The Rarest Fruit: A Novel

by Gaëlle Bélem, Hildegarde Serle, Emmy Bean (Narrator)

NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025・BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - Washington Independent Review of Books

“A gorgeous novel.”— New York Times

“A revealing, history-infused novel that spills its tale with the eager breathlessness, wry commentary, and frank truths of a close friend...Bélem…transforms little-known history into an exquisite ode.”— The Christian Science Monitor

Set in the 19th-century on Réunion Island, this new novel by International Booker Prize-longlisted author, Gaëlle Bélem, tells the true story of Edmond Albius, a young Creole boy whose extraordinary talent for botany leads him to revolutionize the highly competitive vanilla industry. Here is the incredible hidden story of a beloved flavor wrapped in a tale about resilience, science, exploration, defiance, and desert! Told with great verve and perfect pitch, The Rarest Fruit is both a poignant tribute to the unsung heroes of history and a vivid portrayal of the many destinies that may be shaped by a single discovery.

★ “Belem’s piercing bildungsroman memorializes Edmond while filling in the gaps with a masterful balance of humor, tragedy, and emotional insight. It’s an impressive feat.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Africa, Nature, France, Book Club, Historical

Audible Audio

Published July 13, 2026

Reviews

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

There's this joke I sometimes tell about how odd it is that "vanilla" has become a synonym for boring, when the delicate flavor comes from a fickle orchid. 🤔

The Rarest Fruit, a gorgeous novel translated from French, will give you an idea of what I mean by that, if you don't already. It's the short and tragic tale of Edmond Albius, a young Black slave on the isle of Bourbon who discovers the secret of pollinating vanilla orchids, thus unlocking a flavor treasured by the Aztecs. The writing (and translating) are exquisite. Highly recommend this one if you want a short work of historical fiction to close out your summer (or whatever season you're in).

This was one of my favorite novels of the year ❤️

Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!

[Jodi (on semi-hiatus)]

DNF'd @ 21% on 26 Dec 2025—This just wasn't what I needed right now. An interesting storyline, but the text was a convoluted mess of Old English, French, Creole, and a few others mixed in. No. Just no.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) A fictionalized biography, from infancy to deathbed, of the Black botanist who introduced the world to vanilla – then a rare and expensive flavour – by discovering that the plant can be hand-pollinated in the same way as pumpkins. In 1829, the island colony of Bourbon (now the French overseas department Réunion) has just been devastated by a cyclone when widowed landowner Ferréol Bellier-Beaumont is brought the seven-week-old orphaned son of one of his sister’s enslaved women. Ferréol, who once hunted rare orchids, raises the boy as his ward. From the start, Edmond is most at home in the garden and swears he will follow in his guardian’s footsteps as a botanist. Bélem also traces Ferréol’s history and the origins of vanilla in Mexico. The inclusion of Creole phrases and the various uses of plants, including for traditional healing, chimed with Jason Allen-Paisant’s Jamaica-set The Possibility of Tenderness, and I was reminded somewhat of the historical picaresque style of Slave Old Man and The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho. The writing is solid but the subject matter niche.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy a bit of historical fiction.

The Rarest Fruit tells the true story of Edmond Albius who was born a slave in Bourbon (now Réunion), a French colony in the Indian Ocean.

Edmond is orphaned at birth but he becomes almost a ward of a local landowner and botanist, Ferréol Bellier-Beaumont. As he grows up Edmond proves a very willing and talented student who finally proves his worth by discovering the secret of pollinating the vanilla orchid to produce pods.

Gaëlle Bélem fills in the extensively missing history of Edmond with an entertaining history of the slave whose endeavours made a lot of vanilla growers extremely wealthy in the 1800s. Of course, being a slave Edmond sees none of the profits and the story is necessarily one of inequality.

I knew nothing of Edmond Albius before I read this but it's a fascinating story. I'd definitely recommend it for fans of historical fiction or anyone who enjoys an interesting story.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Europa Editions for the advance review copy.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book of WITMonth 2026. It's been a decade and a half since I began my autodidactic resistance to the white male anglo, and sourcing women of color in translation has only slightly improved compared to the experience of pulling teeth, even when centering around a self-proclaimed WIT champion such as Europa Editions (part and parcel of the problem of course but welcome to the critical literacy circus, take a seat and enjoy the show). So, when a piece like this comes along that goes the mile and then some: luscious prose, fascinating subject, reclamation of Black History, all in less than 200 pages, I'm going to make more of an effort to wake up than usual. Grand words for someone still recovering from surgery, but happily, this work lent itself well to my effort, to the point that I do have to tip my hat to this beleaguered time of ours where I can check this work out from a public library. So, for folks in the mood for some postcolonial learning in the form of historical fiction, this work will do something for your lexicon, expand your mind, and mayhaps even strengthen your heart.

It's awe-inspiring how the simple act of reclassifying white people as Homo privateer explains so much of the modern day: discovery here, copyright there, the inventor dies in obscurity, the stockbrokers cannibalize the body on a sliver platter. Edmond Albion is far from the first and hardly unique, but his tale comes at a pivotal moment of education then not, slavery then not, crime then not, family then not, that a reader can ride out a whole pantheon of fascinating knowledge from the relatively safe harbor of a bildungsroman biopic. As I said, it was a tad difficult to get my reader wheels going due to the sheer amount of novelty going on, but once I got a hold of the author's rhythm, I appreciated her method of interweaving the fragmented testimonies of her subject with those evocations she thought suitable to the course of discovery, betrayal, recognition, marriage, survival. For, thanks to the cruelties of white folks, we will never have a history suited to white standards. What is left is the gap between the spirit and the word, and all the souls dancing in the margins for the pleasure of those holistic enough to seek them out.

Rerouting to academia has not been an option for me for some time now; nor, at this point, would I honestly go for it at first glance. However, some of the most surprisingly popular works I've sourced for my patron base push the intellectual envelope, whether it be something beyond the Anglo pale or an experiment in pre-transatlantic slave trade historical realities. As such, when I go back to work, I am going to add this to my basket of catch-up collection development, as the elegantly coiffed appearance and accessible length are well suited to the enterprising dabbler who is curious enough about the contents to acclimate themselves to the author's style. Bourgeoisie, yes, gatekept to hell and back, most assuredly, but my collection development policy is often the works that I know patrons are allowing their eyes to glaze over, whether due to Amazon's racial advertisement quota already maxing out or a sudden health crisis in the family cutting one's attention span off at the knees between the pain and the void. It's part of why I'm paid for the work I do, and with more than one seismic retrofits awaiting me in the workplace during the next few years, every patron I can entire towards a more equitable world during a time of massive transition is a job well done. Long story short: first stop, Edmond Albius, horticulturist extraordinaire and may he rest in peace. Next stop, the world.

There was no rebellion, no Indian cavalry with broad scimitars flashing in the haze. Worse than war, there were embraces, trade agreements, mace, and the usual peppercorns. And a few missionaries, a kind of cavalry, a cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, within musket range of the Hindu temples.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very quick read and overall pretty interesting- Edmond, orphaned son of two slaves in 19th Century Reunion, discovers at twelve how to pollinate the vanilla plant… I know right, what a random topic for me to read about! But also kind of bizarre timing because my previous book was about the young boy from the slums who, in 19th century London, discovered how to read the ancient tablets of Mesopotamia. So many diamonds in the rough!

But I digress. This book felt like it wasn’t sure whether it wanted to be strictly non-fiction, or to read more like a novel. At times it was a bit dry and just felt like it was stating the facts, and it was often a bit meandering and difficult to follow within this. I received a copy from NetGalley and in all honesty if it wasn’t a review copy, I probably would have put it down after a few pages.

[Salomé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m absolutely devastated.

This novel tells the story of Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave from Réunion Island, as he discovers how to pollinate the vanilla flower. An ancient pre-Columbian science, that had been lost due to the massacre of its people by Hernán Cortés. You see how everyone profited from this discovery except Edmond himself.

As a Reunionese, this novel deeply touched me. Gaëlle was able to weave this biographical historical fiction with so much of our culture, our way of life, and our language. It makes me so happy to see this novel being translated into English so more people can discover this important piece of history that changed the face of the world’s economy.

[safiya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is time ever lost when a read book is earned?

I learned some new things about the pollination processes of vanilla flowers (not really) and my attention span gained a few more bars 📶

All in all, not a bad read just not for me

[Ellinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esst ihr gerne Vanille? Ich mag den Geschmack ja nicht so gerne. Ein Buch über diese seltenste Frucht habe ich trotzdem gelesen und auch sehr gemocht.
Die seltenste Frucht spielt auf der kleinen Insel Réunion im Indischen Ozean. Diese trug früher den Namen Bourbon, den heutzutage jeder in Verbindung mit Vanille kennt. Ursprünglich stammt die Gewürzvanille aus Mexiko, wo sie auch Früchte trug. Baute man sie sonst irgendwo an, schlugen alle Befruchtungsversuche fehl, da nur bestimmte, ausschließlich in Mexiko beheimatete Bienen und Kolibris die Pflanze bestäuben.
Hier kommt nun Edmond Albius ins Spiel. Er wird als Sohn einer Sklavin geboren, die jedoch bei seiner Geburt stirbt. Sein Besitzer, der verwitwete und kinderlose Féréol Beaumont, adoptiert ihn. Letzterer ist Botaniker und hatte eine große Leidenschaft: Orchideen und insbesondere Vanille. Seinem Ziehsohn bringt er alles bei, doch für die Bestäubung der Vanille hat auch er keine Lösung. Doch mit gerade einmal zwölf Jahren gelingt es Edmond, ein Verfahren der manuellen Befruchtung zu entwickeln. Bourbon wird daraufhin zum größten Vanilleproduzenten der Welt.
Gaëlle Bélem stammt selbst aus La Réunion. Ihr Schreibstil gefällt mir sehr. In ihrem Buch steckt viel Liebe zum Detail. Sie liefert die nötigen historischen Hintergründe und Erklärungen. Dabei gelingt es ihr, diese so in die Geschichte einzubauen, dass sie sich absolut fließend in jene einfügen. Wie nebenbei beschreibt sie die Schwierigkeiten, denen Edmond im Laufe seines Lebens begegnet. Obwohl er adoptiert wurde, wird er von seinem Vater dennoch nicht als voll- bzw. gleichwertig angesehen, da er schwarz ist. Aufgrund dieser Tatsache wird ihm auch weitere Bildung verwehrt. Als er später wegen Diebstahls verhaftet wird, dauert es auch sehr lange, bis Féréol beginnt, sich für ihn einzusetzen.
Für mich ist Die seltenste Frucht eine ganz wunderbare Entdeckung. Ich freue mich darauf, das Werk der Autorin noch genauer anzuschauen.

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a bit spoiled when it comes to historical fiction. I want something more than just a good story set in the past... to be surprised by a twist, a daring move or an unexpected new perspective by the author.

The Rarest Fruit has a great subject matter, tells a very original story and is set in a time and place about which I knew little and enjoyed learning more.

But it doesn't have that little something extra.

It is the story of the young slave Edmond Albius who is adopted by a French botanist on the island of Reunion (then Bourbon) and invents a new technique to pollinate vanilla much faster than before. After this invention, Réunion became the world's largest supplier of vanilla (I have a bottle of vanilla extract from the island at home and the difference with the store bought stuff is unbelievable).

3,5 rounded up for the good true story

[Madeline Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this was a beautiful and haunting book. I learned a lot about La Reunion and reflected much on what it means to leave a legacy.

[Isabelle Millan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Objectively I want to give this 5 stars because of its importance and generally the incredible writing style — it reminds me of the sentence I quoted in my review of The Kites, where the author inhabits every word. That rings true for this novel too, props to the translator for carrying the full weight into English as well.

My biggest gripe was that it’s told from a third person perspective and I don’t just mean he said she said. It’s because this is a true story so some of it is speculation which I get, but I never FELT like Edmond did. There was an emotional disconnect of sorts.

Otherwise, very well written, sometimes funny even in such a grim story! Interesting, important, informative. Makes you think about race, class, and colonization. Should be a required read! Thank you Edmond Albius for vanilla ice cream 🙏

[Stanzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Point positif : j'ai appris quelque chose.
Point négatif : je me suis fait chier comme une ratte morte.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

the fictionalized biography aspect took getting used to, but as someone who’s been to Réunion, whose French is heinously rusty, and who loves a vanilla bean, I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[H.A. Leuschel · Rating 5 out of 5]

´L'arôme vanille part à la conquête de la planète entière après celle de la France. Partout dans le monde, un vent de vanille souffle; les gousses circulent, se vendent, s´achètent, se consomment sans qu´on sache qu'un esclave de douze ans qui n'a jamais vu de planisphère en a percé le secret pour les siècles à venir et ce, d'un simple geste de la main.'

[Buchdoktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der bereits jung verwitwete Ferréol Bellier Beaumont (1792-1872) erhielt von seiner Schwester ein Schwarzes Baby zur Adoption, dessen Mutter bei der Geburt verstorben war. Vermutlich stammten die Eltern des Kindes aus Mosambik. Bellier war Plantagenbesitzer auf Reúnion/Île Bourbon und beschäftigte versklavte Arbeiter. Auch wenn Beaumont, ganz der Landwirt, wie bei einer Pflanze zunächst die Ansehnlichkeit des kleinen Edmond zur Kenntnis nimmt, kann er später nicht übersehen, dass der Junge ein ungewöhnlich gutes Gedächtnis für Planzennamen zeigt – ohne je zur Schule gegangen zu sein. Dass Beaumont sich eher als Botaniker denn als Plantagenbesitzer sieht und Edmond bereits mit 5 Jahren zur Gartenarbeit anleitet, kann das Talent nur gefördert haben. Eher zufällig entdeckt der Zwölfjährige, der die Pflanzen der Insel jahrelang erforschen, sammeln und kartieren wird, dass die kapriziösen Blüten der rankenden Vanille sorgfältig von Hand bestäubt werden müssen. Die Blüten erblühen nur einen Tag lang und nach der Bestäubung liegt noch ein komplizierter Fermentierungsprozess vor den Züchtern. Diese Entdeckung hätte allen Inselbewohnern märchenhaften Reichtum bescheren können, wäre nicht der rassistische Blick des 18./19. Jahrhunderts gewesen, der eine ungewöhnliche Begabung eines Versklavten grundsätzlich ausschließt. Am Ende wird sich Beaumont sogar einbilden, in Wirklichkeit hätte er die Bestäubung der Vanilleblüte entdeckt. Edmond selbst stellt dagegen nüchtern fest, dass er als Forscher die falsche Hautfarbe hat, da nach ihm sicher keine Pflanzenart genannt werden wird. Mit eingeschobenen Rückblicken, die durch Jahreszahl und Alter von Ferréol und Edmond eindeutig zuzuordnen sind, entsteht ein Fluss der Ereignisse, der zum Ende zunehmend grotesker wirkt.

Gaëlle Bélem zeichnet sich durch eine augenzwinkernde, mäandernde Erzählweise aus, durch die die Tatsache der Versklavung ihrer Figuren etwas erträglicher wird. Das tragisch-märchenhafte Schicksal des realen Edmond, der anlässlich seiner Freilassung den Familiennamen Albius annimmt, kann als Gleichnis dienen, wie europäische Eroberer durch rassistische Einstellungen dem eigenen Erfolg im Weg standen. Da der heranwachsende Edmond eine ideale Identifikationsfigur liefert, finde ich seine Geschichte passend zum Einstieg in einen Black History Month.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is at once a very sweet book and also a heartbreaking story. It follows the life of the man, Edmond Albius, who discovered how to pollinate vanilla plants on a small island next to Madagascar at the age of 12, thereby introducing vanilla to the old world. Before his discovery, vanilla plants only sprouted fruit in Mexico (down to Brazil) due to a species of bee there that pollinates the plant. Albius was a slave, though, and although his discovery allowed for vanilla to become extremely profitable for his island and to be spread throughout the world, he barely reaped the benefits of this profit in his adult life. The story starts with him as a sort of lively, hopeful child, who is taken under the wing of his master, a botanist, and treated better than the other slaves, who all seem incredibly old and beaten down despite their age, who live somewhat disconnected from life and feeling and thought. Albius on the other hand lives in his masters home and is taught about plants and botany. He dreams from a young age of becoming a great botanist. The other slaves in contrast get through, they survive, they resent Albius somewhat for the better treatment he receives. But after Albius’ master won’t agree to emancipate him despite his enormous accomplishment and service to the entire community, Albius begins to succumb to a similiar fate as the other slaves. Slavery is soon thereafter abolished, but as a young adult, Albius struggles, living in poverty, and is thrown in jail for stealing. He ages quickly, becomes disillusioned and dispassionate. The incredible injustice and irony of his fate— his discovery having such a huge impact on the cuisine of the people who stole his homeland and him reaping none of the benefits of it before dying in poverty and relative obscurity— unfold with with enormous tact and steadiness. You feel for the story and for Edmond very fully by the end— the loss of hope and life he has in the beginning because of these circumstances is palpable. Told in a tale-like style, this book is a great use of fictionalizing historical events and people. An overall great read.

[liam rickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a homestay in in Northern Thailand. The artwork on the cover was quite attractive and it felt good in the hand, these things matter when it comes to deciding to read a book you know nothing about.
I love history, can’t get enough of it, so this book tickled me the right way. I knew nothing about the island of Le Réunion, the history of Vanilla, nor who Edmond Albius was.
Firstly, the prose is beautiful and even if the subject matter is of no interest to you, the language should be. Gaëlle Bélem writes beautifully about the landscape of the island and strongly sets out the main characters of the story, chiefly Edmund Albius, an illiterate slave child who changed the world at the age of twelve.

Réunion island is a French colony built on the backs of slaves, its the 1850’s and slavery is coming to an end much to the dismay of the islands ruling class who consist of the grandsons and granddaughters of middle class French that left the continent to start a new life. Their grandchildren now consider themselves to be more Réunionites than French.
Into this resource driven young society is born Edmond, the son of black slaves. Both his parents died when he was a baby and he was adopted by Ferreol Beaumont. A white despairing divorced land owner whom’s botany dreams have never quite been fulfilled.
For many centuries has the mystery of vanilla been unsolved, since its method of reproduction was lost after the fall of the Aztecs, now Ferréol has one in his nursery though he sees it more as a weed than anything else. Vanilla hence can be seen as the third main character of the book, as for long it frustrates and captivates Edmond and Ferréol and the larger world.

Now leaving the rest of the story for you, the book is essentially a biography of Edmond Albius, but unlike what I was expecting, the story does not end after Edmond’s discovery. It continues to tell the story of Edmond long after the world at the time stopped caring about him, if they ever really did. The second half of the book hence is very sad and paints a harrowing picture of a society immediately after the end of slavery. How does Edmond, now a free man and a man of immense historical importance, find his freedom again and does he truly ever get the recognition he deserves.

Its a great book, I loved reading it and learning about this small in scale but long lasting moment in history.
Every time I eat a vanilla cake, I give a shout out to Edmond.

[Sandra The Old Woman in a Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think your enjoyment of this book may rest on why you want to read it.

I read partly to explore other worlds. I’m working my way around the world and have almost finished reading a book from every country. Reunion Island is under French rule, but I’m also interested in territories and colonies, so this book stood out as a an opportunity to explore this culture lying in the southern Indian Ocean not far from Madagascar. From this perspective the short novel is a 5-star read. The vanilla story is fascinating and the cultural history of the island pulled me in. Edward’s story is tragic and not unexpected, but still full of interesting details.

The style of the writing wasn’t my favorite. While a novel and telling a story set along a linear timeline, each chapter felt distinct from the adjacent ones. Thar created a choppy flow, and the feel of a nonfiction text more than a novel. Sometimes the prose was beautiful and worthy of rereading and reflection. Sometimes sentences were lost to translation. I suspect the style was intentional as the printing and formatting also resembled old nonfiction.

Overall, I give the book 4 stars; 5 for content and 3 for style.

[2TReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

I loved the richness of the prose and the injection of dark humour in certain parts that had me laughing. Belem's fictionalization of Edmond Albius' life is taken from research, letters, and other documents that aided in her building this portrayal. However, anything invented by her is probably not far off the mark as the time will be reflected in both behaviour and recognition that would have been extended to Edmond. You cannot help but feel empathy for this orphan boy who learned so much and was not encouraged or widely acknowledged for his contributions to Botany and Horticulture. But he was a slave, so are we surprised.

[Christa Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictionalized biography based on the real and tragic story of Edmond Albius, a young Black enslaved boy on the Isle of Bourbon (now Réunion) who discovers the secret to pollinating vanilla orchids, unlocking the flavor once treasured by the Aztecs. His discovery would make many others extraordinarily wealthy, yet Edmond received neither recognition nor compensation for his achievement.
This audio is so lovely, Emmy Bean's voice is clear as a bell and this is a delightful listen.

[Stacey D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Once upon a time, there was a young orphan slave who discovered how to transform vanilla flowers into pods at the end of a winter that would never end. He spread the flavour throughout the world and then died in utter destitution.”

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adesso ogni volta che mangerò un dolce alla vaniglia penserò al povero e caro Edmond...

[jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

vanilla borbonica edmundii fan club <33

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

bellissimo, bella rappresentazione, no a piccole cose personali di scrittura

[Sohan · Rating 2 out of 5]

lecture pour mon book club.
j'ai eu l'impression de lire une lecture obligatoire du lycée. les personnages sont, selon moi, pas assez développés pour qu'on s'y attache, leurs relations peu voire pas approfondies. beaucoup de descriptions qui n'avaient que peu d'intérêt au récit, on ne passe finalement que très peu de temps sur la découverte de la vanille. point positif, je sais plus de choses sur cette fleur/épice désormais.
j'ai également trouvé que cette sorte de fiction historique/non-fiction ne fonctionnait franchement pas très bien.
cela dit, les notes de bas de page citant les sources de certaines informations étaient, je pense, une bonne idée.

2,50 ou 2,75. je n'étais sûrement pas la cible pour cet ouvrage.

[Margaux Shld · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ très joliment écrit et intéressant !

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, almost a novella, chronicles strange-but-true history of vanilla and its introduction to the West.The aromatic flavor was introduced to explorer Hernán Cortés by the Aztecs, whose civilization he would famously destroy. And that when cuttings of the vanilla planifolia orchid were brought back to Spain in 1529, European horticulturalists were unable to figure out how to get it to produce the beans they assumed would make them a fortune. And also that the plant then proceeded to languish in royal gardens for nearly three centuries until a gardener shipped it to the French colony of Bourbon (now Réunion), where an illiterate slave named Edmond Albius — a 12-year-old Creole boy — developed the method for hand pollination still used in its cultivation today.
Edmond’s discovery had widespread economic and culinary impacts, but it’s his relationship with Ferréol Bellier-Beaumont, the white botanist who raised him, that lies at the heart of the story. He was Edmond’s adopted father, but he is also his owner. He dotes on his adopted son, teaching him the Latin names of flowers but not how to read the books in his library. He spares Edmond from toiling in the sugarcane fields, assigning him instead to the garden, but indignantly dismisses the boy’s aspirations of becoming a botanist and he does not free him. In fact, he steals credit from him, which was later restored to Albius by history.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The New York Times has a wonderful series of obituaries called "Overlooked" about accomplished people who nevertheless did not have a NYT obituary published at the time of their death. The excellent book reminded me of that series. It takes place on Bourbon Island (now Reunion Island), an overseas colony and later a Department of France located in the Indian Ocean. It was there in the early 1840s that a bright but uneducated slave boy learned how to pollinate the vanilla orchids and grow pods, resulting in the vanilla trade that took off within 10 years to be quite a lucrative industry. The slave boy was named Edmund and he took the last name of Albius upon being set free, a number years after his vanilla pollination succeeded. Without spoilers, his life was indeed tragic and he never got any recognition in his lifetime. This excellent book reconstructs his life, studies, relationships and accomplishments using first hand records from where he lived. I found this to be a fascinating with detours into native, botany, politics, cooking and island life. Just a superb read of an exotic place and person.

[Gresi e i suoi Sogni d'inchiostro · Rating 3 out of 5]

L’isola La Reunion fu la destinazione, la scoperta primordiale di un viaggio che ho intrapreso, quasi inconsapevolmente, qualche settimana fa. Niente mi avrebbe distratto dal raggiungere questo posto, questa meta. Niente del suo passato, simbolicamente ricordato mediante il respiro ampio della letteratura, la lettura, lo studio di altri romanzi, simbolicamente << dimenticato >> da chi visse, metaforicamente parlando e non, un frammento di storia che questo testo, ancora una volta, espugna rendendo omaggio nel raccontare la vera storia di Albius Edmond, giovane schiavo che scoprì il metodo manuale per impollinare la vaniglia. Incuneato nell’Oceano Indiano, descritto come una sorta di giardino dell’Eden tropicale, così lussureggiante e sfolgorante e incontaminato, conferisce una sorta di forma d’incanto che tuttavia stona con la violenza della schiavitù e del colonialismo. Come nel racconto biblico dell’Eden nel quale il frutto rappresenta la fine dell’innocenza e l’inizio della sofferenza umana, il dolce aroma della vaniglia sarà profondamente corrotto da ogni forma di sfruttamento e di ingiustizia.
Nella stessa isola, il sommo poeta Charles Baudelaire plasmò alcuni temi legati all’esotismo che caratterizzano i suoi capolavori. Il suo fu un viaggio in cui tentò di dissipare quei costumi dissipati e a stretto contatto con una realtà diversa da quella del resto del mondo. Perché contrariamente all’idea romantica di vivere un viaggio romantico con entusiasmo, chi legge assiste alle vicissitudini di Edmond con insofferenza e malinconia, perchè esiliati, incapaci di integrarsi con i coloni locali che l’avrebbero reso simile a tanti altri.
Ogni passaggio dall’una all’altra stagione della vita di Edmund è marcato formalmente da un rito di scoperta, di conoscenza di questo frutto nel corso del quale, come un processo di iniziazione, da una morte simbolica nasce la vita, dal niente può nascere un tutto. A suo modo, l’autrice descrive i postumi di una società prostata dal colonialismo, perseguendo le << sue >> mete - tutte esclusivamente personali e accademiche - istituzionalizzando questo passaggio, questa continua scoperta mediante poi un ultimo passaggio della vita di Edmond: la sua morte. Legato da un’inaspettata affinità e da un certo contrasto con Baudelaire, costretti a vivere profondi attimi o momenti di prigionia. Edmond, per via della schiavitù che lo indurranno a scovare la sua libertà interiore, spirituale e intellettuale nella natura, esprimendosi mediante il linguaggio dei fiori e delle piante. Baudelaire, invece, privato della stessa libertà di scelta da parte del patrigno, intrappolato nella sofferenza e nella noia coloniale. Ma con una evidente differenze: il significato diverso di questo frutto. Per l’autore francese tale frutto era la poesia, il lirismo, l’esotismo, l’ideale estetico che riesce a strappare dal fango la realtà coloniale. Per Edmund, la vaniglia, un’orchidea sterile che nessun scienziato era riuscito a fruttificare, a comprenderne il suo splendido miracolo creativo generato dal nulla. La storia celebra il poeta parigino mediante opere di critici famosi come Eugene Crepet, il genio del povero schiavo e dimenticato, denigrato a cui spetta una bruttissima fine: morire in povertà. L’autrice tenterà di unire entrambe le orbite nel dare o conferire la stessa dignità o immortalità letteraria data a Baudelaire, ma attribuisce al romanzo una natura ibrida ( a metà dal romanzo storico e biografico documentato), una mole imponente di dettagli archivisti sulla botanica, sulla storia coloniale della Reunion, sulle reti commerciali del XIX secolo che consumano l’anima di chi legge come una lenta agonia. La storia di Edmund, così pregna di tristezza, miseria dell’anima e ingiustizia, è esorcizzata dallo stile ironico, tagliente, disincantato e a tratti faceto nel costruire una specie di barriera emotiva tra il lettore e il protagonista nel quale mi sono disgraziatamente sentita fuori e a cui ho potuto attribuirgli poco fascino, poca caratterizzazione. Quanto percependolo come simbolo storico o figura passiva intrappolato in una struttura sfilacciata in cui i capitoli intermediari faticano a legarsi, armonizzarsi fra loro, disperdendo l’interesse che la scoperta di questo frutto e di Edmond aveva sortito al principio. Ma profondamente critico e volto a criticare, depennare ogni forma di colonialismo, cancellare la memoria storica mediante una parabola di riscatto e dell’ingiustizia, la scintilla dell’intelletto e della creatività che nascono in Edmond esplicano come esse possano nascere, generarsi in condizioni più disagiate e come la macchina coloniale e capitalista si appropria del lavoro, dell’invenzione di un uomo di colore che potesse arricchire i grandi proprietari terrieri bianchi.
La storia spesso evidenzia come tali vittorie siano riportate da vincitori che prevalgono mediante la sottomissione dei più deboli. La Belém, mediante metaletteratura, ci induce a riflettere e a comprendere come il compito della letteratura sia quello di restituire la parola e la dignità a chi è stato dimenticato, indicando così ne Il frutto più raro quell’atto di giustizia per cui Edmond potrà essere ricordato. Ma se avesse proiettato la sua attenzione su questo, su questa forma di riscatto di cui poteva essere soggetto Edmond, avrebbe potuto diventare simbolo eterno di resilienza e dignità e non figura poco approfondita, quasi relegata che il tempo cancellerà presto dalla mia memoria.
Inorgoglita dall’aver respirato una bella atmosfera coloniale in cui è stato possibile calpestare le stesse terre che fanno da sfondo a questa storia, ma da cui emerge una costante attrazione e forme di repulsione per questo mondo violento, abbacinante che acutizza un forte senso di violenza e ribellione verso le istituzioni morali e borghesi. E se da un lato l’isola conferisce una mera idea di paradiso sensoriale, dall’altra rappresenta quell’inferno sociale della schiavitù. Archetipo di ideale: un altrove lussuoso, quieto e zeppo di voluttà nel quale Edmond scoprirà cosa voglia dire vivere. Contrapporsi alla grigia e opprimente realtà annunciata dal secolo.