The Signature of All Things in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 02, 2013 Erica rated it really liked it

Late 18th through mid-19th century period fiction about botanical exploration with strong women characters? I'm all about it! Overall, an interesting and fairly unique plot. Some questionable choices, but kept my interest all the way through.
EG's writing style to use a bit of cleaning up in some places--in some paragraphs, she says the same thing 3 times over! All in all, nice period adventure fiction. Got me through a rough patch of winter! ...more

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Sep 20, 2013 Sam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1-contemp-literary, read-2013, tournament-of-books14

Despite my aversion to Elizabeth Gilbert’s book-that-shall-not-be-named, the premise of her newest novel was too tempting to not seek out and try without prejudice. As it turns out, The Signature of All Things really did serve as a good reminder of the benefits of keeping an open mind when it comes to deciding what to read.

The chronicle of a woman botanist who makes her way through the 19th century sounds like it would be a story that readers could really sink our teeth into. And it is. We foll Despite my aversion to Elizabeth Gilbert’s book-that-shall-not-be-named, the premise of her newest novel was too tempting to not seek out and try without prejudice. As it turns out, The Signature of All Things really did serve as a good reminder of the benefits of keeping an open mind when it comes to deciding what to read.

The chronicle of a woman botanist who makes her way through the 19th century sounds like it would be a story that readers could really sink our teeth into. And it is. We follow Alma Whitaker from birth to old age as she seeks to understand the world around her. There’s a very feminist sensibility to the book echoed in Alma’s pursuit of knowledge and the decisions she makes in her life.

We spend a lot of time getting excited with Alma about her various scientific questions and discoveries. Who knew I could actually be engaged with scientific topics (moss growth, anyone?) that would normally bore the hell out of me? And it’s only when it dawned on Alma that she’d spent most of her life cocooned on the family estate in Philadelphia without seeing the broader world that I, too, became aware of this fact (almost 3/4 of the way into the novel)—it’s a tribute to how absorbing Alma’s inner life was that the story still felt epic, broader than the confines of that one spot on the map. There was never a wish to not be spending time with these characters; never a desire for more whiz-bang plot points; never an impatience to move on before our characters decided to move on.

Gilbert’s storytelling is excellent. The story has a cozy, comfy feel to it even as it manages to surprise you. It’s straightforward without being simple, earnest without being corny. There’s heart-piercing emotion that keeps readers connected to the characters, but it has enough good sense to leave out the melodrama. The novel also contains one of the strongest endings that I’ve encountered as of late in my reading, tying things together so seamlessly that you can’t imagine there’s any other way Alma’s story could’ve ended.
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Nov 12, 2013 Jayme Pendergraft rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013, src-fall-2013

I was horribly bored by this book. I just did not enjoy the plant/moss portion of it, especially in the first half. I also did not really enjoy the fixation on sex. Again, much of this was in the first half of the book.

I really enjoyed the ending. Once she gets to the Netherlands and introduces the other scientists, I began to understand the purpose of the book.

The first half was just too long and boring for me to overcome.

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Sep 20, 2013 Nikki Morse rated it really liked it

I loved this book. Another one that I listened to (love that audible account), but I think it would be even more enjoyable in print. The main character, Almah, is interesting, and unique, and flawed in ways that are both frustrating and invoke compassion. The thing that kept it from a 5 is that it is set in the 1700s and 1800s, and uses language of the time -- which means having to deal with hearing quim, queer, and sodomite. Not sure if another choice would have made more sense, but that did ta ...more

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