The Cloud Garden

At first glance The Cloud Garden seems a little unlikely: a pair of twentysomething former public school boys have a great time trekking through Central America and get caught up in a bit of bother. Tom is passionate about flowers and his family lives in a castle in Kent--"Isn't it just super?!". Paul, when he isn't "hacking his way through the jungle", works in the City.

If you can get through the kissy kissy PR and the hooray Henry enthusiasm, The Cloud Garden is actually an exciting yarn. Adventurer Paul Winder and orchid enthusiast Tom Hart Dyke met up in Mexico and decided to trek through the Darién Gap--a narrow bit of jungle on the border of Panama and Colombia. Tom wanted to find some new flowers and Paul wanted a challenge. They had almost made it when they were taken captive by a band of FARC guerilla fighters with a grudge against just about everybody, a serious grunge problem and an eye for a juicy ransom for some rich boys. Our heroes survived for nine months and emerged after a harrowing ordeal with a combination of hard work, endurance and a pinch of good luck. This captivating book is well written with youthful zest, a sparky sense of humour and the scary sense that these two just might set off for another adventure next summer. --Dwight Longenecker

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View books by Tom Hart Dyke, Paul Winder.

Two go mad in central America - Rated
Gosh, what jolly chaps these two are! Cripes, what japes they got up to, eh?

This book is a strange contrast between an almost unbelieveable adventure and the most self indulgent refusal to face the situation they were in. I can only imagine the stress and anxiety that being kidnapped and held for nine months in one of the most lawless places in the continent must have been like. And I have to imagine, because you don't get it from the book.

Winder and Hart Dyke are doubtless lovely chaps, but they're not writers. They both come over as self indulgent prats. Let's ignore all the guidebook warnings and head off, on our own into the Darien Gap. Gosh, here come some oiks with guns and dash it, we've been kidnapped, but oh look, there are some orchids.

They never manage to generate a sense of tension, because throughout their Hooray Henryish tone sucks it all out. With books such as this, we always know that they are not going to die because we're holding the book they wrote about it in our hands. But Joe Simpson's Touching the Void is almost unbearably tense, as he describes what he went through. This never gets into that as they'll give a juvenile nickname to one of the guards and then have three pages on what his dream garden will look like when he gets back to mummy and daddy's castle in Kent. (I quickly found myself wishing that someone else had been kidnapped)

That said, it is an amazing story and that gives it the three stars. But by the time you finish, you'll just want to slap the both of them and say "When Lonely Planet warns you not to go somewhere, they're not joking. They know what they're talking about and mean it". Where next for these two? Flower hunting in Helmand?

A blooming good read... - Rated
Not your usual 'how I spent my kidnap' essay. I picked this up second hand in a Dubai bookshop, not expecting much from it, and was hugely pleased with what I found.

The clumsy and downright barking protagonists are in turn endearing, infuriating and hilarious. Gone are the macho action movie fantasies about what to do in a tight spot and in come song and dance numbers in the jungle along with abject fear, disarming hilarity and extreme gardening.

A great read, even my usually chick-lit obsessed partner couldn't put it down - so get it and enjoy it, you won't regret it.

A really good read, buy it!!. - Rated
I have just finished this book and really enjoyed it, it has kept my attention all the way through and left me with nothing but admiration for the two guys and what they endured, although what they entered into was to say the least ill advised, they seemed to cope with their ordeal with remarkable cheeriness when faced with some truly horrific circumstances, all in all a great read, well written, you will enjoy it!!

Guerilla gardening - Rated
The Cloud Garden is an immensibly enjoyable book, somewhat remniscent of Touching the void, removed to the Darian Gap, particuliarly in the way the narrative switches between Paul and Tom as the story progresses, although for me Toms narrative is the better, as he is quite an eccentric character, and its most amusing to hear him relate his garden building excercises while being held captive, much to the exasperation of the guerillas.
The story is propelled along at a nice pace as we follow the lads from their capture while foolishly attempting to cross the darian gap, through their internment in various jungle camps at the hands of a ragged bunch of guerillas who may have some connection with farc.
The characters of the guerillas quickly established by the boys habit of giving them nicknames, and the battle of wits between the two groups is often hilarious.
Despite having a good idea that things are not going to end up to badly, there are still plenty of moments of tension, and its hard not to feel the despair and fear, its a shame the map at the front of the book gives away so much of the story really, especially the absurd events following their capture.

Orchids are an unhealthy obsession - Rated
To describe the kidnapping and subsequent holding of two Englishmen by possible FARC guerillas in The Darien Gap for nine months, it would seem unnatural to use phrases such as funny, entertaining, and horticulturally insane; but they are more than appropriate.

Upon starting the book there is a question over how well it will read with the narration switching between Paul and Tom, however, it does read with fluidity, and the comments each of them has to make about the other are often amusing. Despite the ignorance and sometimes aggressive nature of their kidnappers you can't help but feel some sympathy for them stumbling around the jungle with no specific purpose except to eat, drink, destroy or abuse. The guerillas offer some superb individual characters ranging from the truly horrible "Bitch", to the alarmingly considerate "Will Smith."

No interest in orchids or horticulture are required to enjoy and be fascinated by this tale of bravery and courage under quite absurd circumstances.