the martyr complex! She gets into a new relationship but constantly obsesses about the ex, keeping the new boyfriend at arms length because she is "scared".
All this becomes a bit tedious to be honest, and you end up wanting to tell her to grow the fuck up! She has a tangible financial asset (which is more than what most of the population have), a great paying job (again, more than what most millennials have) and a new relationship. Move on, and stop moaning!!
The rewilding here is thrown in willy nilly, and provides almost a theatrical backdrop to the overblown story of a relationship break up.
Read only if you're prepared to invest in the verrrrrrrrrrrrry extensive minutiae of the ex, Josh!!
This book should be retitled "My Big Fat Book of my ex, JOSH!!! (oh and some plants here and there)"
Don't get me wrong, the book started off well, there is talk of a breakdown in relationship and the healing and therapeutic effect of plants/gardening/nature. So far, so good, we've all been there, a hobby/activity to get you out of your break up funk.
There are asides here and there about family, gardening history snippets, the perils and advantages of living in London, the hardships of being a millennial, the difficulties of the London job and housing market and other such topics. Vincent comes across at times as whiney and hard done to, when in actual fact, she probably has a better job situation than many millennials out there. Try working in a warehouse on minimum wage, in a care home for £8 an hour wiping arses, or working 12 hour shifts in a supermarket serving pretentious people like you organic bok choy and quinoa!
Rather than do something about her situation, Vincent then decides to wantonly "tit about" for months, cycling about and sofa surfing and moaning to friends and family, when she actually co-owns a flat that she could be bought out of, or sell on! Just get on with it love and stop the martyr complex! She gets into a new relationship but constantly obsesses about the ex, keeping the new boyfriend at arms length because she is "scared".
All this becomes a bit tedious to be honest, and you end up wanting to tell her to grow the fuck up! She has a tangible financial asset (which is more than what most of the population have), a great paying job (again, more than what most millennials have) and a new relationship. Move on, and stop moaning!!
The rewilding here is thrown in willy nilly, and provides almost a theatrical backdrop to the overblown story of a relationship break up.
Read only if you're prepared to invest in the verrrrrrrrrrrrry extensive minutiae of the ex, Josh!!
March 28, 2021
The book looks lush and was an impulse buy before another Lockdown hit us, grabbing it in Waterstones as it seemed to be exactly what I'd enjoy reading. But oh dear god it's taken me months to get through it (longer than what's listed here, I can't remember exactly when I started it, only that it's been sitting on my bedside table long enough for the cover to fade!)
Alice is a millennial living in London, enjoying a trendy millennial London lifestyle. Her partner dumps her. She grows plants on her balcony. She's heartbroken and goes on various trips to try and get over it. She really likes plants. And London. She gets a new boyfriend and a new flat, and starts growing her plants there instead. The End.
I'm trying not to be mean, but this book is wayyy overwritten. It's all over the place, with Vincent's careful research on display for every single place she passes, histories of names, plants, places etc. It's too much and distracts from the main narrative- or rather it would, if the narrative was strong enough. Sadly it just isn't. A fairly typical breakup is just too run of the mill to drive the narrative. And Vincent isn't all that immersed in the plant world. She likes growing plants, but she doesn't give up her existing Millennial in London life to go start up a plant nursery instead. None of it is interesting enough to warrant a book deal.
I plodded through this, hoping to reach the part where it all gets more wild and raw and exciting (after all, the tagline is "rewilding a life.") But it didn't. I was bored and disappointed. I know so many people with far more interesting stories to tell, people who have gone through real trauma or live with very difficult circumstances, and people who have a very deep relationship with the natural world. There's just no story here, and no real transformation.
Alice is a millennial living in London, enjoying a trendy millennial London lifestyle. Her partner dumps her. She grows plants on her balcony. She's heartbroken and goes on various trips to try and get over it. She really likes plants. And London. She gets a new boyfriend and a new flat, and starts growing her plants there instead. The End.
I'm trying not to be mean, but this book is wayyy overwritten. It's all over the place, with Vincent's careful research on display for every single place she passes, histories of names, plants, places etc. It's too much and distracts from the main narrative- or rather it would, if the narrative was strong enough. Sadly it just isn't. A fairly typical breakup is just too run of the mill to drive the narrative. And Vincent isn't all that immersed in the plant world. She likes growing plants, but she doesn't give up her existing Millennial in London life to go start up a plant nursery instead. None of it is interesting enough to warrant a book deal.
I plodded through this, hoping to reach the part where it all gets more wild and raw and exciting (after all, the tagline is "rewilding a life.") But it didn't. I was bored and disappointed. I know so many people with far more interesting stories to tell, people who have gone through real trauma or live with very difficult circumstances, and people who have a very deep relationship with the natural world. There's just no story here, and no real transformation.
February 24, 2021
This book is what I imagine would happen if you were sat next to an acquaintance at a dinner party and asked "So how are you getting on post break up? Have you sold the flat yet?" 6 hours later you'll wish she just answered "Fine, thanks, I've taken up gardening and I'm looking to buy a new flat"
May 12, 2021
3.5 rounded up
This grew (ha) on me, so I ultimately decided to round my rating up.
Before reading Rootbound I thought the reviews on GR were overly critical in saying their was too much memoir which wasn’t quite what they’d expected, however after finishing the book I think I’d have to agree.
This book is really more a memoir of Vincent’s life post-break up with her long time boyfriend than a book about gardening, which is fine if you don’t mind reading (another) millennial memoir. Fortunately I was in the mood for this, but the gardening sections were definitely what I came (and stayed) for.
This grew (ha) on me, so I ultimately decided to round my rating up.
Before reading Rootbound I thought the reviews on GR were overly critical in saying their was too much memoir which wasn’t quite what they’d expected, however after finishing the book I think I’d have to agree.
This book is really more a memoir of Vincent’s life post-break up with her long time boyfriend than a book about gardening, which is fine if you don’t mind reading (another) millennial memoir. Fortunately I was in the mood for this, but the gardening sections were definitely what I came (and stayed) for.
May 5, 2021
Dávkovala som si túto knihu postupne, po častiach. A spravila mi veľmi dobre. Áno, je občas rozvláčna, občas sa opakuje, občas je príliš sebestredna... ale všetko jej to odpúšťam, pretože ide o osobnú výpoveď hľadania samej seba a to už take býva - občas rozvlacne, zacyklene, sebestredne.
Botanicke vsuvky však boli viac nez zaujimave a užívala som si tie zelene výlety na cudzie balkóny, terasy, do záhrad, parkov, skleníkov. Odteraz budem nepochybne aj na nové mestá nazerať trochu inými očami.
“Pretože vsechno prostě roste dál. Rostliny tu, stejně jako my, jsou, aby žily, a to navzdory špatným dnům a nejrůznějším těžkostem. Bez ohledu na těžké okovy, ve kterých trpíme a které si sami nasazujeme.”
Botanicke vsuvky však boli viac nez zaujimave a užívala som si tie zelene výlety na cudzie balkóny, terasy, do záhrad, parkov, skleníkov. Odteraz budem nepochybne aj na nové mestá nazerať trochu inými očami.
“Pretože vsechno prostě roste dál. Rostliny tu, stejně jako my, jsou, aby žily, a to navzdory špatným dnům a nejrůznějším těžkostem. Bez ohledu na těžké okovy, ve kterých trpíme a které si sami nasazujeme.”
May 13, 2021
I really wanted to like this book as I saw lots of Instagram accounts were mentioning it. Unfortunately it just didn’t live up to the hype for me. With so many people disadvantaged and losing their livelihoods it was difficult to read about someone constantly moan about all the opportunities she had that were not living up to her expectations. She had all the qualifications and work experience to make much better decisions and improve her life any time she wanted.
April 27, 2020
Pure pleasure and wisdom. Beautiful writing! Not a full 5* as the author jumps a bit between different phases of her life and the reader may sometimes feel lost in time, but it is not a big deal. I loved all the bits - the memoir part, the esseistic elements of botanic history of he UK (and more) and the purely botanic parts. I feel nourished, calm and well informed 🌱🌿🍀
October 15, 2022
Endless flowery prose…nothing but self pity for page after tedious page - better poured out on a psychologists couch than dumped in a book DNF
May 8, 2020
I wanted to love this book - and I did in parts - but I didn't plough through it as anticipated. More often I would dip in and out of it while sometimes glancing at the pile of books on my bedside table that I was eager to start reading instead.
Part memoir, part botanical history and biography, the book is beautifully written, and there are many poignant passages throughout.
But the premise of the book - being brought back to life with the help of plants and nature after the breakdown of a longterm relationship - didn't quite have the impact intended. The author writes about the struggles of the millennial generation but is obviously from a very privileged background - which she at least acknowledges. The heartache at the centre of the book is also soon lessened by the start of a new romance a few months after the breakup of her previous relationship.
Overall I enjoyed the book, but I don't think it will be one of my must-reads of 2020.
Part memoir, part botanical history and biography, the book is beautifully written, and there are many poignant passages throughout.
But the premise of the book - being brought back to life with the help of plants and nature after the breakdown of a longterm relationship - didn't quite have the impact intended. The author writes about the struggles of the millennial generation but is obviously from a very privileged background - which she at least acknowledges. The heartache at the centre of the book is also soon lessened by the start of a new romance a few months after the breakup of her previous relationship.
Overall I enjoyed the book, but I don't think it will be one of my must-reads of 2020.
October 17, 2023
When I bought this book, I never knew how many parallels it would have with my own life. Reading Alice Vincent’s tales of life at Newcastle University brought waves of nostalgia crashing over me, and her musings on her professional life in London echoed the feelings I have towards my own. Insightful anecdotes, such as her hedonistic experiences at Glastonbury Festival and life affirming trips to New York and Tokyo, pepper this book with millennial wisdom. I enjoyed the way that Vincent’s often candid and touching reflections on life as a woman in her mid-late 20s are also interwoven with fascinating horticultural history. A must-read for 90s babies with a penchant for anything that grows.
June 27, 2021
Sehr enttäuschend. Während ziellos Faktenwissen eingestreut wird, bleibt die Autorin seltsam ungenau, was ihre Beziehung und dessen Ende oder auch einfach “nur“ ihr allgemeines Problem (mit was eigentlich?) angeht. Ich fand sie beinahe unsympathisch und kann das Buch weder als Pflanzenverführer noch als “neues Eat Pray Love“ empfehlen.
October 17, 2020
Do you like plants? Read this book.
Do you like London? Read this book.
Do you like life? Read this book.
Do you not like any of the above?
Read it anyway. It will change your mind.
Do you like London? Read this book.
Do you like life? Read this book.
Do you not like any of the above?
Read it anyway. It will change your mind.
December 22, 2020
Read this off the back of something by Dolly Alderton and there are some similarities... A millennial memoir by someone in the media, very London, written by a relatively privileged and lost 20-something.
This one has more substance and audacity, though: as others have said, it has no discernible genre, for example. I loved that messiness - it's partly a tale of a breakup, partly about plants and partly about the history of gardens and parks in London. All aspects of the author's life swirl into something almost novelistic.
I found the opposite problem I had with Alderton's book here, though. The writer here has lots to say about loads of interesting stuff but I did find her writing style a weird combo of lofty and journalistic... I guess rather portentous but sometimes glib? She makes sweeping generalisations about people of her age and background that didn't ring true for me but she writes them like they're universal. We don't all live out our lives on social media, live in London and spend our summer at music festivals, like she believes we all do.
Despite her narrow worldview and odd writing style, I would recommend this one.
This one has more substance and audacity, though: as others have said, it has no discernible genre, for example. I loved that messiness - it's partly a tale of a breakup, partly about plants and partly about the history of gardens and parks in London. All aspects of the author's life swirl into something almost novelistic.
I found the opposite problem I had with Alderton's book here, though. The writer here has lots to say about loads of interesting stuff but I did find her writing style a weird combo of lofty and journalistic... I guess rather portentous but sometimes glib? She makes sweeping generalisations about people of her age and background that didn't ring true for me but she writes them like they're universal. We don't all live out our lives on social media, live in London and spend our summer at music festivals, like she believes we all do.
Despite her narrow worldview and odd writing style, I would recommend this one.
September 2, 2022
I am Alice :)) she’s crawled into my brain and splurged out all my thoughts
October 23, 2020
Both of Alice Vincent’s grandfathers liked to garden, and she loved to spend time in their gardens, in particular, the greenhouse. Having gone through Newcastle University, she made a name for herself writing about bands, concerts and festivals. But what she really liked to do was head home to her flat in London and potter about on the tiny garden that she had on her balcony.
She had been with Josh for a number of years and was very settled, as she puts it, their lives had folded into each other and they knew precisely how each other ticked. They had been in a position to buy a small flat in London, unlike most of their generation who were reliant on rented rooms and crap landlords. The favourite part of the flat for her was the balcony.
It was here on this 4m by 1m space that she started to grow little pots of herbs that suffered somewhat at her hands. More plants were acquired from the Columbia Road Flower Market as well as bargains from supermarkets. Some of them died, others drowned in her enthusiasm for watering. But every now and again, a plant would thrive. She had begun to rediscover her gardening genes.
She volunteers at the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses. It is hard work removing the bindweed and couch grass but by the time she left at the end of the day she was grubby and really happy. Mostly she loved working in the huge greenhouses there, they are full of huge tropical plants and row upon row of pots of seedlings.
Most of her friends weren’t interested in plants at all, they were often too busy working and playing hard, constantly attached to screens that demanded more attention every day. Life was good. Then one day her relationship with Josh came to a sudden end; as he put it, he was falling out of love with her. Later that day he packed a small suitcase and left for a friends sofa. Waking up alone in the bed was almost too much to bear.
What kept her going in the days soon after was the tiny balcony and the plants she had filled it with. Arriving home one wet day soon after she saw that two poppies have bloomed. They didn’t care how she was feeling, they just needed a little care. She wasn’t going to garden her way to happiness, but it gave her hope that there was a way through this.
They decide to share time at the flat, each spending a month there until they can decide what to do with it, so some of the time she is staying with friends and counting down the days until she can get back to her balcony. But things change and she finds someone else who she gets along with, but the rawness from her breakup holds her back from making a commitment immediately. It takes a little time apart when she visits Japan for her to know what she wants.
This is very much a memoir about the life of a millennial. Her love of gardening is there, but it feels either side of the path that she is walking rather than central to the book. A sizable chunk of the book is about her relationships and life in general. She talks about her family and memories of childhood too. Also tangled in are snippets of the botanical history of the part of London where she lives and the discovery of tiny patched of London that has been cared for by others with green fingers.
On balance, I did like this book, Vincent writes with an economical style, probably because of her background as a journalist, but intermingled with them are passages of beautiful writing, like finding an unexpected flower in a hedgerow. However, I personally would have liked to have had more about the gardening, but others may disagree.
She had been with Josh for a number of years and was very settled, as she puts it, their lives had folded into each other and they knew precisely how each other ticked. They had been in a position to buy a small flat in London, unlike most of their generation who were reliant on rented rooms and crap landlords. The favourite part of the flat for her was the balcony.
It was here on this 4m by 1m space that she started to grow little pots of herbs that suffered somewhat at her hands. More plants were acquired from the Columbia Road Flower Market as well as bargains from supermarkets. Some of them died, others drowned in her enthusiasm for watering. But every now and again, a plant would thrive. She had begun to rediscover her gardening genes.
She volunteers at the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses. It is hard work removing the bindweed and couch grass but by the time she left at the end of the day she was grubby and really happy. Mostly she loved working in the huge greenhouses there, they are full of huge tropical plants and row upon row of pots of seedlings.
Most of her friends weren’t interested in plants at all, they were often too busy working and playing hard, constantly attached to screens that demanded more attention every day. Life was good. Then one day her relationship with Josh came to a sudden end; as he put it, he was falling out of love with her. Later that day he packed a small suitcase and left for a friends sofa. Waking up alone in the bed was almost too much to bear.
What kept her going in the days soon after was the tiny balcony and the plants she had filled it with. Arriving home one wet day soon after she saw that two poppies have bloomed. They didn’t care how she was feeling, they just needed a little care. She wasn’t going to garden her way to happiness, but it gave her hope that there was a way through this.
They decide to share time at the flat, each spending a month there until they can decide what to do with it, so some of the time she is staying with friends and counting down the days until she can get back to her balcony. But things change and she finds someone else who she gets along with, but the rawness from her breakup holds her back from making a commitment immediately. It takes a little time apart when she visits Japan for her to know what she wants.
This is very much a memoir about the life of a millennial. Her love of gardening is there, but it feels either side of the path that she is walking rather than central to the book. A sizable chunk of the book is about her relationships and life in general. She talks about her family and memories of childhood too. Also tangled in are snippets of the botanical history of the part of London where she lives and the discovery of tiny patched of London that has been cared for by others with green fingers.
On balance, I did like this book, Vincent writes with an economical style, probably because of her background as a journalist, but intermingled with them are passages of beautiful writing, like finding an unexpected flower in a hedgerow. However, I personally would have liked to have had more about the gardening, but others may disagree.
October 22, 2022
A light read and an ode to South London. I loved reading (and being inspired by) taking care, shopping for and enjoying plants and gardening. I liked the sections where the history of gardening and London parks were woven together to help you understand the story. I can honestly say that thanks to her, I've bought a large pack of gardening supplies for the spring.
However, there were a few snags. I understand Alice is a millennial - but I did tire of hearing how millennials acted, shopped, planned their careers or...anything really. It felt like a way of explaining away one whole section of the population and generalising a lot of trends.
I felt like a lot of time was spent on world building or thought building (like the summer air, whole family histories or feelings she felt at a wedding) - but less on some of the specifics on where she was living each month. It was outlined at the beginning, and her moving about but then it started to fade. By the end, I didn't know where she was.
I felt like we spent a lot of time agonising about how she moved onto another relationship, while not really dealing with the final details (like co-owning a flat with her ex) of her previous one. In fact, she only dealt with it a year later and nearly 6 months into a new relationship. And then she wondered why she kept thinking of Josh...because she was still living in their flat...?
Also, she never really acknowledged her unbelievable privilege that she was a homeowner in her 20s - a fact she brushed over in her millennial sweeps. Because in fact, many millennials were not lucky enough to be homeowners in their mid 20s.
However, there were a few snags. I understand Alice is a millennial - but I did tire of hearing how millennials acted, shopped, planned their careers or...anything really. It felt like a way of explaining away one whole section of the population and generalising a lot of trends.
I felt like a lot of time was spent on world building or thought building (like the summer air, whole family histories or feelings she felt at a wedding) - but less on some of the specifics on where she was living each month. It was outlined at the beginning, and her moving about but then it started to fade. By the end, I didn't know where she was.
I felt like we spent a lot of time agonising about how she moved onto another relationship, while not really dealing with the final details (like co-owning a flat with her ex) of her previous one. In fact, she only dealt with it a year later and nearly 6 months into a new relationship. And then she wondered why she kept thinking of Josh...because she was still living in their flat...?
Also, she never really acknowledged her unbelievable privilege that she was a homeowner in her 20s - a fact she brushed over in her millennial sweeps. Because in fact, many millennials were not lucky enough to be homeowners in their mid 20s.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2020
"It would frustrate and elate me, this city...In finding its green pockets, I felt I could tame it. So much life here thrived in spite of the hard-scrabble. I didn't need vast expanses or quiet rurality, I just needed pockets and green lungs big enough for me."
As a twenty-something nature lover living in south London, I found it very easy to relate to this book. There is something about living in a city that makes you appreciate every little bit of green you can get and Alice captures this feeling perfectly. Whether it's your local park, the cherry blossom tree near your work where you always eat your lunch or your houseplant that is miraculously still alive after 6 months; all these things would seem so insignificant in the country, but they make live worth living in the city.
While I am not lucky enough to own a flat in London with gardening space like Alice (a fact that took me the first quarter of the book to get over due to large amounts of disbelief and envy), I still enjoyed reading about how she had made her balcony a sanctuary to ward against the changes in her life.
But where I felt the book really shine was after she was uprooted and forced to find other sanctuaries in the city around her. The book almost felt like a leafy love letter to London in some places. Plus, she's given me so many recommendations I need to seek out for myself. Queen Elizabeth Hall roof garden here I come!
As a twenty-something nature lover living in south London, I found it very easy to relate to this book. There is something about living in a city that makes you appreciate every little bit of green you can get and Alice captures this feeling perfectly. Whether it's your local park, the cherry blossom tree near your work where you always eat your lunch or your houseplant that is miraculously still alive after 6 months; all these things would seem so insignificant in the country, but they make live worth living in the city.
While I am not lucky enough to own a flat in London with gardening space like Alice (a fact that took me the first quarter of the book to get over due to large amounts of disbelief and envy), I still enjoyed reading about how she had made her balcony a sanctuary to ward against the changes in her life.
But where I felt the book really shine was after she was uprooted and forced to find other sanctuaries in the city around her. The book almost felt like a leafy love letter to London in some places. Plus, she's given me so many recommendations I need to seek out for myself. Queen Elizabeth Hall roof garden here I come!
April 27, 2021
Loved the writing, plants, Japan, seasons, but like other reviewers, I got very frustrated with her focus on the breakup. Fully agree with Gael.
March 28, 2020
Finding yourself in your late twenties, slightly lost and more than slightly heartbroken is something many can probably relate to. I love the way Vincent described her own emotions and combined them with her experience of gardening and botanical history. The way she uses language is beautiful and every word sings and invokes feelings. I found the parts about botanical history particularly interesting and learnt a lot. And I also really want to go to London and discover all the places she described.
Especially towards the end, however, the personal memory/ biography part far outweighed the parts about botanical history which made it feel a little less relevant. And also less deep. Why I enjoyed the most about the first half of the book was the intensity of the emotions she described and how those were mirrored in nature. While I'm happy for her, the story of recovering from a big break up and finding another long-term relationship within a few months, felt almost fictional or too good to be true and I'm guessing few people trying to recover from a big break-up have similar luck. But this might be just my impression.
Especially towards the end, however, the personal memory/ biography part far outweighed the parts about botanical history which made it feel a little less relevant. And also less deep. Why I enjoyed the most about the first half of the book was the intensity of the emotions she described and how those were mirrored in nature. While I'm happy for her, the story of recovering from a big break up and finding another long-term relationship within a few months, felt almost fictional or too good to be true and I'm guessing few people trying to recover from a big break-up have similar luck. But this might be just my impression.
May 9, 2023
For some strange reason, Goodreads has deleted my old review of this book because I retroactively lowered my former rating from a two star to a one star. (Which should tell you something of how I felt about this book) Why am I being censored? Hmmmmm.
That’s fine. The cliffs’ notes version of my old review is: This book is all over the place. Alice Vincent changes subject way too many times, in ways that don’t make sense, often over the course of one page and to the point that I couldn’t connect emotionally to almost anything she was bringing forward about herself, which wasn’t much. She makes a lot of generalizations about millennials and their Pinterest obsessions! She gives you some history of a few garden/botany related subjects! But never once did I feel she had achieved enough self-awareness through her experiences to impart anything emotionally impactful about her journey either to entertain or inspire her audience. Overall her ability to write a beautiful sentence is not in dispute, but her editor should have given her better direction somewhere along the line.
That’s fine. The cliffs’ notes version of my old review is: This book is all over the place. Alice Vincent changes subject way too many times, in ways that don’t make sense, often over the course of one page and to the point that I couldn’t connect emotionally to almost anything she was bringing forward about herself, which wasn’t much. She makes a lot of generalizations about millennials and their Pinterest obsessions! She gives you some history of a few garden/botany related subjects! But never once did I feel she had achieved enough self-awareness through her experiences to impart anything emotionally impactful about her journey either to entertain or inspire her audience. Overall her ability to write a beautiful sentence is not in dispute, but her editor should have given her better direction somewhere along the line.
January 25, 2021
I tried with this one but I just couldn't finish it. I found it was trying to do too much and the narrative was inconsistent and hard to follow. I did enjoy the historical detours and found them the most interesting parts of the book but it wasn't enough to keep me interested.
June 30, 2021
Bits were good, most of it was boring…the person that you would avoid at a party. If I had a pound for every time the ex got mentioned I would be rich! It needs more plants and less moaning. Or a more interesting life story…
January 17, 2021
In parks, traffic stills and time can telescope. They are both intrinsic to the city but removed from it. I feel I’ve done my growing up in them: the nervous meetings and awful endings and delirious, wasted afternoons, doing little other than watch pigeons dick about.
‘Rootbound’ is a simply beautiful first novel from Alice Vincent which is part memoir, part history of plants and part love letter to London’s green spaces.
The premise of the book begins with her unexpected break up from her long term partner and the difficult aftermath of finding a place to live in London, confronting the growing dissatisfaction with her job and place in the world, whilst finding solace in the plants she grows on her balcony.
Thankfully, this is no revenge break up novel where she ‘finds herself’ or has a movie style ‘glow up’ in response to her boyfriend leaving. It is much more mature, subtle and nuanced than that, instead a slow unraveling and piecing together of a life and realisation of what truly brings her joy; plants.
I think a lot of millennial Londoners will see themselves in Alice and the rat race that is finding work and places to live in London while secretly aching for that return to nature. I certainly found a lot of comfort and familiarity in her account of manoeuvring a break up and those tender emotions that reveal themselves like a bruise in its wake. I also really enjoyed the weaving in of historical facts and stories about the pioneering women who entered the male dominated world of gardening to make it accessible today (girl power!) Most of all, it was wonderfully insightful to learn so much about the public gardens on my doorstep and how these green spaces first came about. London is often dismissed as a concrete jungle of sorts but Alice reveals it to be otherwise and showcases my city in a completely different light. Many of the places mentioned in the book I recognised and hold so close to my heart but also a few I had not heard of and now are on my list to visit.
The reason I didn’t give this book a full 5 stars is two fold; firstly, I did find her a little hard to relate to in the fact that she is privileged enough to afford to buy in London (maybe it is a bit unfair for me to mark down for that, but it did disconnect me from the narrative somewhat and wasn’t a reflection of my experience of renting in London). Secondly, though I really appreciated the fact that this was not just a typical break up novel and was much more layered and multi faceted, I did find that some of the passages flowed in and out more easily than others.
Overall I really loved this book as my first read of 2021. It was beautifully honest and inspiring without being cliché or too obvious with metaphors. The novel reminded me of all the things I truly love about London - her hidden green spaces - and also the beauty, patience and care of honing a hobby, just for yourself.
(Disclaimer: It also made me *really* want to go out and buy all the plants, bulbs and seedlings I could get my hands on!!)
‘Rootbound’ is a simply beautiful first novel from Alice Vincent which is part memoir, part history of plants and part love letter to London’s green spaces.
The premise of the book begins with her unexpected break up from her long term partner and the difficult aftermath of finding a place to live in London, confronting the growing dissatisfaction with her job and place in the world, whilst finding solace in the plants she grows on her balcony.
Thankfully, this is no revenge break up novel where she ‘finds herself’ or has a movie style ‘glow up’ in response to her boyfriend leaving. It is much more mature, subtle and nuanced than that, instead a slow unraveling and piecing together of a life and realisation of what truly brings her joy; plants.
I think a lot of millennial Londoners will see themselves in Alice and the rat race that is finding work and places to live in London while secretly aching for that return to nature. I certainly found a lot of comfort and familiarity in her account of manoeuvring a break up and those tender emotions that reveal themselves like a bruise in its wake. I also really enjoyed the weaving in of historical facts and stories about the pioneering women who entered the male dominated world of gardening to make it accessible today (girl power!) Most of all, it was wonderfully insightful to learn so much about the public gardens on my doorstep and how these green spaces first came about. London is often dismissed as a concrete jungle of sorts but Alice reveals it to be otherwise and showcases my city in a completely different light. Many of the places mentioned in the book I recognised and hold so close to my heart but also a few I had not heard of and now are on my list to visit.
The reason I didn’t give this book a full 5 stars is two fold; firstly, I did find her a little hard to relate to in the fact that she is privileged enough to afford to buy in London (maybe it is a bit unfair for me to mark down for that, but it did disconnect me from the narrative somewhat and wasn’t a reflection of my experience of renting in London). Secondly, though I really appreciated the fact that this was not just a typical break up novel and was much more layered and multi faceted, I did find that some of the passages flowed in and out more easily than others.
Overall I really loved this book as my first read of 2021. It was beautifully honest and inspiring without being cliché or too obvious with metaphors. The novel reminded me of all the things I truly love about London - her hidden green spaces - and also the beauty, patience and care of honing a hobby, just for yourself.
(Disclaimer: It also made me *really* want to go out and buy all the plants, bulbs and seedlings I could get my hands on!!)
December 4, 2022
Started off well with an insight into plants and gardening and how it is beneficial for mental health. I found it validating that I was not alone in truly enjoying gardening and using it as a method of grounding myself. As the author talked about specific plants, naming them and their features, I found it really interesting and was pleased to find that I knew a lot of the plants that she was talking about.
Later on in the book, she focusses less on plants and more on her experiences - it became much more of a memoir. I did enjoy reading it but I just wasn’t gripped. I didn’t find myself wanting to pick up the book because I wanted to read it. I ended up picking it up for the curiosity of the next development in this person’s story but mainly because I wanted to finish the book so that I could move on to something else.
I think my perception of this book was slightly off since I have never lived in London, there were lots of references to places and senses experience on a commute, for example, which I couldn’t really relate to.
Having just read Katherine Ryan’s autobiography, I wonder if my view of this book was tainted as a result, and maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would if I hadn’t read it along with other memoirs during Non-Fiction November.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Later on in the book, she focusses less on plants and more on her experiences - it became much more of a memoir. I did enjoy reading it but I just wasn’t gripped. I didn’t find myself wanting to pick up the book because I wanted to read it. I ended up picking it up for the curiosity of the next development in this person’s story but mainly because I wanted to finish the book so that I could move on to something else.
I think my perception of this book was slightly off since I have never lived in London, there were lots of references to places and senses experience on a commute, for example, which I couldn’t really relate to.
Having just read Katherine Ryan’s autobiography, I wonder if my view of this book was tainted as a result, and maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would if I hadn’t read it along with other memoirs during Non-Fiction November.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 23, 2021
Maybe one of the reasons I kept finding solace in nature, kept finding myself drawn to things that grew in spite of the brick and the pavement, was because the plan here wasn't plain to see. It was an ancient, time-worn thing, encased in light and soil and mineral; something that would happen while we were busy with other, more and less complicated schemes.'
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Rootbound is a hopeful book about soil, plants and roots, but also wariness of change and relationships; both an honest account of a break-up, and the story of London's green spaces, their history and importance to people without gardens of their own. It's a book that interweaves the author's reflections on adulthood, and her own balcony garden, with an exploration of why many of us now find so much enjoyment in house plants, glass houses and flower markets. I really enjoyed it - 3.5 stars.
.
Rootbound is a hopeful book about soil, plants and roots, but also wariness of change and relationships; both an honest account of a break-up, and the story of London's green spaces, their history and importance to people without gardens of their own. It's a book that interweaves the author's reflections on adulthood, and her own balcony garden, with an exploration of why many of us now find so much enjoyment in house plants, glass houses and flower markets. I really enjoyed it - 3.5 stars.
June 17, 2023
This book suffers a little from trying to do too much and consequently not really managing to do anything particularly successfully. Part memoir, part history of gardening and gardens, part travelogue, the overriding impression is a little confused. For myself, I could have done with less of the millennial pronunciations ('my generation' this, 'millennials' that) - my perennial criticism with millennial memoirs is that they always taper off towards the final third/quarter as the author tries to tie together the last three hundred-odd pages into some generational generalisations. There was some good stuff here, but personally, I preferred the histories woven into the story, and would have preferred to have seen the author situate herself within that wider history, with perhaps a bit less navel gazing.
February 18, 2025
3.5 stars for Rootbound 🌿
Alice is a wonderfully human writer and this is a wonderfully human book. I’d love to write like her! She captures the vulnerability of putting your heart into the hands of another, the lovers-to-strangers pipeline, the blinding confusion of societal expectation and personal growth in your 20s for example, and, the recuperation nature can offer as healing throughout it all, perfectly.
This book felt easy to read. But, at times, its aim felt confused and the structure felt incorrect for this book in accordance to its content. A bit repetitive but with so many parallels that felt okay :-)
Alice is a wonderfully human writer and this is a wonderfully human book. I’d love to write like her! She captures the vulnerability of putting your heart into the hands of another, the lovers-to-strangers pipeline, the blinding confusion of societal expectation and personal growth in your 20s for example, and, the recuperation nature can offer as healing throughout it all, perfectly.
This book felt easy to read. But, at times, its aim felt confused and the structure felt incorrect for this book in accordance to its content. A bit repetitive but with so many parallels that felt okay :-)
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