"Invasive

“My mouth was now wide open and from then on my neck lengthened in a way that seemed disturbingly disproportionate, bringing my face to the edge of the fleshy little leaves, my lips soon touching their glaze, my nose breathing in a close-up muddy, herbaceous scent, until I experienced, on my tongue, a syrupy freshness, a taste of slightly bitter greenery, raw green beans, light parsley.” In the Marais du Vigueirat reserve, where Céline Curiol finds herself immersed alone for a year, the invasive primrose willow is everywhere, to the point of haunting her dreams. Through her encounters with a whole ecosystem of plants, animals, women and men, the writer explores the paradox of nature conservation: to preserve heritage species, humans have to go to extraordinary lengths, far removed from the supposed spontaneity of the wild. With sensitivity and force, Céline Curiol recounts an extraordinary experience woven of astonishment, enthusiasm, fear and doubt, and questions the concepts of nature and invasion that guide our relationship with any environment. An epic journey into the intimate metamorphosis of a writer, and through a Camargue far removed from tourist clichés, and all the more endearing for it…