moss and thangs.
(started reading on 12/6/2013, finished reading on 12/25/2013)
BookfessionsChica’s Rating: ***
BookfessionsChica’s Recommendation: My final book of 2013. I’ll admit that this book did have a bit of a slow start. But once it takes off and you get into it, you get caught up in Alma’s world, her love/knowledge of plants and moss. I was fascinated with Alma. This woman dedicates her ENTIRE life to one thing: botany. Literally. She spends YEARS kneeling over moss. Just staring, observing, measuring, drawing, and checking the temperature of moss. I envy her. I do not see myself dedicating the rest of my life to my current profession.
The following description of The Signature of All Things was borrowed from barnesandnoble.com: …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.
The following are my favorite quotes/passages from The Signature of All Things:
Chapter Five
The Swedes, at least, understood and shared the central beliefs of the Calvinist teachings: You are responsible for your own situation in life, you are most likely doomed, and the future is terribly grim. That was all comfortingly familiar to Beatrix. Better than any of the other religions, with their false, soft reassurances. p. 55
BookfessionsChica’s Thoughts: So, apparently I’m a Calvinist and I didn’t even know it.
Chapter Fifteen
…One does not wish to lose the fondness of people one admires by revealing too much of oneself. p. 228
She had read Boehme, thought she never admired him. Jacob Boehme was a sixteenth-century cobbler from Germany who had mystical visions about plants. Many people considered him an early botanist…
The old cobbler had believed in something he called “the signature of all things”- namely, that God had hidden clues for humanity’s betterment inside the design of every flower, leaf, fruit, and tree on earth. All the natural world was a divine code, Boehme claimed, containing proof of our Creator’s love. This is why so many medical plants resembled the diseases they were meant to cure, or the orgns they were able to treat. Basil, with its liver-shaped leaves, is the obvious ministration for ailments of the liver…Walnuts, shaped like brains, are helpful for headaches. p. 229
BookfessionsChica’s Thoughts: I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things to stumble upon when I’m reading a book is that little part that explains the title of the book. It doesn’t always happen. Some titles are self explanatory. Others, like this book (atleast for me), not so much. Anyway, it might be silly, but when I come across that passage I get super giddy and it puts a smile on my face.
Chapter Thirty-One
Alma sighed. This was quite a question. What did she believe?
“I believe that we are all transient,” she began. She thought for a while and added, “I believe that we are half-blind and full of errors. I believe that we understand very little, and what we do understand is mostly wrong. I believe that life cannot be survived-that is evident!- but if one is lucky, life can be endured for quite a long while. If one is both lucky and stubborn, life can sometimes even be enjoyed.” p. 496
BookfessionsChica’s Thoughts: (random note-to-self: make/start happiness jar).
Meet me at the park: Bookfessions of life and love. 