- The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert
Goodness, what a book! A wonderful homage to the beauty and complexity of the natural world, as seen through the eyes of fictional 19th century botanist Alma Whittaker. A sweeping novel that takes in the discovery of quinine, cultivation of vanilla, the struggle for abolition and the American Civil War, the publication of Origin of the Species amongst other key historical events. It travels from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond.
Most characters rang true and were engagingly drawn; the writing fluid and unsentimental. At nearly 600 pages, this is an epic novel to immerse oneself and luxuriate in. I've never liked some of Gilbert's previous books (too sentimental, too self-indulgent for my tastes) but this feels very different; a real departure for the author.
Sure, there were sections I skipped through quickly, especially involving characters I disliked (Retta, Ambrose); the passages focusing on Alma's long drawn out sexual frustrations and her love-sickness for Ambrose were annoying, as was her sojourn in Tahiti; and I wish more had been made of Alma's father's story (a very interesting man, more so than his daughter)... But I was compelled to keep reading to the end.