Customer Reviews

Havah

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a book as much as the one I just finished reading.

Havah: the story of Eve by Tosca Lee. I'm not even sure where to begin. Here--I loved it. I devoured it. From the moment I cracked the spine and started to read, I was compelled to finish. Not many books command me to read them, tell me to stop working, stay up late, and sacrifice my entire Saturday so that I might spend a few more moments seated before the hearth of someone else's tale.

Havah required that I hear her story.

The book never felt like a piece of fiction to me. It was as if, finally, the veil had been lifted and I could hear the beginning verses of Genesis told in Eve's voice. As if we crouched together before a flickering fire, the night wind at our backs, and like a beloved friend, she told me all of her secrets.

Tosca has created a masterpiece in Havah.

Chapter one begins with the birth of Havah (Eve) in the Garden. With a poetic voice, Tosca tells the tale of the first woman, her relationship with "the adam" and her desire to know the One that Is. Havah frolics in a perfect world, where the river sounds like music and the air is stained with the fragrance of pomegranate and plum. Her dearest friends are a lioness, Levia, and a fallow deer, Adah, and it is through these relationships that we later see the bitter contrast between life in the Garden and life after the Fall.

Because, of course, Havah has yet one more friend--a serpent. More beautiful than any of the other animals, it dwells on an island, always near a tree that bears forbidden fruit.

If you think this is a story you've heard before, you're wrong. No one has ever told this tale with such lush detail. As much as I have contemplated Eve and her life in the Garden--and I have--I never saw it this way. Havah is both heartbreaking and stunningly beautiful.

Tosca's voice, so unique and fluid in rhythm, reminds me at times of Sue Monk Kidd or Janet Fitch. But the spiritual quality of this book elevates it to another plateau.

This is exactly the type of story, book, and author that I have been waiting to see emerge in CBA. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to get lost in another world, anyone who would like to experience the Book of Genesis in a fresh way, or anyone looking for a story that is beautiful and compelling from beginning to end.

The story of Adam and Eve is both the oldest and most familiar story known to man. In fact, it is so familiar that we think we know all there is to know. Then along comes a story like Havah that pulls back the veil, giving us a wondrous glimpse into what life might have really been like for the first man and woman.

Havah is told from the perspective of Eve, and from the opening lines Tosca Lee hooks us with her intoxicating style and clever storytelling. All of the famous events are here: the garden, the fall, the story of Cain and Abel. But make no mistake about it: this is not the version you heard in Sunday school. Lee holds nothing back in her descriptive narrative as she explores the intimate relationship between Adam and Eve and their rugged lifestyle. Eve's firsthand account of the fall is gut wrenching and emotional, bringing yet more vitality to another familiar aspect of this story. I was especially moved and anguished over the beautiful, yet flawed relationship of the first husband and wife.

As the story unfolds Tosca Lee gives some intriguing speculative insight into many of the questions that surround Adam and Eve. How many children did they have? How exactly was the Earth populated? What was their relationship really like? How did they interact with God? Every aspect of this story is backed by careful research and study, and even if you don't agree with Tosca Lee's viewpoint, you have to admire her willingness to re-explore this monumental moment in history.

Havah is a beautiful tale that will awe and inspire you at every turn. With beautiful prose and breathtaking description, Tosca Lee has breathed new life into the story we thought we all knew so well. Allow yourself to step out of the box for a moment and experience a retelling of Adam and Eve that will leave you desperate for more.

The story of Havah drips with the sorrow of womankind from the very first sentence: "I have seen paradise and ruin. I have known bliss and terror. I have walked with God." From there the story unfolds - the story we all know so well - except when you read Havah you realize you really don't know the story so well after all. There are so many things you've never considered, so many emotions you've never felt.

Each page brings new surprises.

Havah is a work of art, and from the other reviews, it sounds like I'm not the only person who feels that way.

Specifically:

-It successfully replaced my flannel-board childhood conception of Adam and Eve and the garden with much richer 3D imagery.

-There was never any point where I said to myself "Dang, that one little choice there kind of screwed up the whole story." All the elements were very wisely and carefully chosen.

-I liked the deliberate avoidance of cliche. I'm a copywriter and there's a phrase we copywriters probably stole from the fiction writers - I'm not sure - but it's "Make the familiar strange, and the strange familiar." Havah accomplishes that. Like the name Tosca chose for Cain. The way she portrayed the serpent. The poetry, the specific ways Eden's perfection devolves into chaos, Eve's clear, consistent, recognizable voice. The estrangement that grows between Havah and the adam.

As I reached the last few chapters, the story developed a running-towards-the-finishline pace. It was reminiscent of the last few chapters of Barbara Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible"... except Poisonwood Bible is an angst-driven drum beat. Havah's is the heartbeat of the mother of humanity and the love of The One.

The final chapter is superb. It brings everything full circle in a most gratifying way. It was almost as though the author started out on a spiritual journey of her own - not quite convinced it would take her where she hoped to go - and found, in the end, that it was even better than she dreamed.

Excellent work, Tosca.

In the memoir/narrative style that worked so well in Demon, A Memoir, Tosca Lee has returned with her sophomore novel which captures the essence of a woman we all have disparaged a time or two. A woman who traded paradise for a lousy piece of fruit. Havah or Eve, as we know her, is a woman we all resent a little if not a lot, after all the rest of us wouldn't have fallen such obvious temptation. Without her choice we'd be mosquito, disease and death free. A rough price tag.

Enter Lee's mesmerizing word weaving and the epic story that spans a thousand years. From Eve's first blink we witness and almost experience ecstasy, whimsy, beauty and the very presence of God in and through all. The reader is invited to feel the wind, taste the wonder of virgin creation, and delight in God's handiwork. One animal in particular seems to be very wise. He befriends Havah and asks profound questions. His eye is always turned toward her, noticing her beauty, her strength and even the love the Creator bestows upon her. And his beauty is beyond anything she sees in Paradise, a remarkable creature full of reflective, glittering, color and light.

I wept as Eve slowly succumbed to that which looked pleasing, smelled delicious and was able to give knowledge. Surely she wouldn't die. Such a simple act. Death from a taste of the forbidden?

A woman who knew no sorrow found herself plunged into it. With each birth, and each death, Havah begins to despair of ever finding her paradise, or of the promise's fulfillment. Death becomes tangible in every season, every face and every relationship. But, through it all, the death, the despair, the gloom shone the promise. A seed, from her own body, to restore and heal, would enter the now broken world and bring the light with it.

Havah is not only a novel full of beautiful prose spinning, it is a book that causes the reader to pause and consider the state of the soul within. As I read Havah, I was faced with a personal struggle regarding whether I would chose to forgive someone close to me. Havah's path toward death convicted me of my own frailties. In Eve's shoes, I would've fallen.

I recommend this novel to everyone. Be forewarned that the themes and the realities are PG -13 -- from the innocent wonder of the first marriage -- to the decay and sin that enters the world.

Eve, called Havah by her mate Adam, came to the Garden in awe and innocence. When she and Adam broke God's rule, they were kicked out of their earthly paradise to live in the wilderness. She tries everything she can think of to obtain forgiveness from the One and return to the Garden, but fails. Instead she learns to survive as she gives birth to children only to learn one son murdered another. If anything, Eve has become a survivor although she has never given up hope of redemption from the One, but as she ages she prays that the next generation gets to go to the Garden.

This biblical biographical fiction is a superb look at the "First Lady" Eve. Using events described in the bible, Tosca Lee provides the emotional reaction of Eve to what occurs. For instance she feels shame when she and her mate are kicked out of the Garden into the wilderness by the One. Readers will appreciate this deep tale of paradise lost from the woman's perspective.

Harriet Klausner

This has been a tough review to write. Not because the book was bad, rather the opposite. It was so incredible, it's difficult to use simple words to describe such a phenomenal book. It swept me into Eve's life with such ease, that I forgot I was not reading history. Generally, biblical fiction is not my favorite read--but this cannot be classified as such! It's beyond description.

I found that Havah is one of the most phenomenal novels I have ever read, gripping me in talons that would not let go. It goes beyond the ordinary ideas about Eve to what feels painfully accurate. What I figured would be a boring topic was anything but. I have never wanted to read about Eve, but could not put this down.

I was captivated from the moment Havah first hears the delight-filled command, "Wake!" until the joy and truth at the completion of her story. I agonized with her through her unsuspecting relationship with the devious serpent, her frightening exile from Eden, and her excruciating growth as a fallen, fallible woman. I walked with her as she experienced the frustration at all she had lost through the heartbreak her choice had caused. The burden of her choice is ever with her, shaming her, and wreaking subtle and clear havoc in her family.

I have never read a book like Havah. It's brilliantly conceived, uniquely delivered, and phenomenally profound.

This is the story of Adam and Eve as it really might have been. The garden of Eden is vivid through the perspective of Havah (Eve), and the unspoiled relationship between the first couple is a thing of beauty. I knew what was coming -- we all know -- but even so, I wept as the depth of their loss and ours was brought home in such a vivid way. Havah's life swept me forward from that event. The writing is poetic and lyrical, the story compelling and captivating. I highly recommend this book!

I was literally entranced while reading the story. I was in the Garden with Eve. I was Eve. It's amazing how Tosca does that with her writing. Havah is written with such passion and conviction you will glimpse into the heart of "the One Who is" and will understand how much He truly delighted in the creation of man and His communion with him.

The emotional pull of this story is truly divine. When Havah cried for Adonai and tried to find him after the fall, it moved my heart. I know just how she felt.

Can you imagine the horror when Adam and Eve realized exactly what they had done? And then there is the blame and betrayal, "It was the woman you gave me." One of the most powerful lines in Havah is very short. It's simply, "We die." But the impact I felt surrounding those words was incredible.

This is not a novel for people who like simple stuff. This is the deeply spiritual memoir of Eve. Thankfully we know how the story ends.

Havah has set a very high standard in the realm of speculative fiction. It's touching, innovative, insightful, imaginative, inspiring, and many other adjectives that will never truly capture the richness in this novel. Lee has created a beautifully crafted story that retails the story of creation, the fall, and life there after from Eve's perspective.

The inherent problem with speculative fiction is it has to compete with preconceived ideas the reader takes into the story. As should be expected, there were times when I preferred my own interpretation and imagination to Lee's. However, there was nothing that I felt was inappropriate or theologically unsound.

What I did find was a creative approach to a rather well known story. Anyone who has spent a minimal amount of time in church has heard the creation story. At times it becomes somewhat stale, but Lee has breathed new life into this story. The paradise portion of Havah reads like poetry, full of colorful descriptions and wonderful excitement. Lee creates a beautiful picture of the earth forming, of lands beyond what they knew and of a place of peace and harmony. We can see the water, feel the wind, and run with the animals.

Moving from paradise to the fall, the story turns very dark and tense, with the perfect world turned into a foreign object. A place full of strife, hardships, broken communication, and shattered dreams. At many times, the story mirrored what we see in our world today. Murders, wars, false religions, etc. However, as in Havah, amidst the hardship is hope and longing for the One and his promise.

Throughout the story, we are often reminded of God's promise and his faithfulness. Eve did not know when or how God would fulfill his promise, only that he would. While we have the benefit of knowing he kept his word, we still live in the broken world. However, just as Eve was not without hope, neither are we. Ultimately, Havah is just as much about us as it is about Eve.

I'm still processing this book. It affected me on a very deep level. The writing style was simply to die for. Much of the novel reads like a gorgeous prose poem. The juxtaposition of explosive joy and unutterable sadness was almost more than my heart could bear. I never dreamed of reading a CBA book with such earthy sensuality. It ministered to my spirit something radical in the realm of sexual politics and the male/female relationship that my subconscious is still working out. All I know for sure is that this book changed my life.