The Gang Of Orchid Thieves

steemvibes (9)in #steempress • 6 years ago

They stole rare plant species. A book looks back at the amazing story of a gang of delinquent ... plant lover.

Susan Orlean met him in the summer of 1994, during a trial of which he was the main accused. John Laroche had then appeared to him as "tall, lean [but] of incontestable beauty even if he [had] lost all his front teeth". The boy, 36 years old at the time, was at the helm of Collier County Court in Florida for repeated flights of rare plant species. He harvested them from Fakahatchee Strand National Park, a territory officially owned by the Seminole Indian tribe. John, along with two Amerindians, pursued at the same time as him, had been adopted by this tribe, a member of the Creek Nation, a few years earlier. Successively compulsive collector of turtles, fossils, and then tropical fish, John had accidentally discovered the orchids and had immediately taken a passion for this species of plant. A passion that quickly turned into an obsession, leading John Laroche to prison. Susan Orlean has devoted a book (1) to this amazing story. On the occasion of its republication in French, the journalistNew Yorker tells us the genesis.

Point : The central character of your book is not so much John Laroche as a very rare species of ghost orchid. An extremely precious plant and yet in danger of extinction. Should you read your book metaphorically?

Born in 1955 in Ohio, Susan Orlean has been editor-in-chief at the New Yorker since 1992. Since her first book, "Saturday Night," she has published nearly a dozen books.

© DR
Susan Orlean: My story does have a metaphorical dimension. Some will see an allegory of life: I describe the way in which a passion can invade an existence and the chain reactions that this emotional state can cause. My book also tells the story of people who decide to organize their lives around something that makes sense to them. In a way, it's a book about something other than just orchids.
Orchids, precisely, fascinate people. They are rare, precious, but also, for some of them, toxic and often associated, by their form, to sexuality. Flowers in general occupy a special place in the collective imagination. There are also floral references in the title of many detective novels (whether orchids, dahlias, roses or even tulips). In French, the expression "at the edge of the skin" seems to synthesize the particular relationship that one can experience with flowers. How do you explain that ?

The flowers are beautiful, mysterious, impenetrable and, as such, they fascinate ... But among them, orchids occupy a place apart. They flower very rarely, but when they do, they stay in bloom for a very long time. This gives them a strong personality, a strange and irresistible presence.

In 2016, you published The Floral Ghost , illustrated by the artist Philip Taafe. Do flowers obsess you as much as John Laroche?

No. I appreciate them very much, but my interest in them remains reasonable.

You began your investigation by writing, in 1994, a long portrait of John Laroche for the New Yorker during his trial. What interested you in this case, its symbolic dimension on the environmental level?

It is rather the character of Laroche who challenged me. I was very interested in the fact that this man is dominated by his passion for flowers, literally inhabited by a fixed idea ... It is through him, his career, his philosophy of life that I became aware environmental issues surrounding the issue. The ecological dimension of my book (the description of the dangers that threaten the ecosystem where orchids grow) only comes into play in the background of my book. But it is to continue to explore this backdrop that I wanted to continue my investigation of Laroche, after having published my portrait of him.

Are you still in contact with Laroche? What becomes of him?

I lost it a little. The last time I saw it was in 2002, at the time of the release of the film Adaptation , which was taken from my book. He then converted to computer science, moved from Florida to Connecticut. I have not had news since.

Your book has been the subject of a film adaptation by Charlie Kaufman. What did you think of the movie directed by Spike Jonze? And how did you react to the fact that Meryl Streep embodies you on the screen?

I love that movie. He is both very different and very respectful of my book. It restores his mind, intelligently addresses the question of passion, obsession and meaning of life, which I mentioned earlier. As for the fact that Meryl Streep plays my own role ... I will not hide the fact that I was troubled by the fact that she comes forward by pronouncing my name. But his performance is brilliant. Just like the movie.

For the New Yorker , you explore the subculture on four continents (which led you to write on a Parisian record store, specialized in African music ). Which report has the most marked you?

My most memorable trip, the one I preferred, was Bhutan . It is a wonderful country that has remained, because of its isolation, very faithful to its culture and its traditions. I also loved exploring the southern United States . Especially in the footsteps of a group of gospel. Thanks to his singers, I discovered aspects of my country that I totally ignored. As if I were foreign to my native land.

Apart from the translation of two of your reports in the Feuilleton magazine , only Le Voleur d'Orchidees has been translated into French. When will your books finally be available in our country?

I hope that my biography of the dog Rin Tin Tin will soon be translated. And there is a good chance that my next book, The Library Book, published in October in the United States, will be translated into French as well.

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Source

Link to my Introduction Post