Reviews

eden by Jim Crace

cathyw's review

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A beautifully written contemplation on the eternal dilemma of security vs freedom, for individuals and communities. Cleverly using biblical images and stories, and painting an evocative, sensual and detailed picture of what life might have been like in a medieval monastic community, the story is entirely relevant to our modern world.

ha_bo's review

dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Bullying, and Confinement

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Violence, Pregnancy, and Death

curatoriallyyours's review

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book was odd but I enjoyed the style of narration and had an enjoyable time reading this book for the most part. I didn’t feel a sense of connection with most of the main characters, except perhaps for Tabi, but I did eventually feel invested enough to want to know what happened to them all. 

mistypane's review

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

yodisborg's review

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

geeniebean29's review

Not a writing style I enjoyed

bobthebookerer's review

4.0

As a fan of Crace's 2013 book Harvest, I was very excited to get to this book, and I found it a wonderfully bizarre daydream.

We spend most of the novel in the Garden of Eden, listening in to the petty squabbles of the people who live there and seeing how angels interact with one another. There are some great moments of humour, such as suspicions being cast on those scoffing tomatoes from the garden, or the strange social politics of everyone maintaining the order.

Although I occasionally found my mind drifting within the book, there was a lot of joy and wonder to be found in its pages.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

ncghammo's review

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

henryspencer's review

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Sublime, poetic prose in places. But Crace's constant shifting of perspectives and intruding 'telling' style ultimately detracts from the story. Additionally, any early promises of intrigue ultimately fizzle out in a somewhat dull, dissatisfying ending. 

kelseymarie269's review

1.0

I enjoyed the writing style, but that's pretty much it. I don't like DNF-ing a book so I powered through it but did not enjoy it whatsoever. I was hoping in the end there would be some big epiphany and I would come away feeling satisfied, but no, I'm just left feeling like WhyTF did I read this?