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.
jessalynn_librarian's review against another edition
1.0
So completely unsatisfying. I was ready to give up about two thirds of the way through, but figured I should finish since I'd already invested that much time in it. It reads like...nothing else I can think of. It's intentionally over the top at points - a man killed by a falling piano, two Americans stranded in an Eden-esque garden in the Middle East, ancient cave paintings, plane crashes, you get the picture. But none of those elements ever really come together to create any meaningful whole. It's just a bunch of pieces that could have been interesting if there was any real thread of connection, or if the characters had been more likable. Or maybe if they had been more unlikable, it would have worked. Some bits seemed like they were supposed to be realistic, other bits like fables, but all missing a moment of realization to bring them together.
As an added bonus, the Biblical commentary felt unsophisticated and distracted from any real storytelling that might have happened in its absence. The big reveal of the translated codex? Completely underwhelming, leaving me confused as to why any of the religious groups would have been so eager to destroy it. The end result felt sensationalistic and flat at the same time. Stay away, unless you're in the mood to get annoyed.
As an added bonus, the Biblical commentary felt unsophisticated and distracted from any real storytelling that might have happened in its absence. The big reveal of the translated codex? Completely underwhelming, leaving me confused as to why any of the religious groups would have been so eager to destroy it. The end result felt sensationalistic and flat at the same time. Stay away, unless you're in the mood to get annoyed.
acton's review against another edition
2.0
Lucy Bergman was married to Thom, a brilliant astrophysicist who quietly made an important discovery concerning extraterrestrial life. Thom kept all his greatest secrets on a flash drive, which he attached to a cord and affectionately hung on Lucy's neck. She considered it an act of faith and trust that he wanted her to carry his most cherished possession.
This story is set in the near future, when fundamentalists from three major religions have grown dangerously defensive about any scientific discoveries that could possibly raise questions about their most basic beliefs. From this fear, a group called Perpetuity is formed, which ironically requires men from these disparate groups to actually cooperate to prevent science from getting in the way of a good rapture.
Unfortunately, one day as Lucy is racing to meet Thom at the hotel where he is to make one of his presentations (she has his memory stick, remember), she witnesses his death: a grand piano, which is being hoisted into a window several stories up suddenly crashes to the ground and lands on top of him. This turns out to be a rather, um, orchestrated death. Certainly an unusual one.
Meanwhile, a man named Pierre Saad (of French and Egyptian ancestry), has made an archaeological discovery concerning the writing of Genesis (the genesis of Genesis). He is eager to find someone to smuggle this ancient document out of Egypt into France, where he won't be so closely watched by members of Perpetuity. A few years after Thom's death, he catches up to Lucy, who just happens to be a pilot. Pierre is smooth and charming, while Lucy is still depressed and at loose ends, so she agrees to pilot a plane and smuggle this codex out of Egypt in a very well sealed French horn case.
At this point, this particular reader is having some problems with this plot. Lucy knows that she's just taking Pierre's word that there's no dope or weapons involved, even though she barely knows him. And, when she leaves, there's no mention of a flight plan or that she has permission to just fly from Egypt to France.
Lucy crashes. I don't know why; it's not explained. Before she hits the ground, though, she throws out the precious French horn case, so it won't burn up. Obviously, Lucy the atheist (I forgot to mention that she's an atheist) must be a real believer in whatever is in this case. I do understand why she'd be sympathetic to Saad's quest, since her late husband was also a scientist who guarded his work and was careful about how he presented it, but somehow it seems superhuman to be thinking about Saad's cargo while her life is in peril.
After Lucy lands, she manages to drag herself to a beachy shore, despite some severe pain from the burns on her back. At this point, she doesn't know where she is and does not understand why there's a beach here or the appearance of redwood trees surrounding this place. Redwood trees in the Middle East! I was beginning to be reminded of Life of Pi, for indeed, Lucy has landed in a mysterious place and is rescued by a man named Adam who wants to call her Eve. He has been praying to God for a companion, and her she is! In fact,
everything they need seems to just materialize. The weather is also perfect, which is a good thing because they're both naked.
This is the segment of the book I found most intriguing, simply because of Adam. How did he get there? Well, he does remember being thrown off a truck. Not just that, but being beaten and raped and then thrown off the truck. Adam tries to describe how his life was saved by a strange boy who fed him and gave him water as he lay baking in the dirt. He was a soldier in a Middle Eastern war, but we don't learn what else he saw or had done to him during his tour of duty. Adam is usually here now, living in the moment, but he occasionally fills us in a little bit: his father was a tyrant, he had several younger brothers, and he was no angel. He dropped out of college and he has artistic ability. And major issues. However, living in the moment, Adam is amazingly resourceful, clever, and functional. He's even happy, when thoughts of the past don't cloud his vision.
Then, one day, there's another crash, and a soldier parachutes from the sky and becomes tangled up and caught in one of the redwoods. Adam finds a way to get him out, and so a third character, Riley, enters the scene. Suddenly, Lucy feels naked and fashions herself an orange outfit from Riley's parachute, complete with bubble hem and puffy sleeves. Riley's a nice young man, and Lucy observes how Adam becomes a little more normal around him. Unfortunately, Riley is murdered by a wild child, a feral boy who inhabits this land, and after that, Eden is no longer the same. This boy has sacrificed a lamb, and suddenly, the animals around them are no longer a peaceable kingdom.
It is at this point that Adam confesses that he has the French horn case that Lucy's been searching for. He hid it because he didn't want her to leave, but now they must go, and they do. It is around this point in time that Adam and Lucy become lovers. Adam has expressed the hope that she would be his wife, and stated that he'd always feel this way, but it takes awhile for Lucy to see him as anything other than a younger man afflicted with delusions.
It is an arduous journey on foot, quite a contrast to their easy life in Eden (for lack of another name). When they come across an airstrip in the middle of nowhere, Lucy immediately decides to go looking for help. Coincidentally, a plane lands and who should appear but Gabriel Plum, an old friend she knew because he was a colleague of Thom's. Gabriel is no angel, though, and after running to Gabriel and greeting him, she realizes that this is no coincidence--Gabriel wants that memory stick. And the other two men in the plane? They are wearing sterotypical costumes that label them as Jewish and Muslim. Lucy knows tht Gabriel is a devout Christian. Right away, she knows she's being hounded by Perpetuity. Adam, who's been listening, suddenly yells, "Run!" Which she does, making a bee line for the plane. Adam quickly overpowers these three older men and joins her.
So, Lucy and Adam fly out of the greater Bagdad area to France with the precious Codex, but first, before they go to visit Pierre Saad, they go shopping with Gabriel's money (he left his wallet in the plane), so they can show up looking quite fashionable.
Pierre Saad's place in Paris, which he is sharing with his daughter Arielle, is another kind of Eden, and underneath this wonderful house of his is a series of caves with artwork dating back thousands of years. Pretty cool. After he shows his guests this secret of his, Pierre sits down to do some serious translating. In a couple days, he calls his three companions together to read the precious codex, and when he finished, I thought--is that all there is? Is that all there is to the codex?
After that, there is another chase scene in which Gabriel and his two nameless friends show up at Pierre's house and chase them all through the caves. They separate and meet up on the other side, except for Adam, who has been shot in the ankle and is bleeding very badly. Don't worry, his friends do find him, but the details are sketchy.
It all ends very happily for the four friends. Adam marries Arielle (he changed his mind about Lucy), and Lucy is happy with Pierre. Arielle and Lucy are both pregnant, possibly by the same guy, but that's okay; Lucy and Pierre care not who the father is.
It all ends a bit muddled for me. I am left wondering many things: could Thom really have been the only astrophysicist in the world to have made his discovery, even though years have passed since his death? And we never do find out exactly what is and what isn't on that memory stick. Was this Eden place all a dream? How much of it was real? Was the translation of the codex ever published, and if so, what was its impact? In the end, how is Adam--really? Are they ever terrorized by Perpetuity again? They seemed strangely impotent; if they were a real threat, they'd have obtained anything they'd wanted from a single, unarmed woman long ago.
Lucy does intend to seek out the right people to examine Thom's memory stick, but that is sometime in the future. For now, though, this is a happy foursome.
Obviously, I didn't much like this novel. Naslund's writing style is very nice, but I'm afraid that this story was just--silly. It's quite a departure from her earlier historical novels, such as Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits, and it seems that she was out of her element this time.
**I obtained this novel from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer giveaway
This story is set in the near future, when fundamentalists from three major religions have grown dangerously defensive about any scientific discoveries that could possibly raise questions about their most basic beliefs. From this fear, a group called Perpetuity is formed, which ironically requires men from these disparate groups to actually cooperate to prevent science from getting in the way of a good rapture.
Unfortunately, one day as Lucy is racing to meet Thom at the hotel where he is to make one of his presentations (she has his memory stick, remember), she witnesses his death: a grand piano, which is being hoisted into a window several stories up suddenly crashes to the ground and lands on top of him. This turns out to be a rather, um, orchestrated death. Certainly an unusual one.
Meanwhile, a man named Pierre Saad (of French and Egyptian ancestry), has made an archaeological discovery concerning the writing of Genesis (the genesis of Genesis). He is eager to find someone to smuggle this ancient document out of Egypt into France, where he won't be so closely watched by members of Perpetuity. A few years after Thom's death, he catches up to Lucy, who just happens to be a pilot. Pierre is smooth and charming, while Lucy is still depressed and at loose ends, so she agrees to pilot a plane and smuggle this codex out of Egypt in a very well sealed French horn case.
At this point, this particular reader is having some problems with this plot. Lucy knows that she's just taking Pierre's word that there's no dope or weapons involved, even though she barely knows him. And, when she leaves, there's no mention of a flight plan or that she has permission to just fly from Egypt to France.
Lucy crashes. I don't know why; it's not explained. Before she hits the ground, though, she throws out the precious French horn case, so it won't burn up. Obviously, Lucy the atheist (I forgot to mention that she's an atheist) must be a real believer in whatever is in this case. I do understand why she'd be sympathetic to Saad's quest, since her late husband was also a scientist who guarded his work and was careful about how he presented it, but somehow it seems superhuman to be thinking about Saad's cargo while her life is in peril.
After Lucy lands, she manages to drag herself to a beachy shore, despite some severe pain from the burns on her back. At this point, she doesn't know where she is and does not understand why there's a beach here or the appearance of redwood trees surrounding this place. Redwood trees in the Middle East! I was beginning to be reminded of Life of Pi, for indeed, Lucy has landed in a mysterious place and is rescued by a man named Adam who wants to call her Eve. He has been praying to God for a companion, and her she is! In fact,
everything they need seems to just materialize. The weather is also perfect, which is a good thing because they're both naked.
This is the segment of the book I found most intriguing, simply because of Adam. How did he get there? Well, he does remember being thrown off a truck. Not just that, but being beaten and raped and then thrown off the truck. Adam tries to describe how his life was saved by a strange boy who fed him and gave him water as he lay baking in the dirt. He was a soldier in a Middle Eastern war, but we don't learn what else he saw or had done to him during his tour of duty. Adam is usually here now, living in the moment, but he occasionally fills us in a little bit: his father was a tyrant, he had several younger brothers, and he was no angel. He dropped out of college and he has artistic ability. And major issues. However, living in the moment, Adam is amazingly resourceful, clever, and functional. He's even happy, when thoughts of the past don't cloud his vision.
Then, one day, there's another crash, and a soldier parachutes from the sky and becomes tangled up and caught in one of the redwoods. Adam finds a way to get him out, and so a third character, Riley, enters the scene. Suddenly, Lucy feels naked and fashions herself an orange outfit from Riley's parachute, complete with bubble hem and puffy sleeves. Riley's a nice young man, and Lucy observes how Adam becomes a little more normal around him. Unfortunately, Riley is murdered by a wild child, a feral boy who inhabits this land, and after that, Eden is no longer the same. This boy has sacrificed a lamb, and suddenly, the animals around them are no longer a peaceable kingdom.
It is at this point that Adam confesses that he has the French horn case that Lucy's been searching for. He hid it because he didn't want her to leave, but now they must go, and they do. It is around this point in time that Adam and Lucy become lovers. Adam has expressed the hope that she would be his wife, and stated that he'd always feel this way, but it takes awhile for Lucy to see him as anything other than a younger man afflicted with delusions.
It is an arduous journey on foot, quite a contrast to their easy life in Eden (for lack of another name). When they come across an airstrip in the middle of nowhere, Lucy immediately decides to go looking for help. Coincidentally, a plane lands and who should appear but Gabriel Plum, an old friend she knew because he was a colleague of Thom's. Gabriel is no angel, though, and after running to Gabriel and greeting him, she realizes that this is no coincidence--Gabriel wants that memory stick. And the other two men in the plane? They are wearing sterotypical costumes that label them as Jewish and Muslim. Lucy knows tht Gabriel is a devout Christian. Right away, she knows she's being hounded by Perpetuity. Adam, who's been listening, suddenly yells, "Run!" Which she does, making a bee line for the plane. Adam quickly overpowers these three older men and joins her.
So, Lucy and Adam fly out of the greater Bagdad area to France with the precious Codex, but first, before they go to visit Pierre Saad, they go shopping with Gabriel's money (he left his wallet in the plane), so they can show up looking quite fashionable.
Pierre Saad's place in Paris, which he is sharing with his daughter Arielle, is another kind of Eden, and underneath this wonderful house of his is a series of caves with artwork dating back thousands of years. Pretty cool. After he shows his guests this secret of his, Pierre sits down to do some serious translating. In a couple days, he calls his three companions together to read the precious codex, and when he finished, I thought--is that all there is? Is that all there is to the codex?
After that, there is another chase scene in which Gabriel and his two nameless friends show up at Pierre's house and chase them all through the caves. They separate and meet up on the other side, except for Adam, who has been shot in the ankle and is bleeding very badly. Don't worry, his friends do find him, but the details are sketchy.
It all ends very happily for the four friends. Adam marries Arielle (he changed his mind about Lucy), and Lucy is happy with Pierre. Arielle and Lucy are both pregnant, possibly by the same guy, but that's okay; Lucy and Pierre care not who the father is.
It all ends a bit muddled for me. I am left wondering many things: could Thom really have been the only astrophysicist in the world to have made his discovery, even though years have passed since his death? And we never do find out exactly what is and what isn't on that memory stick. Was this Eden place all a dream? How much of it was real? Was the translation of the codex ever published, and if so, what was its impact? In the end, how is Adam--really? Are they ever terrorized by Perpetuity again? They seemed strangely impotent; if they were a real threat, they'd have obtained anything they'd wanted from a single, unarmed woman long ago.
Lucy does intend to seek out the right people to examine Thom's memory stick, but that is sometime in the future. For now, though, this is a happy foursome.
Obviously, I didn't much like this novel. Naslund's writing style is very nice, but I'm afraid that this story was just--silly. It's quite a departure from her earlier historical novels, such as Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits, and it seems that she was out of her element this time.
**I obtained this novel from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer giveaway
leighkhoopes's review against another edition
2.0
What a weird, disappointing book. I've enjoyed many of Naslund's previous books, and thought this one sounded interesting, but maybe it turned out to be a little too allegorical for me? I don't know.
I wish it had been more science-fictiony, I suppose, instead of its overtly religious messages, but I guess that's what I get for reading a book called Adam & Eve and expecting it to somehow not be religious.
Plotwise, it seemed like nothing was really resolved in all the craziness that goes down in this book, and it still feels open to far too much interpretation.
I do appreciate the heroine being a 40+ brainiac going on international adventures, however. Maybe more adventuring and less ruminating on dead husbands and hot new boyfriends? It just didn't sit right somehow.
I wish it had been more science-fictiony, I suppose, instead of its overtly religious messages, but I guess that's what I get for reading a book called Adam & Eve and expecting it to somehow not be religious.
Plotwise, it seemed like nothing was really resolved in all the craziness that goes down in this book, and it still feels open to far too much interpretation.
I do appreciate the heroine being a 40+ brainiac going on international adventures, however. Maybe more adventuring and less ruminating on dead husbands and hot new boyfriends? It just didn't sit right somehow.
mmz's review against another edition
2.0
I had high hopes for this book, because I've enjoyed Naslund's previous books, especially Ahab's Wife and Abundance. Unfortunately, this book was a grave disappointment. It seems like Naslund was trying to do something a little different with Adam & Eve. The result is dialogue filled with non-sequiturs, plot points that are left dangling, and characters who say and do things with no apparent motivation or that are directly at odds with what they have said and done previously (with no accounting for the switch). Although Naslund is to be praised for trying something new, I hope that in her next book she will return to the style that has previously served her (and her readers) so well.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
1.0
One-sentence summary: Widow Lucy hides secret Biblical document from evil Abrahamic fundamentalists, meets mentally ill man, saves document, man, self. World?
Did... this book remind me of Dan Brown, Kate Mosse, and Paulo Coelho?: Yes, in a bad way.
Did... I talk about this book non-stop for the last two days?: Yes, so I suppose in that sense, it was a good book. I just talked smack about it, though.
Review: I didn't like this book -- but I should have. It has all the elements I typically enjoy: conspiracy, physics and space, theology, current events, lyrical language, sex -- and yet, Naslund managed to take all those fun elements and warp them into big, hollow caricatures. No one -- not even our heroine Lucy -- was developed; and yet, I don't think this was supposed to be a plot-driven novel (even though this book has plot in spades). I think we're supposed to be caught up and moved by the various, damaged characters, but not a one was particularly engaging or interesting.
Somewhere I saw a reference to Naslund as being a bit Virginia Woolf-ish, and I can see that in this book. However, there's a big difference between attempting Woolfian prose and actually executing it, and sadly, Naslund is no Woolf. Disjointed ruminations stuck between scenes doesn't a Mrs. Dalloway make.
I'm hesitant to get into the specific problems I had as I don't want to spoil anyone the numerous bizarre plot twists. Needless to say, I found her pacing and plotting problematic. There's an artificial sense of urgency due to the cabal of religious fundamentalists chasing after Lucy -- a particular sticking point for me, as I found Naslund's exoticization of Middle Easterners rather offensive and embarrassing. There's an unremarkable retelling of the Genesis story that was unimaginative and predictable. The book's opening borders on cartoonish. I'm unsure why Naslund set the book in the future -- 2017 through 2021 -- as much of the world she describes -- right down to the conflict in Iraq -- sounds contemporary.
Did... this book remind me of Dan Brown, Kate Mosse, and Paulo Coelho?: Yes, in a bad way.
Did... I talk about this book non-stop for the last two days?: Yes, so I suppose in that sense, it was a good book. I just talked smack about it, though.
Review: I didn't like this book -- but I should have. It has all the elements I typically enjoy: conspiracy, physics and space, theology, current events, lyrical language, sex -- and yet, Naslund managed to take all those fun elements and warp them into big, hollow caricatures. No one -- not even our heroine Lucy -- was developed; and yet, I don't think this was supposed to be a plot-driven novel (even though this book has plot in spades). I think we're supposed to be caught up and moved by the various, damaged characters, but not a one was particularly engaging or interesting.
Somewhere I saw a reference to Naslund as being a bit Virginia Woolf-ish, and I can see that in this book. However, there's a big difference between attempting Woolfian prose and actually executing it, and sadly, Naslund is no Woolf. Disjointed ruminations stuck between scenes doesn't a Mrs. Dalloway make.
I'm hesitant to get into the specific problems I had as I don't want to spoil anyone the numerous bizarre plot twists. Needless to say, I found her pacing and plotting problematic. There's an artificial sense of urgency due to the cabal of religious fundamentalists chasing after Lucy -- a particular sticking point for me, as I found Naslund's exoticization of Middle Easterners rather offensive and embarrassing. There's an unremarkable retelling of the Genesis story that was unimaginative and predictable. The book's opening borders on cartoonish. I'm unsure why Naslund set the book in the future -- 2017 through 2021 -- as much of the world she describes -- right down to the conflict in Iraq -- sounds contemporary.
lcline1981's review against another edition
"I hope Adam & Eve will not be read as a straight realistic novel. It moves in metaphoric ways. In some ways it is a sort of fable, though I stop short of letting the animals talk. To enjoy the novel, don't expect brick-and-mortar logic. Hang loose and swing imaginatively into the events and settings. The story is partly a dance of ideas."
The quote above is from the P.S. interview with Seta Jeter Naslund at the back of the copy of the book that I received, and it is a quote that helped me immensely in understanding the novel. The New York Journal of Books is prominently quoted on the cover calling Adam & Eve, "a book unlike any other," and I would say that for me, that quote is certainly true. It isn't exactly that I didn't understand the novel, as the plot is relatively straightforward, although unexpected. I just didn't know what to do with it, and still don't a little bit.
Naslund's book begins with Lucy Bergmann, the wife of a prominent astrophysicist, sitting in a hotel room in Amsterdam, as a grand piano falls and kills her husband. Far away, in a desert in Mesopotamia, a young soldier is awakening on a beach in what he considers to be a new Eden. The paths of these two will cross, as Lucy attempts to accomplish a top secret mission, finding herself in the same Eden. Both Lucy and Adam are damaged, and need a way to start anew. Both find a beginning at The Beginning, in Genesis. All of this is very strange, but compelling. I enjoyed reading about the Eden in which the two live, and the relationship that develops between them as they build a new reality, very different from their old ones.
Unfortunately, that isn't the only thing that is going on in the novel. There is a more philosophical, less conspiratorial, DaVinci Code-like plot going on with some ancient sacred texts and a group of religious fundamentalists, Perpetuity, invested in getting their hands on them. There is also the issue of the flash drive that Lucy wears around her neck, containing her husband's discovery of life on other planets, another piece of information that frustrates the fundamentalist worldview. All of these plots are interesting, and for the most part, I enjoyed following all the leads. It is only in the end where tying them all together feels a little messy and hurried, and I was disappointed in the way that some of the relationships turned out, although I won't spoil the ending.
It isn't only in the plotting and premise that Naslund's book is "unlike any other." I found Naslund's writing to be fairly unique as well. There is a poetics to her prose, which often dives in philosophical inquiry, and then quickly surfaces back into a conventional narrative structure. Her descriptions and use of metaphor are often unconventional, and sometimes disconcerting. I would jump out of the narrative for a moment, to wonder why she would describe something that way. Why is there a cow wandering in the desert, for example? The quote I provided above, and reading about Naslund's intentions with the book, helped me to appreciate the style, which in the end, I think is comparable to a dance.
Overall: I appreciated the uniqueness of the book, and would recommend it for anyone who is interested in the sorts of issues it presents: fundamentalism, sacredness, genesis, grief and trauma. However, it has been difficult for me to review the book in any conventional way, because it was an unconventional read and a lot of the terminology I would normally apply seems just a little unfitting.
The quote above is from the P.S. interview with Seta Jeter Naslund at the back of the copy of the book that I received, and it is a quote that helped me immensely in understanding the novel. The New York Journal of Books is prominently quoted on the cover calling Adam & Eve, "a book unlike any other," and I would say that for me, that quote is certainly true. It isn't exactly that I didn't understand the novel, as the plot is relatively straightforward, although unexpected. I just didn't know what to do with it, and still don't a little bit.
Naslund's book begins with Lucy Bergmann, the wife of a prominent astrophysicist, sitting in a hotel room in Amsterdam, as a grand piano falls and kills her husband. Far away, in a desert in Mesopotamia, a young soldier is awakening on a beach in what he considers to be a new Eden. The paths of these two will cross, as Lucy attempts to accomplish a top secret mission, finding herself in the same Eden. Both Lucy and Adam are damaged, and need a way to start anew. Both find a beginning at The Beginning, in Genesis. All of this is very strange, but compelling. I enjoyed reading about the Eden in which the two live, and the relationship that develops between them as they build a new reality, very different from their old ones.
Unfortunately, that isn't the only thing that is going on in the novel. There is a more philosophical, less conspiratorial, DaVinci Code-like plot going on with some ancient sacred texts and a group of religious fundamentalists, Perpetuity, invested in getting their hands on them. There is also the issue of the flash drive that Lucy wears around her neck, containing her husband's discovery of life on other planets, another piece of information that frustrates the fundamentalist worldview. All of these plots are interesting, and for the most part, I enjoyed following all the leads. It is only in the end where tying them all together feels a little messy and hurried, and I was disappointed in the way that some of the relationships turned out, although I won't spoil the ending.
It isn't only in the plotting and premise that Naslund's book is "unlike any other." I found Naslund's writing to be fairly unique as well. There is a poetics to her prose, which often dives in philosophical inquiry, and then quickly surfaces back into a conventional narrative structure. Her descriptions and use of metaphor are often unconventional, and sometimes disconcerting. I would jump out of the narrative for a moment, to wonder why she would describe something that way. Why is there a cow wandering in the desert, for example? The quote I provided above, and reading about Naslund's intentions with the book, helped me to appreciate the style, which in the end, I think is comparable to a dance.
Overall: I appreciated the uniqueness of the book, and would recommend it for anyone who is interested in the sorts of issues it presents: fundamentalism, sacredness, genesis, grief and trauma. However, it has been difficult for me to review the book in any conventional way, because it was an unconventional read and a lot of the terminology I would normally apply seems just a little unfitting.