The Signature of All Things
Ratings37
Average rating3.9
" A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed. In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker-a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry's brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father's money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself.^
As Alma's research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction-into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist-but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life. Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The Signature of All Things soars across the globe-from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond. Along the way, the story is peopled with unforgettable characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad.^
But most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker, who-born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution-bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas. Written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time, Gilbert's wise, deep, and spellbinding tale is certain to capture the hearts and minds of readers. "--
"Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker--a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry's brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father's money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma's research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction--into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist--but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life. The story is peopled with unforgettable characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad. But most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker, who--born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution--bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas"--
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It's very rare that I get choked up at the end of a book, and even more rare that I get choked up for any reason other than a dog dying. But Gilbert managed to drum up that pregnant feeling in the back of my throat - the feeling that I had unveiled something truly beautiful.
I'll admit, I was skeptical that Gilbert would excel as a fiction writer in the same way she does in her memoirs/non-fiction (this is the first piece of fiction I have read of hers). However, she seamlessly adopts the voice of a 19th-century narrator with such deft, I would never have known this was not indeed written during that century.
Following the heritage and life of Alma Whittaker, a spinsterish, wealthy botanist (and manager of her curmudgeon-y father's estate) living in Philadelphia in the early-mid 1800's. Though a true scientist through and through (no frills, only logic), Gilbert lends a certain sensibility to Alma's consciousness that lights up a true fascination and passion for nature wherever she finds is, be that the grandest of the Tahitian mountains, or the smallest patch of moss; each contains a world of wonder unto themselves. She's an unlikely heroine, especially as she is often cold and unlikeable... yet, though she is plagued with despairing human disappointments and sadnesses, she strives on, sturdy and unrelenting, finding peace in nature, faith in the world just as it is - “You see, I have never felt the need to invent a world beyond this world, for this world has always seemed large and beautiful enough for me. I have wondered why it is not large and beautiful enough for others...We are all different, I suppose. All I ever wanted to know was this world.”
I cannot recommend this book enough, especially for lovers of science, nature, and historical fiction (the latter which, I admit, I generally don't really like). The writing is truly beautiful, and I promise you won't be disappointed.
4.5 stars! I was not a fan of Eat, Pray, Love - so entered into this with much trepidation. My foray into the unknown was rewarded however, it was gorgeous, sumptuous and rich satisfied sigh
This book showed such promise at times that I trudged through it, but it never quite managed to redeem itself. I finished it feeling like nothing much had happened in the previous 500 pages, despite a story that spanned several continents and over a hundred years. I felt like all the interesting parts were told in summary, glossing over the details so we could get back to Alma's internal narrative and the verbose, florid dialogue that was incredibly hard to actually comprehend as people talking. Overall, I never cared much for any of the characters, and couldn't quite get myself invested in their stories – I mean, 27 years are glossed over as ‘and then Alma studied moss until she became an old woman', essentially. I applaud the author for what she tried to accomplish here, but it wasn't to my taste.
