Reviews

This Other Eden: A Novel by Paul Harding

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andyblv's review against another edition

4.0

An interesting, beautiful, perplexing, disturbing book. In parts, over-written. Always lyrical. This short book tells the story of mixed race people on an island off the coast of Maine. It chronicles generations of poverty, sorrow and joy in an idyllic setting. The people are confronted by mainlanders and decisions are made that lead to tragic consequences.

joyceedb's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

siobhanward's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

NYT Notable Books 2023: 21/100

This book was at that awkward length between novella and novel. I find that books that hover around this length can feel really unbalanced, and unfortunately this was the case for this book. In the first part, it felt like there was no plot, just a long explanation of who was who and how we got to this point. Then, everything happened in the last 50 pages which meant that that first half dragged and the second half happened so quickly that it was hard to keep track of what was happening. The idea was cool but beyond the idea it felt like there wasn't much to the book.

Content Warnings