A major part of the book was the role of CITES (the worldwide organisation controlling the movement of rare species of plants and animals) and how they regulate the once free-for-all trade in orchids. Hansen portrays their role as inept, aggressive or obfuscating and there was an air of poacher turned game keeper with many former collectors turning turtle and chasing their partners of old.
Anne hadn't read the book before and although she enjoyed it she felt slightly let down by the quote on the cover claiming it to be laugh out loud funny. The group felt the book did have its humorous moments peppered as it was with interesting, oddball or even extreme characters and I certainly chuckled at a couple of their antics.
Marghie thought that the book was more like a series of articles for a magazine (which was the general consensus), many of us enjoyed different chapters as we felt an empathy with its subject. Karen thought colour plates might have brought the orchids to life a bit more for the reader. The black and white line drawings used for the chapter pages didn't set anyone's pulse racing - as Hansen suggested the form of particular orchids could do to enthusiasts!
Jean brought in Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach, a fictional book set in 1630s Amsterdam where fortunes were made and lost speculating on tulip bulbs. She felt that the books were similar in many ways. I thought that Eric Hansen's literary style would have suited many different hobbies or interests and each would have thrown up its fair share of characters and interesting stories.
"Stamp Fever" - now there's a title to whet your interest....
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