The Garden

by Elsie V. Aidinoff

In the beginning ...

There was the Serpent, there for Eve's awakening, and for all the days since. Teacher, mentor, companion, friend, and more. There was God. The Creator. Quick to anger. Dangerous. Majestic.

There was Adam: as God said, a joy to behold.

And there was Eve.

These four hold the future in their hands. And only Eve -- or perhaps the Serpent, too -- wonders what lies outside the Garden of Eden. Passionate, witty, beautifully drawn, and utterly unforgettable, The Garden, a debut novel, remakes and offers insights into a story that forms a cornerstone of our understanding.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Religion, Mythology, Retellings, Historical Fiction

403 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2004

About the author

Educated at Smith and Columbia, Elsie V. Aidinoff has lived in Paris, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, and New York. She has been involved in education most of her life, starting in 1965 as a tutor in a junior high school with the New York City School Volunteer Program (now Learning Leaders). Since 1980, she has worked at the Children's Storefront School, a tuition-free independent school in Harlem, as a teacher, administrator, and trustee. The mother of four grown children, she lives in New York City with her husband, a lawyer.

Reviews

[Hallie · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, I'm not giving this book one star because I disagree with the way it treats Christianity. I give Philip Pullman an unhesitating five stars because he is a genuinely good author. Aidinoff would like to be Pullman, but lacks the inspiration and the talent. This book is frankly boring, relies heavily on description of the Garden, paints one-dimensional characters (and in a world with exactly four sentient beings, to keep them all one-dimensional for the entirety of a fairly long book is a rather astounding feat of bad writing), and is just as uncompromising in its worldview as the one it purports to criticize. This book isn't truly about questioning the established order or promoting freedom of thought - if it were, the Serpent wouldn't have such ready answers to all Eve's questions about life, the universe and everything. It's simply about substituting one set of "humanist" values for another set of "religious" ones. And, as I said, it makes for a fairly boring read.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A twist on the Garden of Eden story. "Adam and Eve are raised separately: Adam by a controlling, jealous and angry God who insists on total obedience, and Eve by the wise and gentle Serpent, who encourages her to ask questions and challenges her to think for herself." God wants to populate the earth and pressures Adam to force himself on Eve. This rape inevitably leads to the disintegration of their friendship. Eve begins a healing process which ultimately helps her make the choice to eat from the tree of knowledge. She decides that the introduction of knowledge and death are necessary for the development of human beings. Finally, a feminist's /version of this popular Judeo-Christian myth!

[Anna (Bananas) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an alternate version of the Garden of Eden story. The characters are handled in unexpected ways, with Eve serving as the heart of the tale. Adam is her companion but not the ideal mate. Instead, the Serpent is Eve's closest friend and...more later on, in a surprisingly touching scene.

God is a terrifying and sometimes harsh deity, often distant, while The Serpent comes off as sympathetic, a confidante and advocate for Eve, who shows her the true beauty of the Garden. God and the Serpent are presented almost as equals in this book, which I found interesting. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 2004, which means I would have been 14 years old at the time. I picked the book out randomly at Barnes & Noble one day and remember just really falling in love with it. Not at all because of it's religious foundation (that meant little to me), but because of how refreshing it was.

By now, if you've read the summary or others' reviews about this book, you probably know: This is a take on the story of Eve, as in, Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. From her perspective, you learn about the Serpent, her mentor as designated by God; Adam, who is in God's own care; and God himself, a quick-tempered and seemingly narcissistic individual.

The book starts with Eve waking up and being in complete wonder of the world around her. The Serpent cares for her and teaches her before she even meets Adam or God, where the book then takes an interesting twist and eventually comes to the key event we all know happens: Eve eats an apple from the forbidden tree. Her journey up to that point is full of fascination, curiosity, intrigue and more, bringing the reader with her as she learns and loves.

I have to say that it is Eve's innocence and admiration for even the smallest things in life was what made this book really resonate with me years ago. I think its obvious we take things for granted, and after reading this, it surprisingly gave me a different perspective on life. (I wonder how I would feel if I read this again now.) Regardless, this book is beautifully written and takes an intriguing perspective on a timeless story.

[Jessica Fassinger]

[TRIGGER WARNING - DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY RAPE SCENES]


So I read "The Garden" for the first time when I was in seventh grade, yeah, I was about...twelve maybe eleven? Which (in my humble and honest opinion) is too young to read this book. At least, personally, I think I should have waited to read this book.

Reading the Author's Note at the very end of the novel certainly helped clear things up. Even though it's a re-telling and different perspective of the Biblical story of The Garden of Eden and of Adam and Eve - it's not inherently Christian. It made me wonder the whole way through if Elsie (the author) was a Christian or not. In the author's note she said she got the idea to write the book "in church" so I can only assume...

Regardless of the biblical sense of the biblical story. One, it was well-written. [TRIGGER WARNING] Two, the rape scene where God forces Adam to have sex with Eve and neither of them enjoy it and it's against both of their wills was uncomfortable...but at the same time, it wasn't very violent.

Also, big surprise in this re-telling of this famous story is that The Serpent isn't portrayed as Satan, he's portrayed as Wisdom, Reason, and Justice. He's portrayed as Nachash (I don't know who Nachash is, but I will be doing further research on this).

All in all, it was provocative, it was bold, and it kind of made me put it down afterwards and say, "What the fuck did I just read?"

If you want to be confused - read this book.

[Jerard Eusebio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am blown away by the magnificence and bravery distilled in the retelling of the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve in Aidinoff’s debut novel, The Garden. Throughout its 400 pages, the author presents a rethought characterisation of God, Adam, The Serpent, and Eve, as well as a rethought turn of events leading to the damnation of mankind (and of all the other creatures great and small) by God.

In the book:
God the Creator is omnipotent, yes, but has a temper of a child and is every bit proud and insecure as the Old Testament painted him to be. Adam and Eve are His chattels, whom He would rather not be able to think for themselves because that goes against his one directive in The Garden—total obedience to Him. This simple order Adam has learned throughout his time spent with God. Eve, who has been tasked by God to be mentored by The Serpent, travels far and wide and learns about a great many things, including free will and death. A product of Eve’s journey away from Eden is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which grows one day in The Garden. Afraid and unsettled by the tree, God forbids the two of them from eating its fruit, and warns them of the grave consequences if they did. Determined to know for themselves, both Adam and Eve choose to eat from the tree. The Serpent, witness to all of this, respects their decision and helps them to reach the fruit. After discovering how his orders were disobeyed, God banishes the two of them from The Garden, cursing them to age and die and become earth. The Serpent, who represents Wisdom and is not below God, importunes him to practice not only justice but mercy. God, in his pride and anger, does not listen. Together with all the animals and The Serpent, who volunteers to accompany them, Adam and Eve leave The Garden in a haste. In the chaos and confusion, Eve is overcome with guilt, thinking that she brought this all on. To this The Serpent assures her that this banishment is not her decision, this is not her doing, but God’s. The Serpent then goes on to explain to Eve, “My dear, remember what I say. No matter what lies ahead, keep it in your heart. It is not suffering, or injustice, or evil that you have brought into the world—though they have come. It is freedom.”

In her work, Aidinoff delivers a possibility, a great shimmering chance to reimagine an important historical and sociocultural narrative, willed and created in and by a patriarchal world. What Aidinoff also gifts the readers is her truth, which now becomes as true and authentic as the original tale, as true and authentic as our interpretation of it as well as of our very own historicisation of our existence, and as true and authentic as the life we’re leading here, outside the perimeter of Eden. Here, where we have the freedom to know and be.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes 400 pages to put a whole new spin on Adam and Eve in which the Serpent is not evil, although she had me sold in about twelve. "The Garden" weaves a brilliantly crafted tale that explores that classic story from a different perspective and makes it SO LOGICAL, you will wonder what book of lies you have been fed throughout your Jewish/Christian upbringing. It is to Genesis what "Mists of Avalon" was to the King Arthur myth. (Complete with all the overdone and unnecessary sex.)

No, really. I could not flip the pages fast enough, and frequently broke off my reading to proclaim my exquisite glee with the writing and quote another passage. There are so many passages that perfectly articulate the way I feel about God. My favorite example, by far, is after he's taught them prayers and hymns - Eve asks, "Why does God need to be adored all the time? We know he made the sea and the dry land and all the rest. Why does he have to hear it over and over again?"

There is admittedly a disturbing obsession with procreation in the writing, the first part of which pretty much painted God as a rapist (my brain did not need to go to there), and unfortunately becomes the underlying focus of the remainder of the novel. Later on there were some creepy metaphysics that somehow involved the serpent as a magical spirit lover.

There is also a somewhat laughable section in the author's note where she claims "this is not a feminist novel," even though Eve is smart as a whip and Adam is dumb as a post, and then in the very next sentence she hypothesizes that "this may be the Eve we would have seen if the Bible had been composed by a less patriarchal society."

But everything I've always seen in the Bible, where God comes across as an overzealous, foolish, selfish, fit-throwing, short-tempered equivalent of a spoiled child - or actually, she likens him in another author's note to the builders of the atom bomb, marveling in what they could create for the sake of creation, without thinking about its consequences - is in here, and it made me fall in love with this book. As for the most explicit address of the Bible story, this is what the serpent says:

"If you eat the apple, in certain respects you will resemble God. You will no longer be innocent; you'll know good and you'll know evil, and be able to choose between them. You will be responsible for your actions. And you'll be free to choose the course of your lives. ...You, and all people, for all time."
"What's wrong with that?" asked Adam.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with that; on the contrary. But God doesn't see things that way, and your freedom comes at a price."

See? It's just as easy to read that passage as them trying to get out from under God's thumb as some nefarious plot to overthrow him. Another big theme in this book is that God defines evil as "disobeying [His] will," nothing more and nothing less, which is part of why the Serpent so aggravates him - it's a being not under his power. "I am known by many other [names]. Wisdom. Reason. Justice. ... My role on Earth: to counterbalance the excesses of a jealous god."

This book will likely ruffle certain circles, and if you found anything offensive about the above, I'd skip it. If you made it this far, however, I would like to note that I am not an atheist, and still consider myself somewhat religious. I've just always taken issue with certain aspects of the Old Testament and thought this author did a phenomenal job of casually pointing out some alternate interpretations without making it come across as an outright attack on anyone's beliefs.

(P.S./Side note: there was some accidental irony in reading this for the first time the day before Christmas Eve, don't you think?)

[Jessica-Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Garden is a retelling of the the biblical story of The Garden of Eden. Now, if we take a second to ignore the fact that this story is the basis of God creating the universe and is considered religious text, this book is just another retelling. Granted, it's not about Cinderella or Pride and Prejudice but it follows the same format of taking a story that already exists and retelling it from a different point of view.

Now, I am not Christan or even very religious, so for me personally I didn't have a problem in reading this. For some people this book will cross the line. Although I didn't find anything said to be particularly insulting to Christianity, it's not exactly the perfect story if you find yourself easily offended. And the part God plays does make me want to say that this isn't for the faint of religious heart.

The plot takes us throughout the original biblical version through the eyes of Eve as she gradually makes her way towards her fate. The more I read, the more attached I felt towards Eve as a character. She's so new, like a child who is somehow already a woman. The story is also expanded upon with the interactions Eve has with the Serpent, God, and Adam.

The writing does sway towards the fact that womanhood of the past is nothing like womanhood of the present. Getting the short end of the stick is a fact of history and the writing of The Garden does not gloss over that it started out that way.

Overall, I found The Garden to be incredibly interesting, if not a little unexpected. I mean, of all the retelling you come across not many people have the balls to go to religious text and say, "Here's how it could have happened." It was at times very harsh to read but it has this effort to it that shows how the author was really trying to take these characters and flesh them out.

Not something I would recommend but it was at least interesting to see someones attempt at writing such a story.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your Sunday school version of Adam and Eve and the Creation. When I read this, I felt creeped out to reading such a "blasphemous" retelling of the story of Eden. Aidinoff's depiction of God as a childish, selfish, bratty being was jarring. But the story is fleshed out, risky, and I loved how the book played out -- petulant God and all. In the afterword, Aidinoff says the reason she wrote the story was because she felt there were so many holes in the Genesis Creation story that she wanted a way to explain them. And in spite of her saying she didn't set out to write a story with feminist and religious leanings, for her to have written Eve as a strong and smart woman (oftentimes much smarter than Adam), and to write about God and the Serpent and the first two humans . . . it kind of happened anyway

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several years ago and it still resonates with me, which is saying something with my memory. Not a typical retelling of the Garden of Eden scenario but one that makes you think about two young naive teens left to their own devices to figure things out, but with the "help" of two mentors - Eve's Serpent and Adam's God. In this version the Serpent is the much kinder and gentler of the two but no one can say our Old Testament God is a kind one. He is viewed more as a scientist in the sense of seeing how Adam with respond to his first sexual urges, no matter if Eve is receptive yet or not. This book has raised a lot of concerns, but I believe it is beautifully written and very thought provoking - two criteria essential in a great book - at least for me.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book numerous times. It is an absolute favorite of mine. The ideas behind the story are beautiful and believable. This book even inspired a tattoo that I have on my back. My sympathies for the Serpent are undeniable, and my love for Eve is strong. Reading through it this time around, I realized the writing style was much more intricate than I had noticed before. The story starts out written in a fairly child-like manner, much in the same way I would expect someone new to the Earth would actually write. By the end, the thoughts are well formed and beautifully written. It bothered me for a bit until I made that realization. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an open mind.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't recommend this book if you're deeply religious because it portrays God as selfish, impatient, childish, and needy. That said, this was an extremely creative alternative look to what happened in the Garden of Eden and what led Even to eat the forbidden apple. It questions the meaning of freedom and free will and the traditional portrayal of women in the Bible. Better still, the descriptions of Eden and the surrounding world are absolutely beautiful and you get to experience the world through Eve (mostly) and Adam's eyes for the first time. It definitely makes you appreciate the beautiful things that surround us every day!

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not devoted to any religion, so I feel thats why I enjoyed this book more. It gives a different perspective on what it was really like in the Garden of Eden. The author portrayed the Serpent as the wise and caring one, and God as a person who wanted complete devotion and perfection from Adam and Eve. I recommend this book to anyone who is open to many religious possibilities.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is supposed to be for YA, which I think of from 12-17 years old, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under age 14 because of the sexual parts. Otherwise it was really interesting and made me think about Adam & Eve more.

[Anisha]

At first I thought it was plot-less...but by the end the author definitely made some connections and tied things up. Easy to read, very interesting perspective, and it definitely made me think. I would definitely recommend it.

[Danielle Whitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book! I enjoyed the clever way that Eve and Adam are written and I liked the serpents character. Was not thrilled about the character of God but I can understand the writers take and appreciate her creative view.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty interesting, the creation story from eves point of view, not for the faint of heart,(spoiler) an almost rape is contained, beware.
Provides an interesting view of a story from another point of view

[Rachel Jones]

Really enjoyed this. Unique take on an age-old tale, and I absolutely love that the author is over 70 and this is her very first book. Brava!

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book examines the biblical creation story in more detail. It's an interesting retelling that gives more credit to Eve than is usually given.

[Dez · Rating 4 out of 5]

⚠️ CW: Rape

🍎 Adam & Eve
✍🏼 Retelling
📗 Standalone

I found this book while wandering through the aisles of a Barnes & Noble as a pre-teen, the cover having caught me immediately and drawing me in. I have always found the tale of Adam and Eve very enticing and while I personally don't have any religious interests, I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling. I was so drawn to the writing from Eve's perspective and I found myself standing in that aisle, reading snippets of the book for the remainder of my time in the bookstore. I walked out without it (I was a pre-teen with little funds, after all!) and the book took up residence in my memories ever since. I finally came around to purchasing a used copy after remembering it, and I was delighted to find that the entire book was written exactly I remembered from the few passages I consumed many years ago.

The author treats the characters with an interesting twist - Eve is the main character while Adam is more of a side character, with her perspective the main focus. The Serpent is depicted more as a mentor and teacher, rather than an antagonist, and God is shown to be a self absorbed being with little understanding of the consequences of his actions (and his creations!).

Over the course of the book, Eve develops into herself, learning lessons of the world from the Serpent while her counterpart, Adam, is educated by God. She becomes an artist, an inventor, and a creative under the watchful eye of her teacher. Adam grows as a craftsman, though he is seemingly more whimsical and easily distracted than Eve. Much to my surprise, Adam is not depicted as Eve's desired partner - rather he serves as a companion in which Eve easily identifies with due to their similar circumstance and reason for creation.

The Serpent, very much Eve's ally and advocate, is depicted as a sort of equal counterpart to God, who has entrusted it with Eve's education. They are almost old friends or colleagues of sort, with God still maintaining a more controlling and angry dominance over the Serpent. God is incredibly jealous and demands total obedience of Adam (and eventually Eve), which is a sharp contrast to the Serpent's reasonable logic and gentle guidance that it executes in its own teachings.

The toughest part of this book is the rape scene. It is not written in a distasteful or graphic manner, but successfully conveys the wrongness of the action and God's role in forcing it. Adam and Eve are both innocent in the act and are both mutually hurt by God's actions and the event is written with significance rather than flippantly. This event fractures Eve's friendship with Adam, and sets her on a journey of healing with the Serpent outside of the Garden. This eventually leads to a series of events that cause Eve, as well as Adam, to decide to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

This book is a refreshing and feminist-friendly take on the myth of Adam and Eve. I'm very grateful I was able to find a copy of it and finally have the opportunity to read it like I so badly wished to so many years ago.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read The Garden over a decade ago, it became a point of contention between myself and my Catholic mother. I started asking questions. I started believing that there had to be something more than the religious indoctrination that had been pounded into me since basically birth.

This became the first in a series of straws that broke the metaphorical back of my beliefs. This story is beautiful and refreshing. At times, it hurts and will break your heart. Seeing the beginning of the world through Eve's eyes as she becomes the, for the most part, reluctant mother of humankind, was wonderful. As a teenager struggling with her faith, this was revolutionary. As an adult woman who has completely stepped away from organized religion, this was a reminder.

The prose is beautiful while not being too purple. The pacing is perfect. The characterization of everyone was so vivid and vibrant. You can't help but love Eve, the Serpent, and, even Adam, despite his flaws. You also are made to look seriously at God as a fallible character, something less than omnipotent.

Overall, I truly love this book. It held up after all this time and I cannot recommend it enough.

[Monica Caldicott]

Life in the Garden of Eden was paradise. Eve, who is being raised and taught by the Serpent, spends her days with the animals - none of whom can harm her; swimming in the water - in which she cannot drown; and eating anything she wants. Her skills grow every day to include cooking, weaving and making pottery. She's never cold, and the Serpent is the best friend she could ever have.
 
The only downsides are the days when God calls her to come for lessons. Eve is in awe of God, the creator of the world, but she is also a bit scared by his demanding voice and quick temper. Adam's OK, but not the true friend to her that the Serpent is.
 
Read p. 28-29.
 
So as wonderful as the Garden of Eden is, why is Eve looking outside the Garden? She longs to see the mountains, the desert and the ocean.
 
Here is an interpretation of the story of Genesis from the Bible. Some elements and characters are the same, and some are far outside our conventional thinking on the subject. 

[Poison Ivy 🌵 · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in a household that was deeply religious, feeling as if Christianity were forced onto me at a very young age, I not only appreciate the change in point of view, but felt connected with this story on so many levels.

Other reviews have touched on the atmospheric, almost ethereal beauty that the author uses to describe the Garden, the mountains, the desert and the sea. The scenery and pacing of this story both lend themselves towards a great review.

I highlighted many, many quotes, but I wanted to share one that really hit me. After spending most of my life feeling repressed because of Christianity, God, and the conservatism that usually comes with them, reading “I want to be one of the things that gets away from God and takes on its own spirit.” almost brought me to tears. I understand how that feels.

I didn’t expect to fall so deeply in love with a book I got for .50 cent at a library clearance sale, but damn, I’m glad I found it.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I am writing this as an atheist that read the bible as a child and found God to be as belligerant and unreasonable as he is depicted in this novel. I quite enjoyed his character portrayal. You really feel for Eve in the story. She is created with the burden of all of mankind resting on her and she is only a child in the story. There is a rape scene in the book to be aware of, and this heavily shadows much of the book.

I didn't care for the ending of the book, and why on earth did she and the serpent get together at the end? I felt it was almost as bad as Adam raping her, him drugging her and coming on to her in her sleep. I think its gross to have any kind of interaction like that with anyone that raised you. I enjoyed how the book dealt with Eve's rape up until that point.

Overall an imaginative take on the bible story.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book too old. If I were to have read this when I was 14 it would have been a different review. However, reading it now, I feel like it is a heavy handed rewrite of the myth. Philip Pullman rewrites religion and Gregory Maguire flips protagonist and antagonist in some of the most well known stories. Aidinoff is not as nuanced and all the characters become exceedingly two dimensional. I think this would be a good book to give to a teenage girl struggling with questions of her place in the world. It would be a good book to begin a path to self discovery. It is, however, not a good place to stop moving forward.

[Rainie Singh · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a tad offensive because it made God the antagonist and the Serpent Wisdom. Most people know that the Serpent was the devil, Satan. Here it makes it out as if God is not omnipotent or omniscient, and that he didn't know what he was doing. And then it made the Serpent out as if he knew better than God, that he could take care of Adam and Eve better than God could. The only thing that saved it was the Author's Note at the end that said she wasn't trying to offend anyone, and that she was only trying to write the story from a different view. That being said, I would still not recommend any Christian to this book as you might be offended or disgusted.

[Katherine Helms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book as a teenager, and having revisited it in my late 20s, I feel that it still holds up. I love the way the writing transports you into the world of the Garden, and the tenderness and strength of Eve’s bond with the Serpent. Some may be justifiably grossed out by how their relationship hops back and forth over the line between “parent and child” and “lovers,” but I was willing to roll with it. I also found Eve to be a wonderfully dynamic and multidimensional character, contrary to some other reviewers’ opinions. Maybe this book isn’t for everyone, but it’ll always have a place of honor in my collection.

[Monse · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book and an easy read if you want something quick. The book has a different take to the original Adam and Eve story. The characters are not same as the Bible pictures them and the entire story is seen only through Eve's point of view leaving all the other character a mystery. I really recommend this book and hope you enjoy reading it.

[Joy Slykhuis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story of the Garden of Eden has the serpent case as "Wisdom" - a wonderful, caring and all-knowing creature who existed before God created the earth, and is entrusted with Eve's education. God is raising Adam - and the two of them are portrayed as idiots...except God is a petty, cruel, self-absorbed, tantrumy idiot with super powers.

Very hard to slog through.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, this book. I bought this wayyy back when I was in grade 8 or 9. I was so excited to read it. Then I never got around to it until now, when I'm in my 30s lol. I'm pretty sure if I read it back then, I would have been just as mortified and outraged by it as I was while reading it now. 2 stars because there were some interesting and funny parts. But mostly, I really did not like this one.