Round the World A Life of Jeanne Baret is a historical
fiction about the character Jeanne, as she embarked on the trip that brings us
along around the globe.
I applaud the amount of research that was dedicated to this
book. This is the trip that many would never experience, even in modern times,
so one could imagine how important it was back then.
While I understand that it was probably done to maintain
accuracy and details, I wish the character were more relatable because instead
of experiencing the journey through her eyes, I felt detached. There was barely
any emotion, consideration, turmoil, but systematic thoughts and actions. I had
no idea what she feels, her motivations, and what keeps her going, but the
day-to-day, trip-to-trip technicality. People who are supposed to be important
from her past are barely mentioned and seem to influence nothing along her
journey until she is back with them. For example, I had no idea who Hubert was
when he was mentioned again at the end of the book after one mention in the
beginning. For his importance, especially when she reflects on her past with
him and her decision to come back to the place, she never thinks of him
throughout the other milestones of her life, which, imo, should be a very
important detail.
There is also a mention of a particular flower that is very
identifiable as Amorphophallus titanum as a huge, tall, green and red flower
with a yellow pistil and a putrid, rotten cheese smell that is found in
Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. However, Tirta Arum, the common name of
this flower, is endemic to Sumatra, Indonesia, and was first discovered in
1878, almost a decade after the time period of this book. I wouldn’t discount
the possibility that it is only the official record, but one would wonder that
for someone as famous as her in her field and a plant as peculiar as this one,
this should be at least documented. While this is a small detail in the book,
it would catch the eyes of people who might be familiar with it.
Having said that, readers to enjoy exploration journeys
would find this book informative and inspiring.
3.5 stars out of 5
