Adam & Eve

Sep 22, 2010 Audra (Unabridged Chick) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alternative-history, biblically-based, dystopia, heroine-unlikable, place-middle-east, so-bad-it-hurts, yawn

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:...more 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.

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Jul 01, 2010 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: swapped-donated

This book included a collection of very, very random things - a blue man, war, nudity, religious conflict, extraterrestrial life, a cheating spouse, a feral boy, cave paintings, sacred codex, a memory stick, a woman who is pilot, seamstress, artist and therapist, death by piano, fashion, a stone vulva, etc. It all comes together through the book, but not very well...and in a hard-to-believe way.

I loved "Ahab's Wife" and was lukewarm with "Abundance", this was the end of a downwards trend. I don'...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Cherie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book from the library expecting an interesting read from a well-regarded novelist. I do enjoy books that analyze biblical themes and I am open-minded about the different perspectives and forms this can take. This book fell far short of my expectations and easily lands into the category of the worst books I have ever read. It suffers from inconsistent tone, flat characters,unconvincing dialogue, and a plot devoid of any real suspense or surprise.
The section of the novel that focu...more

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Nov 28, 2010 JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, 2_stars, author_american, fiction, magical_realism, read_in_2010, received_for_review, reviewed, setting_egypt, setting_france

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...more 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.(less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Peggy Bird rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an interesting book. The idea of retelling the Genesis story of the Garden of Eden in the near future (2020, the year of clear vision) has appeal. And pairing Adam, a wounded warrior turned God-bearing first man with Eve/Lucy, who has a flash drive with her late husband's proof of life on other planets and a codex that rewrites the Bible, worked for me. Up to a point it was the positing of creationism vs. science.

Lucy meets Adam when she is flying the codex from the Middle East to Franc...more

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May 28, 2012 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

I hate to keep repeating the same comments, but the 'idea' of this story intrigued me, but ultimately turned out to be extremely strange, and unsatisfying.

I think my biggest problem with fiction/sci-fi books is that I was was weaned on "The Twilight Zone", "The Andromeda Strain", "Outer Limits", etc. The writers/storytellers, in the 1960's, were on burgeoning, unexplored territories, and put forth their thought-provoking ideas in such a way that I could not help but be drawn in. I would sit glu...more I hate to keep repeating the same comments, but the 'idea' of this story intrigued me, but ultimately turned out to be extremely strange, and unsatisfying.

I think my biggest problem with fiction/sci-fi books is that I was was weaned on "The Twilight Zone", "The Andromeda Strain", "Outer Limits", etc. The writers/storytellers, in the 1960's, were on burgeoning, unexplored territories, and put forth their thought-provoking ideas in such a way that I could not help but be drawn in. I would sit glued to the black and white television screen watching The Twilight Zone, and mesmerized beyond all expectations, for an hour, once a week. I would plan my week around this show.

Then, by accident, I read "The Andromeda Strain", and I found the genre, in book form, as close to my love of "The Zone", and recently, few even come close. Most books in this genre are regurgitated tripe.

Perhaps, my expectations are too high, today. This genre has been hashed, and rehashed so many times, and in so many 'versions' of the above, that nothing new is advanced, and therefore disappointing. I am going to have to look to other fiction for solice, but I doubt that I will find it.

However, I keep hoping and praying, that another Rod Serling will arrive on the fiction, fantasy, horror, sci-fi scene, and entertain us with that high level of stylish,and taut social commentary, in Serling form, without the same ole' wash, rinse, and repeat.

I've read all Stephen King's novels, Neil Gaiman, etc. King is good but he is no Serling, and Gaiman is just twisted, in my opinion. The bests of King is was the Gunslinger Series. I've read "The Hunger Games", etc., and did not find it to be any more creative than the rest of today's rehashed, and retrograde fiction.

That said, I am looking into other genre's of fiction, but after reading over 1,200 new books over the past year, I doubt I will find what I am looking for. I would appreciate some in put here. Perhaps in the area of historical fiction??? (less)

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Aug 19, 2011 Zohar - ManOfLaBook.com rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

"Adam & Eve" by Sena Jeter Naslund is a fictional book which tries to tackle the evolution / creationism debate through its characters and via the storyline. The book encompasses a love story, thriller and mystery in short space.

Lucy Bergmann watched her husband die in, what she thought, was a freak accident. He has entrusted Lucy with his life's work on, appropriately enough, a memory drive (thumb drive, flash drive)proof of extraterrestrial life which she wears around her...more "Adam & Eve" by Sena Jeter Naslund is a fictional book which tries to tackle the evolution / creationism debate through its characters and via the storyline. The book encompasses a love story, thriller and mystery in short space.

Lucy Bergmann watched her husband die in, what she thought, was a freak accident. He has entrusted Lucy with his life's work on, appropriately enough, a memory drive (thumb drive, flash drive)proof of extraterrestrial life which she wears around her neck.

The Bergmann's friend, Pierre Saad discovers a new version of the biblical book "Genesis". Together with the proof of extraterrestrial life these discoveries threaten Judaism, Christianity and Islam which makes Lucy and Pierre targets. When Lucy's plane crushes, she finds herself in the Garden of Eden with an American solider named Adam who believes she is his Eve.

"Adam & Eve" by Sena Jeter Naslund is a story about beginnings, reinventing oneself and is full of metaphors about the genesis and Genesis. Clearly we've taken things literally and out of context when it comes to religion and just as well it is easy to do so with this book.

The writing also reminded me of the way the bible is written, it is lyrical with beautiful prose and well written. The Hebrew bible is not full of "thy" and "thou" but is written in simple language, poetic and to a measured beat. I have no idea why the translators chose to translate in a high brow manner and even change some of the meanings -- but that's a different discussion.

I did enjoy the book but I think it would be better enjoyed with multiple readings, getting accustomed to the writing style took me a while, I was almost a quarter way through the book before I got used to it and about half way through before I realized that the book is trying to tell an allegorical story. This is when I gave the plot holes, some huge, a pass.

Actually, the story becomes less interesting when the author leaves the denotative approach and becomes literal. However, to her credit it must be said that the theme of "Genesis", in terms of adapting, surviving, and reinventing, is always present.

The theme of "Genesis", not is in origin, but as an event that begins something, is a premise that I can identify with and spoke to me throughout the book. I have lived in several countries and in many cultures: rural, city, suburban and even in a collective for a large part of my life. Each time it was the end of one thing and the beginning of other. Each one was difficult but frankly I feel sorry for those who born and die within a 5 mile radius and never experience anything different. This is especially sad in the United States where young people rarely travel and older ones refuse to experience new cultures even if it means just crossing the city/state line.

For more reviews and bookish thoughts please visit http://www.ManOfLaBook.com (less)

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Aug 02, 2011 Patty rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Adam and Eve is set just a few years in the future where we meet Lucy Bregmann, happily married to Thom, an astrophysicist who may have discovered life elsewhere in the universe. He is tragically killed (murdered?) and she is left only with a flash drive of his last report. The report that may or may not show where that life is.

In Egypt Pierre Saad stumbles upon a lost codex with the thoughts of a pre-Biblical man on the origins of Genesis. He needs to get it out of Egypt and translate it.

Lucy i...more Adam and Eve is set just a few years in the future where we meet Lucy Bregmann, happily married to Thom, an astrophysicist who may have discovered life elsewhere in the universe. He is tragically killed (murdered?) and she is left only with a flash drive of his last report. The report that may or may not show where that life is.

In Egypt Pierre Saad stumbles upon a lost codex with the thoughts of a pre-Biblical man on the origins of Genesis. He needs to get it out of Egypt and translate it.

Lucy is attending a conference honoring Thom and there Pierre asks her to fly the codex to France where he lives. As she is cruising the plane starts to fail and she crash lands in a large oasis where she finds Adam; a somewhat delusional US soldier who had been captured, tortured and dumped in the desert to die.

Adam thinks he is ADAM, the first man and that he talks to God. He thinks Lucy is Eve and that they are in Eden. He has flashes of lucidity but it's not until they decide to leave Eden that he stays on the right side of sanity for long periods.

After reading the synopsis I couldn't wait to begin this book. I was excited at the prospect of delving into a Bible-bending suspense thriller. I am sorry to say that the book didn't live up to its description. Ms. Naslund's way with words IS magical; her descriptions of Adam and Lucy's Eden bring to mind a truly perfect place to live. The way she describes the cave paintings in France brought them completely to life for me. I just wish the story had been as complete.

I was drawn in immediately. The first half to two thirds of the book is very good, it started to fall apart for me when another soldier parachuted into Eden, hurt after his plane was damaged. There is minimal explanation for the continuing war. Why was no one sent to find this soldier? Why was no one sent to find Lucy for that matter or Adam? It just makes no earthly sense.

Then the mysterious "bad guys" - they are not at all fleshed out. They zoom in and out with no real purpose other than to "get" the codex and the flash drive. I really think that an excellent book was lost in the midst of a philosophical debate over where we came from. It all could have been included but in trying to appease all no one is satisfied.

Or maybe I am just too literal and it went over my head. I don't know. I am not sorry I read it but I am sorry it was not what I wanted it to be.(less)

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Nov 30, 2010 Dee rated it 3 of 5 stars

I expeceted an Atwoodian Sciency Fantasy --- but got a rather wierd story of Eden! Lucy, the grieving wife of an astrophysisist who has been killed when a piano falls on him in Amsterdam, becomes the prey of a variety of terrorists who want the flash drive she wears around her neck. It contains the last info. her husband had created about his finding of a planet with biological life on it in the stars.
She is also given an ancient Codex that purports to dispel the authenticity of Genesis. She is...more

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Oct 15, 2010 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of the oldest stories ever told, that of Adam and Eve, gets a unique remake of sorts in Sena Jeter Naslund's Adam & Eve.

Lucy is in Amsterdam for a scientific conference with her husband Thom, an astrophysicist of renown, who tells Lucy that he has proof of extraterrestrial life. He gives Lucy a memory stick that contains all of his evidence.

Thom is killed by a falling piano, and Lucy is devastated. Still grieving her loss three years later, Lucy is invited to welcome scientists to a conf...more One of the oldest stories ever told, that of Adam and Eve, gets a unique remake of sorts in Sena Jeter Naslund's Adam & Eve.

Lucy is in Amsterdam for a scientific conference with her husband Thom, an astrophysicist of renown, who tells Lucy that he has proof of extraterrestrial life. He gives Lucy a memory stick that contains all of his evidence.

Thom is killed by a falling piano, and Lucy is devastated. Still grieving her loss three years later, Lucy is invited to welcome scientists to a conference in Cairo. It is too much for her, and she breaks down on stage.

She meets a young woman who takes Lucy to her father, a scientist Lucy met at the conference. They convince Lucy to smuggle something out of Egypt for them- an alternate version of the book of Genesis that they have found buried.

There are fundamentalist Christians, Muslim extremists and literalist Jews who have banded together to stop anyone from finding out about this discovery, even willing to kill to prevent the world from reading this other Genesis.

Lucy agrees to fly a plane to France with the scripture, but her plane crashes and she is discovered by Adam, a young soldier who was kidnapped and assaulted by soldiers. Adam believes that Lucy is his Eve and that they are living in the Garden of Eden.

This is a big book, full of so many themes it can make your head spin. Lucy and Adam's life in Eden parallels the Biblical story, particularly when another soldier lands in their garden. His presence dramatically changes the dynamic of the Garden. Is he the embodiment of the devilish snake from Genesis?

The violence that is an everyday part of life in the Middle East is explored as a root cause of the rise of dangerous religious fundamentalism. Throw in the possibility of life on other planets and the fear of that knowledge endangering religious doctrine. Add in the discovery of very early human drawings in caves in France and you've got a lot to think about.

Naslund has packed a lot of ideas into 350 pages, and her characters are well-drawn and interesting. Lucy and Adam's life in the garden is fascinating, and thriller fans will be rewarded with an action-packed sequence that resolves the story. Adam & Eve is the thinking person's answer to The DaVinci Code.
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Oct 06, 2010 SporadicReviews.com (Kevin Bayer) rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what to say about this book. The description sounded interesting so I gave it a chance (the description gave it a kind of Da Vinci Code kind of feel). It just didn't do it for me though.

A scientist discovers proof of extraterrestrial life. A discovery in the Holy Land of an ancient text that contradicts the biblical book of Genesis. A group from all three major religions that will stop at nothing to keep those secret. ...and a man (Adam) and woman (Lucy) that end up naked in a dese...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Trishnyc rated it 2 of 5 stars

In 2017, Lucy Bergmann is walking to meet her husband for lunch when right before her, a piano that was being hoisted up a window falls and kills him. She is traumatized and floats around in grief for about three years. In 2020 she is invited to speak at an event honoring her husband and while on this trip she meets a scientist who was also acquainted with her husband. He asks her to transport a scroll that is of great importance to the world because its revelations will forever alter the three...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Adrian rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, science-fiction, book-club

Sometimes I wonder if we hold endings to a higher standard than we do beginnings. Even though we all know that a good first impression is as important as anything in the world, I think we're more willing to forgive a work for stumbling out of the gate than we are for crashing into the finish line. Maybe it's just the expectation that once the artist finds his/her footing, the rest should be smooth sailing. The process of getting to know a set of characters and being taught how to interact with a...more Sometimes I wonder if we hold endings to a higher standard than we do beginnings. Even though we all know that a good first impression is as important as anything in the world, I think we're more willing to forgive a work for stumbling out of the gate than we are for crashing into the finish line. Maybe it's just the expectation that once the artist finds his/her footing, the rest should be smooth sailing. The process of getting to know a set of characters and being taught how to interact with a book (or a TV show or a movie for that matter) can be an arduous process, but once we've made it through that, the rest should be child's play. Naslund's novel does not have the most auspicious beginning, but there were elements to it that I honestly enjoyed. The characters (specifically Lucy and Adam) were interesting. They were wounded in just the right fashion to make their stories engaging and meaningful. I was interested in the potential of a retelling of Adam and Eve's experience within the Garden. As a result of that, I forgave the book it's early short comings. A lot of the story wasn't working. I didn't care about Lucy's relationship with her dead husband, Thom. The possibility of Extraterrestrial Life wasn't impressive in the least at the moment, but if it came together with the Eden storyline and the rewriting of the story of Genesis, then I would overlook it's extraneous introduction. There were too many characters getting their own POV on the story, but their chapters were short and didn't distract much from Adam and Lucy's storyline. In short, I was invested in spite of the many flaws. And then the third act came around and I was ready to toss the book into the nearest fire and find something better to read.

"Part Three" of the book is something of an anomaly. While the main problem with the other two parts is that there's simply too much going on (too many characters, too many storylines, too many genres all competing for attention and taking away time from them only story that's actually working), the third part strips everything down, focuses on only four characters, and flies so far off the rails that reading it is painful. The third part is poorly written, or maybe the entire book is poorly written and that fact only stood out in the final moments because this section had nothing going for it to distract me from the bad writing. The characters have no concrete motivation for anything they're doing, characters die for no reason other than to serve the half-assed plot (which is actually the case with every death in the book), and there's no grand sense of forward momentum until the last three chapters which are the literary equivalent of the obligatory final chase scene of an action movie. Production companies include chase sequences in their final acts out of fear that after 2 hours their audience will be bored and require a jolt of action to peak their interests. Naslund has done the same thing for the same reason, and sadly she's right that by that point in time, I was bored. But the chase chapters didn't work for me because the tension she was trying to force onto them wasn't earned. As a result, I read through the "thrilling" final moments while rolling my eyes, sighing, and waiting for it to be over.

The sad thing is Adam & Eve could have been a good book. Indeed, if you start at the moment that Lucy's plane crashes in Eden and only read up until the ending of Part two, it is a good book. Granted even those passages could have been better than they were without the high levels of self awareness, but one can only ask for so much. The story of an attractive naked man believing himself to be The Adam and a naked woman who knows she isn't Eve but falls in love with him anyway due to the fact that 1) he's loveable, and 2) they're the only two people occupying this paradise, is an interesting story to tell. Enter a third male into the mix whom they nurse to health after his plane also crashes, and you've really got something there. But Naslund's book doesn't want to be a retelling of the Garden of Eden story no matter what the title implies, and that's where she fails. Sena Jeter Naslund might be a good author, I wouldn't know as this is the only book of hers I've ever read, but here she needed to pick one story to tell and then tell it to the very best of her ability. She might be a good author, but I doubt I'll ever find out as this is the only book of hers that I'll ever read. (less)

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Feb 12, 2011 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

I will start by saying that Ahab's Wife is one of my favorite books, and my high expectations for this book might be the source of my loathing. It is rare that I choose a book and don't end up liking it, but I was so tired of this book by the time it was over! It has some very elegant and beautiful writing, but there was so much schmeared into each paragraph that to me it felt overly self-indulgent, contrived and self-important. The plot of the book could be condensed into a chapter (and I'm not...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 abo...more 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!(less)

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Jul 25, 2011 Ryan G rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: no-longer-own

I have started, deleted, started again, and deleted again more times than I think you really want to know or I am willing to admit to. I have even wasted an hour on Facebook, avoiding this review. For some reason I'm having a damned hard time reviewing this one and after about 2 hours of this, I think I know the answer why. I loved the first 2/3 of the book, the last 1/3, I could really do without. My problem is that last 1/3 is tainting my whole view of the book.

I loved the way the characters a...more I have started, deleted, started again, and deleted again more times than I think you really want to know or I am willing to admit to. I have even wasted an hour on Facebook, avoiding this review. For some reason I'm having a damned hard time reviewing this one and after about 2 hours of this, I think I know the answer why. I loved the first 2/3 of the book, the last 1/3, I could really do without. My problem is that last 1/3 is tainting my whole view of the book.

I loved the way the characters are introduced, especially Lucy and Adam. Lucy is happily married art therapist, who get to travel the world with her husband as he attends conferences. After his tragic death, by a falling piano, her world is turned upside down for a bit. A year later, when she is attending a conference in Cairo, being held to honor her deceased husband, she is still consumed by grief. When her plane crashes into a sea, she climbs out, shedding her burning clothing as she goes. By the time she reaches land, she is naked, hurt and searching for the naked man she saw as her plane was going down.

We first meet Adam after he has been abandoned by his captors who have stripped, raped, and beaten him repeatedly. He is mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically broken. Because of the setting he wakes up in, he thinks he is the Adam of the Bible and has been personally created by the hand of God. He has decided living in a religious haze is better than dealing with the truth. It doesn't help that he was already traumatized by the war itself. Once Lucy joins him, he thinks God has finally sent him his Eve.

When these two characters come together I loved it. Their interactions are fascinating to read and their story is told in a wonderfully quirky way that I find compelling. Even when another American soldier joins them in Eden, I love the way all three of them work together. There is a wonderfully drawn out examination of the themes behind the original Adam & Eve, but it's not done in a literal manner. Everything is done in metaphor and comparison, and all of it in such a subtle manner that you could just choose to ignore it all and enjoy the story for itself.

It's when Lucy and Adam are taken out of that setting that I started to not appreciate what it was I was reading. Out of that context, I found the religious explorations to be a little too heavy handed and not all that interesting. There was no longer a smoothness about the story that I had been enjoying and the themes felt a little too forced at times and a bit boring on top of it. I don't think it helped that the bad guys were one dimensional and took away from the story. I would have either liked a bigger, meaner villain or no villains at all.

If I was forced to give an answer to the question of whether or not I liked the overall story, I would have to say yes. But it would be a hesitant yes that just as easily been a no.(less)

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Oct 14, 2011 Deborah Gray rated it 2 of 5 stars

I could have wept with disappointment at this book. When you consider that Ahab's Wife is one of my favourites, how much I wanted to like this! How hard I tried! I even gave it an extra star, just because I know this author is capable of so much more. I hate to disparage any author. I know well the time, effort, perseverence and sheer talent it takes to get a book into publication. Yet, all I could think during the interminable reading of this book is that she must have embarked on a long, long,...more I could have wept with disappointment at this book. When you consider that Ahab's Wife is one of my favourites, how much I wanted to like this! How hard I tried! I even gave it an extra star, just because I know this author is capable of so much more. I hate to disparage any author. I know well the time, effort, perseverence and sheer talent it takes to get a book into publication. Yet, all I could think during the interminable reading of this book is that she must have embarked on a long, long, bad acid trip during the writing. And that everyone at William Morrow joined her, because editing was nonexistent in this dreary, meandering tome. Aside from disjointed, nonsensical plot, it alternated between self-important exposition, "look at me! Look at how much I know!" and dreamy musings about nothing interesting.

It was awful. So awful that I kept reading to make sure that I wasn't misunderstanding something. Surely Sena Jeter Naslund, a brilliant talent, knew better. Eventually, Emperor's new clothes came to mind. There was no reasonable opportunity to suspend disbelief. Disbelief became my perpetual state during the entire FIFTEEN hours it took to listen to it on MP3. Yes, I listened to it, walked, made dinner, gardened, drank wine, drank more wine and lamented the fifteen hours I will never get back.

I am trying not to insert any spoilers, but it's so hard. Suffice it to say, it started with such an interesting, intriguing premise, the promise of so many of great genres: thriller, sci-fi, romance, historical, and delivered on NONE of them. The questions that were asked were never answered, the questions that SHOULD have been asked never were, the characters were wooden and reacted oddly to situations that demanded so much more. Why did Lucy crash? Why was no one looking for anyone who was missing? Families? Army? Friends? Governments? Why would Lucy have been entrusted with supposedly the most important document in the world to begin with? What was Adam doing in Mesopotamia in the first place? What was Riley doing there?

Eternal optimist that I am I still hoped for redemption in the end, but there was none! It was even crazier, more disjointed than the rest of the book. I won't give up on this author, but will be far more cautious about my selections of her work in future. (less)

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Nov 14, 2010 Janet rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 11, 2010 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sena Jeter Nashlund’s latest, Adam & Eve defies description. Part adventure, part mystery, part romance, part thriller, part allegory; a story about religion, art, science, rebirth, and creation, it is nearly impossible to summarize. Due to the fact the Adam & Eve has a trilleresque feel the reader will feel compelled to race to the finish, to the conclusion of the story, however the beauty and true skill of Nashlund’s writing is in what is left unsaid, or better yet, unexplained. An exa...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Marci rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not sure if I will finish this book. I remember enjoying Ahab's Wife by the same author, but this book is a little strange. Set in the near future, the first few chapters were rather confusing. I wasnt sure if Adam was in another world--a newly created world or what. When he looked at his skin and it was blue...that kind of turned me off. Later, however, we discover that he was a soldier in the Middle East that was beaten and left for dead. (He was blue from the bruises). Basically the story is...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Hsudonym added it · review of another edition

I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. I had high hopes for it, having truly enjoyed Ahab's Wife and the style of writing. I had read Abundance by the same author, and did not like it, but I thought perhaps she was trying to present a different approach to a time-worn subject like Marie Antoinette. So, in Adam and Eve, I started reading it with a fresh mind and eye, hoping I would enjoy it as much as Ahab's Wife. [return]I never got through Adam and Eve. I barely...more

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Dec 30, 2010 David Fox rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Lost in the Garden of Eden

Amidst a cluttered landscape of radical creationists & paranoid rabbis living in the shadows of martyred relatives, Naslund's characters lamely weave a twisted tale of Adam searching for Eve in Lewis Carrol's Wonderland. Yes, this book is as warped as this opening paragraph. Naslund attempts to blend Dan Brown mystical elements with new age treatments of Genesis interspersed with dollops of bad cops & robbers. Adam didn't know if he was Adam or Harry searching f...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Terri Pickett rated it 2 of 5 stars

Loved Naslund's 'Abundance' but this book left me feeling disappointed, a little confused and honestly, glad it's over. It was an ambitious undertaking. Naslund uses multiple characters from diverse backgrounds and religions to explore the possibility of life beyond Earth and a re-interpretation of genesis. Her point never becomes clear, if she is trying to make one, though I do appreciate the suggestion that taking the Bible literally may be misguided. By far, the best part of the book is the m...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Laura added it · review of 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 i...more "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. (less)

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Sep 24, 2010 Stephanie D. rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think perhaps Adam and Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund could have benefited from a firmer editing hand. The basis for a promising, provocative story is there. I was expecting, as this book touted, a "searing debate between evolutionists and creationists." Proof of life in another planet, the foundations of three religions shaken by a shocking new codex- exciting what ifs that I thought would be explored within the context of two people thrust into a semi-Biblical setting - innocence before the fall....more I think perhaps Adam and Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund could have benefited from a firmer editing hand. The basis for a promising, provocative story is there. I was expecting, as this book touted, a "searing debate between evolutionists and creationists." Proof of life in another planet, the foundations of three religions shaken by a shocking new codex- exciting what ifs that I thought would be explored within the context of two people thrust into a semi-Biblical setting - innocence before the fall. Naslund took on too much and Adam and Eve did not deliver on its promise.

The book seemed a little schizophrenic. Not only do you have the scientific discovery, but then Lucy also somehow ends up with an unrelated, previously undiscovered ancient manuscript. Assassins hired by Christian, Muslim, and Jewish fundamentalists try to kill her. She falls from the sky into the one area in the Middle East that is unpopulated but for one gorgeous naked young man, who's also American, and luckily, it used to be a farm so there's plenty of food for both of them to survive. As if that isn't enough, secret prehistoric cave paintings are thrown into the mix.

Wild plot aside (I burst out laughing in some scenes, especially the one where there's this "wild" monkey boy that jumps from trees---never mind too long of a story), Adam and Eve's true downfall is the writing. Naslund is a gifted writer, no doubt. However, from the first chapter on, the narrative falters under the weight of its mysticism and esoteric tangents. The dialogue often veers into the ridiculous. I find that the more unbelievable and improbable the plot, then the more grounded the characters need to be to anchor the reader to the story, which didn't happen for me here.

"Everything's here," he answered. "that ever was or ever is to be. 'God in three persons,'" he suddenly sang the dying-fall chant of the doxology in a deep and resonant voice as though he could fill a cathedral, "god in three persons, Blessed Trinity...Everything's here and more," he went on in a quiet voice, matter-of-fact, explanatory.

"But Adam," I said, "how can you say 'everything and more' Everything is everything. You can't have more than everything. You don't use language right."

"Words disappear in the air," he explained. "Words are volatile. That's their essence. Who can say how they bubble up, how they break free, and disappear?"

I started to counter, Not if you write them down. Not if you put them on a disk and project them on the ceiling. Not if they're full of love. And meaning. But my words seemed less true than his.

"Scientists say," I said carefully, "that nothing escapes from a black hole. Not even information. Not light. But I never understood how could they speak of information in that context."

Naslund was trying to get a message across, but I wasn't exactly sure what it was. That no matter how painful the cost, humans crave knowledge and will forsake a paradise of ignorance to obtain it? That religion is bad? That humans are responsible for their own downfall and salvation? I could not tell you.

I didn't dislike everything about the book. Lucy, as a modern Eve, is a strong, capable, and independent woman who can fly planes. She is hardly portrayed as the temptress to innocent Adam, but is the literal bearer of knowledge with shattering ramifications. The setup for what happens to her because she is the protector of that knowledge is fantastic one; unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't follow through.

(less)

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Sep 05, 2010 Sharyl rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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 di...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Erica Leigh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lush, sensuous, controversial, confusing…all apply. I really liked Ahab’s Wife, and enjoyed Abundance, so I had certain expectations of Sena Jeter Naslund’s latest novel. Her trademark rich language, ability to weave themes and characters, and an understanding of history were all present in Adam & Eve. But this story was more convoluted and difficult for me to follow – it may be that the inability to determine reality from fantasy was intentional to underscore the state of mind of the charac...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Jaci rated it 3 of 5 stars

An alternative to the Genesis story drives the plot as those who want to hide the alternative try to wrest documentation from those protecting the story. Art as the creative process seems to win: "Because we live in our own time, we must each create new myths to represent the truth." p.306.
"P's friend had written a human-centered, a family-centered, procreational version of Creation. P's own version was one based on an idea of art: the lone Artist as Creator. It takes only one to create. ...Did...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Erika rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, romance

I read an really liked Ahab's Wife, by the same author but I found this book really messy/confusing. The idea interested me: a women, Lucy, whose husband is murdered cause he has found life in outer space by religious sects that don't want it known, years latter same sect is upset by a new codex of Genesis which Lucy is trying to get out of Egypt. Along the way she crashes in an Oasis, and meets Adam, a delusional American solider who thinks they are "Adam and Eve" in the garden of Eden. All wel...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I often wonder how various authors imagine the scenarios for their novels, but never more than while reading this book, which combines: 1) a astrophysicist's widow who carries his proof of extra-terrestrial life on a thumb-drive hung around her neck; 2) an abused mental patient/former soldier living in a "Garden of Eden" in Mesopotamia who recites poetrr and Shakespeare; 3) a fundamentalist group called "Perpetuity," made up of Christians, Jews, and Muslims determined to hasten the "end of days"...more

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