The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean

Discussion questions

1 Is there a hero in The Orchid Thief? An anti-hero?

2 Which of the characters in the book most attracted or entertained you? Why?

3 John Laroche would not describe himself as an orchid person. To him the orchid is a temporary but very intense passion, a means to an end, not an end in itself. How would you analyze the difference between Laroche's motives in collecting orchids and the regular orchid collectors visited in the course of the book? Or is there no difference?

4 Laroche believes that his actions are ultimately an act of selflessness. That his rape of the Fakahatchee would force the law to be changed and close the loophole that allowed him to poach rare and wild orchids from an Indian reservation, thus protecting the species in the wild, and securing it for the marketplace at the same time. Is this the thought process of an amoral character? Or is he just an everyday charlatan?

5 Laroche makes a very telling statement: "When I had my own nursery I sometimes felt like all the people swarming around were going to eat me alive. I felt like they were that gigantic parasitic plant and I was the dying host tree." Is he playing the role of the victim, the martyr to a (preferably lost, but grand) cause or is he in control of his life by making a living off other people's weaknesses, whether it be a passion for orchids or pornography?

6 The Native Americans on the reservation are entitled by one law to remove protected species from their land. Is this law justified? For any indigenous people?

7 What is the real core, the central character, of the book: Laroche? Florida? Orchids? Native Americans? Darwin? Orlean?

8 As a reader, what did you expect from a book about orchids? How did your experience of reading The Orchid Thief compare to what you expected?

9 The working title of The Orchid Thief was "Passion." What does that suggest about the themes in the book?

10 This story is one of a passion for collecting, one that has become an obsession. Do you have an obsession (that you're willing to share with the group?) And at what point do you think an obsession gets out of hand and turn into clutter that interferes with every life? ARe there different perceptions of passion v obsession v clutter