As an avid reader of books about the Victorian era, I’m no stranger to opium – purely in the context of reading, you understand, rather than personal experience! I am, however, a confirmed and accepting caffeine addict so this book – focused on opium, caffeine and mescaline – sounded absolutely fascinating. I duly downloaded the audiobook and got stuck in…
The book is divided into three sections, each focusing on one of the key plant-based drugs. Although all of them were interesting in different ways, I did find this made for a slightly disjointed book and my thoughts on each separate element varied a lot. This is especially true given that the three sections take very different approaches. Pollan is a writer, keen gardener and – it transpires – quite willing to experience the effects of the various plants in the name of research! The book, therefore, covers lots of bases, from science to history, gardening to memoir.
The first section, on opium, charts his experiences with growing opium poppies and the rather ambiguous position regarding the legalities of this in America. Indeed, a lot of this section is about the technicalities of growing opium in the eyes of the law – you can buy the seeds legally, but planting and harvesting them are much greyer areas. Pollan engagingly asks the question about where the line between legal and illegal is drawn in an America which was just embarking on its experiences of the opioid Oxycontin – amateur gardeners may be getting in trouble for cultivating ‘papaver somniferum’ but the Sackler family were legally distributing the drug to millions.
The section about caffeine was the one that I found the most interesting – I’m a fairly heavy user of coffee and Pollan’s insights into coffee withdrawal, effect on sleep and the morals of caffeine gave me plenty of food for thought. I’d never even considered that caffeine really had a moral question, but Pollan’s focus on the ‘big picture’ was really interesting – the fact that caffeine is linked to productivity, breaks our circadian rhythms, plus has links to both slavery and Empire. This bit of the book is packed with interesting historical information and opened my eyes to the impact of caffeine, such as the advent of coffee houses in the 17th century driving innovation and creativity. From Voltaire consuming (reportedly) 72 cups of coffee a day to the fact that the modern sleep experts that Pollan spoke to drink none (hmm, slightly worrying for me…) – there was plenty to think about.
The third section is about mescaline, a drug derived from cacti and used within Native American populations as part of their religious ceremonies. This bit of the book is more memoir, with Pollan charting his own instances of using the drug and participating in traditional ceremonies using the hallucinogen. I’m sure it is an interesting thing to experience, but the recounting of it is a little like the drug narratives of 1970s fiction which also didn’t really float my boat – it’s a bit like hearing someone recall their dreams in vivid detail. Not always fun to listen to, although Pollan is an engaging tour guide regardless.
The audiobook is narrated by the author himself, something I enjoyed as he is a lively and engaging reader. It feels like a personal chat with him about his experiences with these plants and I did race through the book. It is a very easy listen and I felt that I learnt lots from my knowledgeable and entertaining guide.
Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who has an interest in plants, medicine, history, law or who just fancies an interesting jaunt through a fascinating topic. If I had one criticism, it is that it tries to be too many things – my personal preference is for the discursive and historical slant of the caffeine section of the book, but I am sure others will appreciate different aspects. Well worth a read!
With thanks to NetGalley for my review copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
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Header photo by corina ardeleanu on Unsplash
Sounds like an engaging read/listen! I always love when audiobooks are narrated by their authors (in whole or in part)! I’ve heard a bit about caffeine and its presumed historical impact (via Food Theory on YouTube) but haven’t heard as much about the other two. Thanks for the review!