Customer Reviews

Rowing In Eden: A Novel

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With Franny Wahl, the almost fourteen-year-old heroine of Elizabeth Evans fine third novel, Evans has created a character that is at once endearing and terrifying, as are any and all fourteen-year-old girls. In the summer of 1965, Franny's sexuality blooms right under her distracted parents' noses, even as her middle sister, Martie--the observably wild one--sics their alcohol-fueled father on Franny's college age suitor, Ryan Marvell.

As the story progressed, I took every step with Franny: holding back on answering the phone until at least two rings, gazing at the fence where she once sat talking with her beloved and most importantly, Franny's efforts at discovering how to give and receive love without giving up too much of herself.

By the end of the book, I began to empathize even with Franny's parents, hard-drinking, impecunious Brick and relentlessy busy Peg. They are simply confused and overwhelmed with the ways that their world has changed.

Franny Wahl is a girl I believe as much as I believe my own, long ago, fourteen-year-old self.

I found it interesting that one of the editorial reviews for this book contained the following: "Her mother lives in a world bounded by self-delusion, empty rituals, and meaningless cliches." This book is filled with empty rituals and meaningless cliches and was terribly disappointing. I had heard good things about the author, but I fail to see where any of those good things come into play here. This is pretty tedious stuff.

When I first read the back cover of "Rowing In Eden", I thought that it sounded a lot like the film "Inventing the Abbotts." There were many similarities as it turned out, but lots of differences, too.

The book is centered around the Wahl family, especially the three daughters-Rosamund, Martie, and Franny. The novel is told through Franny's eyes, the youngest sister at 13. During the summer of 1965, Franny comes of age at the lakeside resort where she lives.

Her parents seem far too preoccupied with her older sisters to take much notice of her, so Franny spends most of her time writing in her journal, reading poetry, and spending time with her friends. While Rosamund and Martie are entertaining their college friends at a party one night, Franny finds her independance and her first love. From that moment on, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that her older sisters have yet to learn for themselves.

A beautifully-written and very descriptive novel!