Book Reviews T The Cabaret of Plants, Richard Mabey Foyles £20 he doyen of modern British nature writing has turned his attention to plants. Not exactly new, you may say, but his intention in this latest offering is to re-invigorate our nation’s once-obsessive curiosity and excitement (fuelled by the dam-burst of global discoveries in the 19th century) about the seemingly endless ways that our vegetable cousins find to live and breed, and to glory in the beauty they produce whilst doing so. Using his trademark lyricism, underpinned by his enormous knowledge, Mabey guides us through the lives of many remarkable plants and shows how our relationships with, and reactions to plants have stimulated both wonderful art and ideas and directions in which to take many branches of science. With such an exuberant and engaging teacher, there is hope that we can promote plants up from their current position of “they’re just there/how can we exploit them?” to being different, amazing and intriguing but our equals none the less… And the book itself is a beautiful object in and of itself…there’s nothing to dislike about it! Welcome to Night Vale, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor Foyles £16.99 J oseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor are the duo behind the wildly popular Welcome to the Night Vale podcast series. An intriguing paranormal mystery set in a small desert town where all the conspiracy theories you’ve ever heard are actually true. It is here that the lives of Diane Crayton, the single mother of a shape-shifting son, and Jackie Fierro, a 19-year-old in charge of the local pawn shop, cross. Together the two women must try to solve the mystery of King City. Fink and Cranor deliver a playful mix between Stephen King and Lewis Caroll. Fans of the series will love this book as it gives them more of the compelling dark humour from the podcast, as well as answering some lingering questions. The story may be surreal but the narrative and characters are conversational and relatable. This book is engaging, funny, and absurd - a unique, clever, twisted mystery. 24
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