Late 19c / early 20c backdrop. The author uses letters as a literary device effectively but perhaps a shade too much. The use of letters does signify how little we truly understand the inner minds of others. The six stories each stand on their own but several characters weave throughout a shared narrative. The book is satisfying, but something was missing for me. While an interesting glimpse into the lives of the characters, all with an interest in science, I didn’t find it moving or offering fresh insights overall. Good but not a preferred style perhaps. Character driven, historical info. Strong influence of mothers; those who wander vs those who stay; biodiversity; searching for those we lost in other people. Best stories are the first two: Servants of the Map and The Forest. ( )

I chose this book because he had been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and Barrett had previously won a National Book Award. This is high praise. The book is a collection of 4 short stories and 2 novellas and deals with time frames spanning a 150 years. The prose was excellent and I admired how well crafted the stories were. Seeing how science was viewed in the 19th century was interesting and I got a great sense of life during those times. Barrett connected some of the characters between the different stories and that added to the enjoyment of the book. The book was not a page turner but was worth the effort. As one reviewer noted, they enjoyed the book but was never enthralled by it. I do recommend it if you are intrigued by natural history because that theme along with dealing with loss ties all of the stories together. ( )

Barrett, Andrea. Servants of the Map. New York: W.W. Norton, 2002.

"Servants of the Map"
Max Vigne is an English Civil Junior Sub-Assistant surveyor in the Himalayas away from his wife and young family. As a member of the surveying party, through letters he describes his daily existence, leaving out the hardships and cruelties (like finding the body of a man who apparently died of the elements). Through those same letters the reader is exposed to Max's inability to synthesize with this surroundings. Being from England he is embarrassed by his lily-white skin while everyone else on the team is dark and tanned. The differences go deeper than skin and culture. Max is drawn to the natural world, wanting to explore it more than reconnect with his marriage and life back home.

"The Cure"
It is December 1905 in the Adirondacks. Elizabeth and Andrew run a private home for health-seekers. They have nine boarders at the moment and one, Mr. Martin Sawyer, is dying. Elizabeth thinks her husband hides whenever someone is sick but really he is channeling the healing powers of Nora Kynd. Andrew believes in the healing qualities of magnets. They "shift the shape of the aura surrounding each person into a new and more healthful alignment" (p 203). On Nora's birthday he honors her spirit by placing magnets in the chimney, hoping it will help Mr. Sawyer.
There are a lot of other characters to keep track of. Here are just a few:

• Livvie and Rosellen - they help Elizabeth run the house


• Mrs Temple - the nurse who left three days earlier


• Dorrie and Emeline - they also run private homes for health-seekers


• Bessie Brennan - Dorrie's mother. She was the first to rent a room to a sick stranger


• Mr. Woodruff - a Baltimore banker who roomed with Bessie


• Olive - Bessie's cousin


• Aaron Brown - a boarder who died


• Mr. Davis - another boarder


• Mr. Cameron - an astronomy teacher from Connecticut, also a boarder


• Nora Kynd - she taught Elizabeth, Dorrie and Emeline their trade. She came from Detroit, Michigan and has passed away.

Barrett takes the time to jump back to Nora Kynd's story - how she fled to America from Ireland; how she was separated from her only living relatives, her two younger brothers; how she befriended a healer by the name of Fanny McCloud who taught her everything she knew; how she came to the Adirondacks. Like "Servants of the Map" this story focuses on science, this time trying to cure people of consumption or tuberculosis. ( )

The book is a series of short stories with intertwined characters, most set in the 1800's. While each was involved in science or naturalist studies, the stories were much more focused on personal longings. One central theme was dealing with loss of family or friend. Although I enjoyed the book I was never enthralled for reasons that I can't quite put my finger on. ( )

Each chapter can stand alone in this novel of exploration, science and the changing of human thinking. While the book centers in the 1800's it story is still today's story. Does the Bible or science tell the true story of the earth and nature. Still unresolved in some people's mind this book allows for further thinking on the subject. ( )