Sign-In
Cart
The Rarest Fruit
Paperback
General FictionHistorical Fiction
Publisher Price: $18.95
Publisher: Europa Editions
Published: Aug 18 2026
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.44
Height: 0.60 Width: 5.20 Depth: 8.10
Language: English
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)
1 different editions
Also available
Also from
Bélem, Gaëlle
Also in
General Fiction
Elizabeth Spencer: Novels & Stories (Loa #344): The Voice at the Back Door / The Light in the Piazza / Knights and Dragons / Stories
Spencer, Elizabeth
Hardcover
Anniversaries, Volume 2: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl, April 1968-August 1968
Johnson, Uwe
Paperback
Philip Roth: Novels 1973-1977 (Loa #165): The Great American Novel / My Life as a Man / The Professor of Desire
Roth, Philip
Hardcover
Selected Writings: Robert Musil: Young Torless, Three Women, the Perfecting of a Love, and Other Writings
Musil, Robert
Agee, Joel
Paperback
Before Gatsby: The First Twenty-Six Stories
Baughman, Judith
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Bruccoli, Matthew J.
Paperback