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hdbblog's review against another edition
3.0
Adam & Eve is unlike anything else I've ever read. Part thriller, part exploration of biblical themes, this is a story that I at first thought would be very close to some other books I have already read. (Dan Brown perhaps?) However when I dove into the story, I was instantly blown away by the beautiful writing style and the metaphors on each and every page. Sena Jeter Naslaund doesn't just write the story for the reader, she shows it.
Let me go back a bit and explain. The first half (to about 2/3) of the book is dedicated to Lucy and Adam's stories. Lucy's husband was a world renowned astrophysicist who met an untimely death. It's not certain whether this was pure accident, but all Lucy knows is that she is now the sole keeper of files that have the ability to overthrow thinking as we know it. Intriguing, am I right? Then we meet Adam. A soldier who has been dumped in the middle of the desert, Adam believes that he is the Adam from biblical times. Out there alone, in his tiny Eden oasis, he believes he is the beginning of the world. The first man to ever have been made. In fact, he's a poor man who has been beaten half to death, but it's a fascinating parallel.
As these two characters meet and interact, I was smitten with the way the story progressed. There are lovely allusions to the story of Adam & Eve, along with topics that make you think beyond that. Basically the entire book is a battle between the idea of creationism, and scientific study. It definitely gets a little heavy handed at times, but I was able to loose myself in the overall story. That is, until the end. Once the first half of the book is over and these characters are ripped from their Eden, things were tough to follow. The already slightly overbearing topics of religion and science were even more apparent, and I didn't feel like following anymore. To be honest, I almost didn't even finish the book.
If I'm being honest, I'm not at all certain how I feel about Adam & Eve. The first half of the book held my attention beautifully, while the second half just descended into confusion for me. Therein lies the problem. I wasn't sure how to rate a book that I loved for half of it. So, I chose this rating. I hope this review accurately explains my views, even though I'm not 100% sure of them myself! If you pick this up to give it a try yourself, let me know what you think!
Let me go back a bit and explain. The first half (to about 2/3) of the book is dedicated to Lucy and Adam's stories. Lucy's husband was a world renowned astrophysicist who met an untimely death. It's not certain whether this was pure accident, but all Lucy knows is that she is now the sole keeper of files that have the ability to overthrow thinking as we know it. Intriguing, am I right? Then we meet Adam. A soldier who has been dumped in the middle of the desert, Adam believes that he is the Adam from biblical times. Out there alone, in his tiny Eden oasis, he believes he is the beginning of the world. The first man to ever have been made. In fact, he's a poor man who has been beaten half to death, but it's a fascinating parallel.
As these two characters meet and interact, I was smitten with the way the story progressed. There are lovely allusions to the story of Adam & Eve, along with topics that make you think beyond that. Basically the entire book is a battle between the idea of creationism, and scientific study. It definitely gets a little heavy handed at times, but I was able to loose myself in the overall story. That is, until the end. Once the first half of the book is over and these characters are ripped from their Eden, things were tough to follow. The already slightly overbearing topics of religion and science were even more apparent, and I didn't feel like following anymore. To be honest, I almost didn't even finish the book.
If I'm being honest, I'm not at all certain how I feel about Adam & Eve. The first half of the book held my attention beautifully, while the second half just descended into confusion for me. Therein lies the problem. I wasn't sure how to rate a book that I loved for half of it. So, I chose this rating. I hope this review accurately explains my views, even though I'm not 100% sure of them myself! If you pick this up to give it a try yourself, let me know what you think!
scunareader's review against another edition
3.0
I wrote a long review and then I lost it. So my second review is going to be much shorter.
I liked this book. I liked Lucy. I thought Adam was fickle. I liked Pierre. I thought Arielle was a speculator looking for a husband. I thought the piano did a good job in light of certain pieces of information that became known to Lucy.
I liked this book. I liked Lucy. I thought Adam was fickle. I liked Pierre. I thought Arielle was a speculator looking for a husband. I thought the piano did a good job in light of certain pieces of information that became known to Lucy.
encgolsen's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked this up at Goodwill on a whim; little did I suspect how utterly bonkers it would be. The plot sounds like Dan Brown or Michael Crichton--a secret society of the faithful seek to suppress proof of extraterrestrial life AND a newly found version of Genesis. Lucy and the evidence crash land in a fantastical Eden near Baghdad--and there's a naked guy named Adam there. Literary style with a wild, occasionally gruesome, consistently startling plot.
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
2.0
Lucy Bergmann's husband Thom, is a brilliant physicist who is searching for life on other planets in the near future. He is killed in the opening chapter of the book, and we're led to believe that religious nuts who didn't want his discoveries published might have been behind his death. A few years later, Lucy herself is being pursued by a group of religious nuts as she transports an ancient document that will cast a new light on the story of Genesis.
I do love Sena Jeter Naslund. I really do. I was thrilled when I won an ARC of her newest book through Shelf Awareness. I was so disappointed when I didn't understand it. I didn't understand it at all.
I hate to write this, because it feels like I'm getting a little personal, but the plot was a mess. I don't know if this was supposed to be a religious thriller/conspiracy book, a pointed statement on the role of religion in world politics, a coming-of-age story, a meditation on marriage and self-identity--I just don't know. There are at least two distinct plots involving Lucy, and I don't understand how they fit together at all. While the scenes set in Eden were gorgeous and lush, I don't really understand how they were necessary. Oh, I get that it's something about the nature of man, but still, it's a long, beautiful section with about zero payoff that I could see. In case you're wondering, questioning religion does not offend me, so that's not the problem.
The one thing I did love is Adam. I've written a long-ish blog post already about how much I love him. He's pretty much physically perfect, gorgeous, well-sculpted, loving, caring, but he's a little damaged emotionally and mentally. I don't know if there's a woman alive who could resist that combination!
The very end was horrible! It felt cheap, and Sena Jeter Naslund is a much better author than that.
I did like the alternate beginning of Genesis. I won't quote it here, because it comes at the end of the book, but I liked it. Religious conservatives might not.
I would give the writing 4 stars and the plot 2 stars, but I just can't bring myself to average it out to 3 stars. I really need to understand why an author thought I needed to read this book, and I just wasn't there. So two stars it is.
You might enjoy this more if you generally "get" magical realism. I can have trouble with it, so maybe that's where the problem lies.
I do love Sena Jeter Naslund. I really do. I was thrilled when I won an ARC of her newest book through Shelf Awareness. I was so disappointed when I didn't understand it. I didn't understand it at all.
I hate to write this, because it feels like I'm getting a little personal, but the plot was a mess. I don't know if this was supposed to be a religious thriller/conspiracy book, a pointed statement on the role of religion in world politics, a coming-of-age story, a meditation on marriage and self-identity--I just don't know. There are at least two distinct plots involving Lucy, and I don't understand how they fit together at all. While the scenes set in Eden were gorgeous and lush, I don't really understand how they were necessary. Oh, I get that it's something about the nature of man, but still, it's a long, beautiful section with about zero payoff that I could see. In case you're wondering, questioning religion does not offend me, so that's not the problem.
The one thing I did love is Adam. I've written a long-ish blog post already about how much I love him. He's pretty much physically perfect, gorgeous, well-sculpted, loving, caring, but he's a little damaged emotionally and mentally. I don't know if there's a woman alive who could resist that combination!
The very end was horrible! It felt cheap, and Sena Jeter Naslund is a much better author than that.
I did like the alternate beginning of Genesis. I won't quote it here, because it comes at the end of the book, but I liked it. Religious conservatives might not.
I would give the writing 4 stars and the plot 2 stars, but I just can't bring myself to average it out to 3 stars. I really need to understand why an author thought I needed to read this book, and I just wasn't there. So two stars it is.
You might enjoy this more if you generally "get" magical realism. I can have trouble with it, so maybe that's where the problem lies.
perriwink's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
barefootamy's review against another edition
I'm not sure what I just read, or rather what I listened to on audiobook.
cb613's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
minniepauline's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think I caught all or even most of the sweeping biblical and mythical references in this precient tale, but I did get the magic. And the poetry. And a vision of both horror and hope for our (near) future. Ms. Naslund has given me a completely new experience, and I enjoyed it very much.
valtimke's review against another edition
4.0
I am somewhat surprised to see this book rated so lowly on Goodreads. I think it has a lot to do with the author establishing first with "Ahab's Wife," a historical fiction novel, and this book is worlds apart from that. This read would be more like a 3.5 stat read for me, but I'll get into what I think was and wasn't working:
The main thing that caught my attention was the overall flatness of the main character, Lucy. I feel like we receive bits and pieces of her background that were created in a void just to give her life, such as her two childhood friends that were mentioned throughout the novel yet never seen. Adam was more visceral, and I also loved the characterization of Pierre and Arielle. These were the characters I latched onto. As for the concept of this story, it does lean more into the discovery of the biblical codex than of extraterrestrial life. Thankfully, I'm a fan of both premises (being a science fiction writer as well as a Religious Studies major). I think at times the book strayed from the codex and how the characters felt about it/how it would change the nature of religious thought if it were to be publicized, but I personally liked falling into these odd spaces of human prehistory. The cave scenes and ultimately the end of the novel were quite satisfactory.
Honestly, I picked this book up without checking the ratings (though I checked them after). I wouldn't have bought it had I seen that it had a 2.8, so I'm letting this be a lesson to me that I don't have to agree with others' opinions. I'm glad I didn't go with the masses on this one. I even chose to read it now as a "what not to do" when writing about topical matters considering that it didn't seem to resonate with people as is, but it seems that mission has failed since I ended up enjoying this book.
The main thing that caught my attention was the overall flatness of the main character, Lucy. I feel like we receive bits and pieces of her background that were created in a void just to give her life, such as her two childhood friends that were mentioned throughout the novel yet never seen. Adam was more visceral, and I also loved the characterization of Pierre and Arielle. These were the characters I latched onto. As for the concept of this story, it does lean more into the discovery of the biblical codex than of extraterrestrial life. Thankfully, I'm a fan of both premises (being a science fiction writer as well as a Religious Studies major). I think at times the book strayed from the codex and how the characters felt about it/how it would change the nature of religious thought if it were to be publicized, but I personally liked falling into these odd spaces of human prehistory. The cave scenes and ultimately the end of the novel were quite satisfactory.
Honestly, I picked this book up without checking the ratings (though I checked them after). I wouldn't have bought it had I seen that it had a 2.8, so I'm letting this be a lesson to me that I don't have to agree with others' opinions. I'm glad I didn't go with the masses on this one. I even chose to read it now as a "what not to do" when writing about topical matters considering that it didn't seem to resonate with people as is, but it seems that mission has failed since I ended up enjoying this book.