In the early nineteenth century, an idealistic young botanist named James Torrey sets out to find and research the six rarest flowers in the known world. However, under the unforeseen pressure of weather, waves, and the crippling effects of isolation, he is forced to examine himself even more than the flowers around him. Happy memories of childhood give way before danger, betrayal, and loneliness. In the face of his own solitude, James must choose: Is a scientific work of renown really something he is after, or will he allow a more complicated beauty to grow through the cracks?
Brewer's debut novel is a stark, poetic, and at times crushing story. From the heartlands of 1800s America to the verdant forests of Sumatra, Flowers of the Far Fields is a powerful exploration of struggle and the meaning of failure.