Opening this sumptuous, gorgeously illustrated botanical book on common and exotic vegetables, I was mesmerised by its ability to transform these beauties into a permanent, immersive visual experience, reminiscent of Eighteenth century etchings. This is a book of love that taps into an oral and visual language that demands commandeering coffee tables, with its vibrant cover and super- close-ups that provide a vital resource for a rich visual exploration.
Hardie Grant Books have produced a high-quality, lusty publication that’s invariably a ‘must-have’. Its author, Ali Francis has created an anthology thats comfortable with its laurels of ‘wonderous’ and ‘stunning’, going beyond the traditional vegetable books with pretty illustrations that amplify the raw, artistic and environmental aspects of growing food. There are breathtaking illustrations by Adriana Picker that are simply lavish celebrating the lifecycles of vegetables from birth to table. The author offers intensive research to table the remarkable history of these plants and tubers, geographical migration, as an intersection between nature, beauty and curiosity, as well as art, in a stunning package that reflects the author’s innovative content. It demands and deserves our attention and reflection.
I found Francis’s book highly informative, every turn of a page a plethora of vital facts and stories that read like both a history and geography reference. Its a evocatively sexy in its striking beauty while exposing a bounty of stories that show how much research was ploughed into this project, its philosophy and superb art form. The hook in this book’s title carries the gravitas all on its own – bold, visceral and spiritually, a celebration of life. Its a wonderful journey, following the circuitous, utterly fascinating lives of over 125 vegetables with profiles from modern botanists, essayists in an eminently readable format that is akin to a great read with history and geography fleshing out the details.
Within its pages, THE CURIOUS LIVES OF VEGETABLES’s Ali Francis blends cultural history, science and narrative storytelling to spotlight rare heirloom and overlooked veggies as a way of telling a bigger story about flavour, memory and the invisible forces that determine what end-up on our plates. Each illuminating essay is paired with a sublime illustration, reminiscent of antique botanical art by Adriana Picker. Its been called a love letter to those vegetables that nourish us, with each page highlighting how vibrant and resilient, let alone, remarkable these plants are that have shaped our world from China to the Andes and to the Americas. Its a round the world journey exploring indigenous crops, overlooked species and heirloom varieties.The author has written a message thats a concern as to what goes into the agribusiness and yet reads like a smart, sweet window into centuries of cultivation and cultural migration of vegetables. Picker honours each edible plant with an intimate portrait rather then a clinically precise drawing, with vibrant colours, sinewy limbs and beautiful blossoms.
Some of the stories accorded with memories from my culinary childhood in my mother’s kitchen like okra, bitter melon, garlic, fava beans and especially eggplant, finding Ali Francis’s unique voice a treasure of vegetables in all their gritty, perfectly imperfect beauty. Its obvious she loves them all, with their stories that pique memories, every vegetable a compelling character and personality.
