Read in February 2014
The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Two stars
Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things reads like a biography, not a novel, because it recounts one woman’s life rather than revolving around the resolution of a conflict. That is one of the difficulties this book may pose for some readers. To be a satisfying read, a life must focus on a character who is vivid and engaging, and I found Alma Whittaker lacking. She has some of the usual attributes of non-conventional heroines — she’s homely, she’s bright, she’s awkward, she’s outspoken, she pursues non-womanly subjects — but on another level this is a “poor little rich girl” tale. Alma’s father is the richest man in the western hemisphere, she wants for nothing, and when she chooses, she can go anywhere and do anything she likes. It’s hard to be engaged character who has no problems. And in some of her closest associations, Alma’s actions are those of someone supremely entitled, a big turnoff for me. When her parents adopt a girl whose mother was murdered by her father, Alma makes no effort to befriend her new sister, a breach that is unbridged for decades. When her husband fails to be the mate she’d imagined he would be, he’s banished. Had this life been edited into a novel, Alma’s marriage would likely have served as the central conflict, but we’re on page 196 before her future husband is even mentioned. And length is another problem with this book: At 512 pages it is simply too long. Several times I was on the verge of giving up on this novel, but I persevered, mostly due to the rave reviews from critics, yet by the end found nothing to justify those accolades.