LEAVING TIME by Jodi Picoult

This was one of the best of Jodi Picoult books. The subject was fascinating and the twist in the story unexpected and extremely clever. The story follows a young girl who is trying to find her mother who became lost to her when she was three. She employs the help of a burnt out psychic and a retired policeman who was in charge of a murder case in an elephant sanctuary where her mother worked and following which her mother disappeared. This book will take you to the wonderful world of elephants in Africa and in preservation in America. It explores the dynamics of motherhood within the elephant kingdom and parallels it with that of human's and I must say the elephants come out on top. While the elephant will not leave her dead calf's body for days on end, the mother of this story runs away not knowing what has even happened to her child. The book also advocates the existence of life after death and the reality of spirit beings through the theory of reincarnation. Even though this theory is one among many which attempt to explain the meaning of life, I found it had profound bearing on the story and left me saddened knowing that there are people out there believing that family relationships end with death and that even though we continue to live as spirits we do not continue the associations we formed in 'each' of our lives. The theory of reincarnation gives little to no hope that we will ever see our loved ones again as we hop around to different bodies and different lives which makes the possibility of crossing paths with people we've come to love extremely thin. I do not believe in the theory of reincarnation and consider it absurd. I do, however, believe in life after death and that we continue on as spirits until the time of resurrection. I look forward to meeting my ancestors with great anticipation when we will renew our family ties which will go on forever. I do not know if Jodi Picoult believes in reincarnation and is attempting to promote it through the medium of this book or if she has used this theory for the impact it makes on the story she tells but the fact that she makes no attempt to discredit it makes me think that she accepts it. If so I feel sorry for the lack of confidence she has in enduring family relationships which makes the premise of her story, that of irreplaceable mother's love, rather futile.

THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS by Elizabeth Gilbert

This was undoubtedly one of the best novels I have ever read. I marveled all the way through it which was greater, the intellect of the writer or the amount of staggering research she must have done to write such a book. Most surprising of all was that she could make the subject of botany so intriguing. The story was more than brilliantly weaved and the language so suitably employed to reflect the time period in which the novel was set. It left me thirsting for knowledge and refinement of speech. The story begins on 5 January 1800 with the birth of the heroine, Alma Whittaker. Born into wealth and tutored by her intelligent and no nonsense Dutch mother, Alma develops a brilliant and enquiring mind which enables her to excel in the field of botany and to which she dedicates her entire life. The story also covers the history of her father's life and his many exploits and expeditions of discovery across the globe. His story gives the reader a compelling window to the world of discovery as it once was and evokes appreciation for the world that now is. He eventually settles in America and becomes the riches man in Philladelphia and a much regarded man of business. His foundation in botany forms a platform for his daughter to delve into the natural world and to become a gifted botanist in her own right. Alma's life's work takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution from which she develops her own theory to coincide with that of Darwin's theory of 'natural selection' but Alma never resolves the enigma of humanity and concedes to the inability to reconcile science with spirituality. This is one book that should not be missed by a serious reader who desires to learn and to question what it means to be human.