The scope of the Signature of All Things was vast, the settings as beautiful and far flung as promised by the publisher. The story was suffused by Gilbert's own worldview as expressed in her autobiographical works, and those were the aspects of this story I enjoyed most. But I had a hard time connecting with Alma Whittaker, just as she had a difficulties relating to the people around her. Her tragedies seem to outnumber her triumphs, her bouts of sadness put me in a dour mood for days. I just finished this tome five minutes ago, and it seems like it's a physical presence sitting on my chest, my heart feels heavy. I'm reminded of a quote I've seen...Life is beautiful, and then it's awful, and then it's amazing again. I'm hoping to breathe in some of that amazing before the awful suffocates me.