Books #35 & 36: Archivist Wasp & The Signature of All Things
Archivist Wasp was a Bookmarks pick, and as usual, it lived up to the hype. It's an enthralling, unique novel. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future, in a world where food and shelter are precious and superstition and myth are leveraged by the unscrupulous. The main character is a young woman named Wasp. She is an Archivist. The Archivist's job is to catch and study ghosts and they are servants to the goddess Catchkeep. The Catchkeep priest has control over Wasp's life, in spite of the fact that she is a skilled ghost hunter. The people of the village are afraid of her. They see the Archivists as a necessary evil, a monster in their midst. To become an Archivist, one must kill one's predecessor, and so far Wasp has fended off all comers. But this bleak, brutal life has taken its toll on her, and she is on the edge of losing her footing and her life when she meets, for the first time in hundreds of years, a ghost who can speak. He is the ghost of a super soldier, from the time when the world was destroyed, and he wants her help. He thinks she is the only Archivist in history who can help him find the ghost of his partner and friend. He has unfinished business with her - and it turns out, in her own way, so does Wasp. They make a compelling pair and their journey is intense and emotionally raw. It's a satisfying read and an example of impressive world and character building.
The Signature of All Things is a sweeping historical novel by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was a little wary of it - I'm not a fan of the whole Eat Pray Love phenomenon. But I'd heard an interview with her on NPR in which she discussed this book, and a good friend recommended it. I'm glad I set aside my prejudice, because I loved it.
It starts with the main character's birth in 1800. Alma is the daughter of two wealthy, highly intelligent parents with large personalities. Her father started as a laborer at Kew Gardens as a teenager and, through sheer grit, vision, and some moral flexibility, turned his knowledge of plants into a fortune in selling medicine. Her mother was a Dutch woman of fearsome uprightness and character who believed in educating her daughter to the fullest extent possible. Alma becomes a force to behold - 6 feet tall, read haired, brilliant, and ferocious in her quest for knowledge and the truth. The novel is the epic tale of her life - her relationships, her scientific studies, her travels. It's a remarkable story of a remarkable woman. I was impressed with how finely sketched all the characters are, especially Alma's mother, Beatrice. Alma is a brilliant person, but her upbringing does not prepare her for a life beyond her family's estate and the "pure" world of science. Her need for love, companionship, and burgeoning sexuality prove the central stumbling block in her life, and she damages others as well as herself as she tries to find what she needs. But much of her search for love is in total innocence, and as a reader my heart broke alongside hers. In many ways I related to her and admired her.
The Signature of All Things is a sweeping historical novel by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was a little wary of it - I'm not a fan of the whole Eat Pray Love phenomenon. But I'd heard an interview with her on NPR in which she discussed this book, and a good friend recommended it. I'm glad I set aside my prejudice, because I loved it.
It starts with the main character's birth in 1800. Alma is the daughter of two wealthy, highly intelligent parents with large personalities. Her father started as a laborer at Kew Gardens as a teenager and, through sheer grit, vision, and some moral flexibility, turned his knowledge of plants into a fortune in selling medicine. Her mother was a Dutch woman of fearsome uprightness and character who believed in educating her daughter to the fullest extent possible. Alma becomes a force to behold - 6 feet tall, read haired, brilliant, and ferocious in her quest for knowledge and the truth. The novel is the epic tale of her life - her relationships, her scientific studies, her travels. It's a remarkable story of a remarkable woman. I was impressed with how finely sketched all the characters are, especially Alma's mother, Beatrice. Alma is a brilliant person, but her upbringing does not prepare her for a life beyond her family's estate and the "pure" world of science. Her need for love, companionship, and burgeoning sexuality prove the central stumbling block in her life, and she damages others as well as herself as she tries to find what she needs. But much of her search for love is in total innocence, and as a reader my heart broke alongside hers. In many ways I related to her and admired her.