A review by nitroglycerin
The Accidental Garden by Richard Mabey

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

Ad/pr/gifted copy

To meddle or not to meddle?

Somehow this is my first book by Mabey, despite him being one of the stalwarts of the nature writing genre, and I can see why. 

He may be of the old-white-male standard of nature writers (and I’m glad to see more and more diverse writers in this genre!), but that’s not without merit. It was a joy to read this, and I loved it. 

While I’ve been reading The Accidental Garden, I was also listening to The Swimmer: The Wild Life of Roger Deakin by Patrick Barkham, who chronicles Deakins life. Deakin was good friends with Mabey, who is referenced quite a bit. 
Reading the two in tandem has been an immersive experience that I’ve enjoyed. The similarities in perspectives between the two men was very obvious.