I love stories set in La Réunion, and this book is no exception. The themes of colonial exploitation, resilience, and ingenuity are powerful, and the narrative is sprinkled with historical detail and insight. I particularly enjoy discovering new perspectives and learning about different cultures, and here that is seamlessly blended with a captivating journey. In terms of setting, prose, and storytelling, this delivers almost everything I look for in a five-star read. Gaëlle Bélem tells the story with great beauty and care.

Because the novel follows a true story, I did feel the character descriptions and development were a little restrained.

I also loved Bélem’s earlier There’s a Monster Behind the Door, and she remains firmly on my watch list of authors to follow.

“The Rarest Fruit” - Gaëlle Bélem (translated from French by Hildegarde Serle)
“You are always the victim of the barbarity of your own people before being the victim of the venality of others.”
My thanks to @netgalley and @europaeditions for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This book is available now, but UK readers are advised that it looks like the UK version has both a different publisher AND translator…
Book 10 of #witmonth2025 and a piece of historical fiction from the island of Reunión and author Gaëlle Bélem, who was #internationalbookerprize nominated this year for a book that is seemingly quite different to this one. “The Rarest Fruit” follows the life of Edmond Albius, the orphan of two slaves who is raised by Ferréol Bellier-Beaumont, an eccentric botanist. At 12 years old, Edmond is able to figure out what had eluded scientists for centuries: how to pollinate the vanilla plant and thus produce the “rarest fruit” of the title.
This was a subject and part of the world that was completely new to me, and so I was both grateful and impressed by the research the author has clearly done to make this story come to life. The sense of place is strong, although at times it lacks some insight of character, as if the author was limiting herself to the available knowledge of Edmond and Ferréol and not allowing herself to speculate further. This led to a read that propelled me when dealing with facts but didn’t leave me ruminating much after I finished, something which a character study might have achieved.
This review may seem more negative than I intend. To be clear, I liked this book a lot, and there’s some great passages throughout the book. I just think it might not hold up compared to other biographical fiction out there.

Whilst this novel took a few chapters to get into, I massively enjoyed reading and discovering more about Edmond Albius’ life. I found it beatifully written, particularly in terms of characterisation and learnt a lot. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in fictional memoirs which fill gaps in history, gardeners and horticulturalists and anyone interested in the history of slavery and/or the island of Reunion. A great read!

Diversity and Representation: Black, French language (translated)
Genre: literary fiction, historical fiction (inspired by true events)
Length: Novel
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Read this if you enjoyed: The Book of Night Women by Marlon James

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Discussion (Spoilers): The Rarest Fruit is based on the true story of Edmond Albius, who was born into slavery on the island of La Réunion in 1829. His mother died during childbirth and was raised by a widowed botanist named Ferréol. He is treated as a son and mentee, ultimately becoming a horticulturist specializing in vanilla orchids. He became a key figure in the production of vanilla as an export.

This is an enjoyable read! Bélem employs a very extravagant and descriptive writing style that suits the larger-than-life French-Creole setting. It's strengths are in it's descriptions and almost-meditative portrayal of everyday life for these turn-of-the-century characters. There are beautiful prose here regarding the physical setting (especially plants/outdoor descriptions), physical actions, etc. Where it falls a bit short for me, however, is the character writing. Bélem is working with real historical figures, so I understand the need not to superimpose "more literary" motives or actions onto them. However, this often leads to her treating the more extreme or questionable moments with a lighter hand to achieve a sense of historical objectivity that I was not personally a fan of (i.e., the implications of the relationship between slave-Master Ferréol and Edmond, who he technically owns, not being called into much question, etc.). Overall, I think was a beautifully written love letter to the French-Creoles and nature of Louisiana that I would recommend.

This is an interesting read and I enjoy imagining what it was like on the island when Edmond was a boy. The language is so flowery and the writing is very slow to get through, and got in my way of getting through the whole book. I liked the style of the writing but at times it felt over the top. But it's a translation from French and French can be an over the top language sometimes (I say with some experience since French is my second language and I've spent time living in France).

The Rarest Fruit is based on the true story of Edmond Albius, who was born into slavery on the island of La Réunion in 1829. His mother died during childbirth and was raised by a widowed botanist named Ferréol.

Edmond’s upbringing is unique; Ferréol treats him not as a slave but a mentee, teaching him about botany and fostering his love for plants. From a young age, Edmond dreams of becoming a horticulturist and learns the names of various plants, including their Latin names!

Bélem’s writing style in this book is light and rhythmic, which differs from her previous novel, There’s a Monster Behind the Door. I flew through the pages of the first half, which focuses on Edmond’s childhood.

When Edmond is twelve, vanilla is introduced to the island. Using his botanical knowledge, he discovers how to pollinate vanilla flowers. Thanks to Edmond, we can all enjoy vanilla today!

One thing my fellow buddy-reader, and I wondered was whether Bélem could have introduced more fictional elements to the story. Since the story is closely tied to real events, it might have been worthwhile to fictionalise the less documented parts of Edmond’s life, particularly the years between his childhood and adulthood.

I’m glad I read this story; it was interesting to learn about the person who brought us vanilla.

If you enjoy learning about history and have an interest in gardening and plants, then this book is for you. I particularly liked the rhythmic writing and the strong sense of time and place, especially in the first half, which builds up to the discovery of how to pollinate vanilla. It’s great to shine a light on the real person who deserves recognition for this important discovery.

Thank you to @netgalley and @europaeditions for providing an early review copy of The Rarest Fruit. It releases today!

THE RAREST FRUIT is a wonderful novel full of remarkable and well-placed sensory details. There's almost an old-fashioned quality to the prose, which I loved. The narrative is rich and layered. I found the novel to be nicely-paced and carefully-plotted. The author never lets historical facts or research get in the way of the story but rather ensures that the extensive research complements the story. I will look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

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.

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.

fast-paced historical fiction about a very interesting historical event. almost too fast paced at times but even when it feels unsteady it all is quite stable. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

The Rarest Fruit follows the life of Edmond Albius, a twelve-year-old born into slavery in La Réunion, who discovered the secret of vanilla pollination. Until Edmond, no one had been able to grow vanilla beans in the two centuries since the plant had been brought over to Europe by the Conquistadors.

At times the writing was more stylized and at others it was a much more pared back reconstruction of historical documents. The blend between the two really worked for me. This is my favorite book I've read so far this year.

Told in a highly florid, baroque style, The Rarest Fruit is a creative non-fiction/fantasy based on the life of Edmond Albius, a Creold man who figured out how to pollinate vanilla, setting off a craze for the spice around the world. I read this in English, and there are times when the translation feels awkward and not-quite-right, but I haven't gotten a French copy to compare. At the beginning of the book through about the middle, it's odd enough to distract from the overall experience, but then it smooths out in the second half. Apart from that, it's a feast for readers who like lots of description and historical novels/fanfic.