Customer Reviews

Secrets of Eden: A Novel (Random House Large Print)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

The title alone of Chris Bohjalian's latest book: The Secrets of Eden, drew me in, and never let go. Having read all of this author's books, I can say without a doubt that Bohjalian is one of those talented authors, who can expertly write about controversial subject matters and family issues while keeping the reader hanging on and anxiously turning the pages,

Secrets of Eden takes place in the small town of Haverill, Vermont. The story is told through the perspectives of four central characters. From the very first pages the reader gets a feel of what is going on in the mind of Reverend Stephen Drew of the local Baptist Church......

(p.3) "On those sorts of Sundays, whenever someone would stand and ask for prayers for something relatively minor -- a promotion, traveling mercies, a broken leg that would surely mend --I would find myself thinking as I stood in the pulpit, 'Get a spine, you bloody ingrate! Buck Up! That lady behind you is about to lose her husband to pancreatic cancer, and you're whining about your difficult boss? Oh please! -- I never said that sort of thing aloud, but I think it is only because I'm from a particularly mild mannered suburb of New York City, and so my family has to be drunk, to be cutting. I did love my congregation, but I also knew that I had an inordinate number of whiners."

And, while all small towns have their secrets, no one including the Rev. Drew, was prepared for what would happen on the very day he baptized one of his own parishioners. On the very day that Alice Hayward came to be baptized in Brookner's pond, she along with her husband George would be found dead. The Haywards, along with their teenage daughter Katie were prominent members of the community. At first their deaths were believed to be a murder-suicide, but when the State's attorney, Catherine Benincasa, begins to investigate she is not so sure. Slowly secrets are revealed, which help to unravel the mystery behind the deaths.

I don't want to reveal too much more about this story other than to say that there was one other prominent character in the story which I feel I need to mention. Heather Laurent is an author of spiritual books about angels. While Heather is in the area giving a talk at Bennington College, she hears about the murder-suicide and visits Rev. Drew to see if she can provide some spiritual assistance. Heather seems drawn to the Reverend, and becomes somewhat of a mentor to 15-year old Katie Hayward. Heather, like Katie, lost her parents to spousal abuse when she was about Katie's age.

MY THOUGHTS - In this riveting literary suspense novel, the author does a wonderful job with a difficult subject --spousal abuse, and its effects on a family and community. The author has created a vivid sense of place, a believable story, well drawn out characters and surprises along the way. Readers who enjoy compelling novels that touch on human emotions should not be disappointed with Secrets of Eden. RECOMMENDED

Bohjalian has written a provocative novel of faith and angels, murder and abuse in a bucolic Haverill, Vermont. In alternating chapters, each character reveals his perspective of the local murder-suicide of George and Alice Hayward, as the author explores humanity's tendencies to proffer judgments in the face of tragedy. For Reverend Stephen Drew, the murder-suicide engenders a crisis of faith. Alice was his parishioner, her fifteen-year-old daughter, Katie, a former member of the church's youth group. In fact, Stephen baptized Alice Hayward the morning of her death, Alice's only cryptic comment after her full immersion in the water, "there". Now Stephen is left to ponder the significance of that single word.

Heather Laurent, author of two best-selling books about the existence of angels, is drawn to the tragedy, to Stephen and to Katie, because of her personal history. Angels have had a profound influence on Heather's daily existence; in fact, the appearance of an angel has saved her from a suicide attempt. It is only natural, then, that Heather should find herself at the rectory with Rev. Drew, and through him to Katie, Alice's daughter. The immediate spark between minister and author is undeniable, he of dwindling faith, she full of grace. But reality is seldom as it appears, Heather ultimately facing yet another test of her soul: "I had allowed my mortal judgment to cloud my celestial instincts."

When forensics evidence indicates murder, States Attorney Catherine Benincasa is not inclined toward existential discussions of faith or the beneficence of angels. Hers is a world of cold, hard facts and the facts point to one particular suspect. As local residents clamor for a resolution to the murders within their midst, Benincasa's boss bows to the pressure of his constituency, demanding results sooner rather than later. It is only for lack of critical evidence that the main suspect remains free. Then there is Katie, coping with the enormity of her loss and navigating a place suddenly filled with gossip about her parents and befriended by an ethereal angel of mercy, Heather.

The issue of domestic abuse takes center stage as a primary character, a husband's rage fueled by alcohol, his wife suffering in silence until her death reveals the ugly secrets and collateral damage of a family in crisis. Like a puppeteer, Bohjalian manipulates suspicions, reactions, an unexpected romance and reality obscured by each character's personal prejudices. Bedeviled by moral ambiguity, Secrets of Eden is filled with small, painful truths, angels and horrors dancing unrestrained on the head of a pin. Luan Gaines/2010.

Brief summary and review, no spoilers.

The story starts out just after the deaths of George and Alice Hayward, in an apparent murder/suicide. The location is a small town in Vermont, where many knew that Alice was an abused wife.

The story is broken up into several sections, each narrated by a different person. We hear from the town pastor, who harbors a guilty secret. We hear from a woman who writes books about angels, who becomes involved because her own parents killed themselves in a murder/suicide. We hear from law enforcement, and from family members, including Katie, the only child of the Haywards who is rightfully traumatized by her parents death.

What's nice about this technique of multiple narrators, is that we get a Rashomon like effect - each narrator tells their perspective of the facts, and it is only at the end when we know the complete truth, and how some of what we were told was wrong.

This story is not only a mystery, but also an informative look at spousal battery and alcoholism, and their effect on family members. In fact, we see how addiction and abuse affect can often hinder our ability to make social and personal connections later on in life.

Recommended. If you have enjoyed Chris Bohjalian books in the past, such as Midwives or The Double Bind, you will probably enjoy this.

I loved "Midwives" by this author but this book is a miss for Bohjalian. I did not connect with any of the characters as they were poorly developed. The best part of the book was the first one narrated by Stephen Drew, the minister. With the introduction of Heather Laurent, the angel expert, the book just got weird. To rehash the same chain of events in each part became redundant and boring. And to include Heather's troubled past and strange sister added nothing to the book. The final part by Katie, the daughter of the murdered parents, was overdone with Katie's speculations about her mother's death. And Katie did not come across as a realistic teenager.

This is only the second review I've ever written and I hate reviews that give you a blow by blow of the entire book. When I read a review I only read the first paragraph and the last where the reviewer actually says whether or not she liked the book.

That said, I've been reading Chris Bohjalian forever. I started with "Midwives", was hooked, and went back to his very first. I never stopped. They're all wonderful and "Secrets of Eden" is no exception. He has never written the same book twice. Let me just say it is about spousal abuse taken to the ultimate and is written in four sections narrated by each of the main characters.

There. I couldn't put it down and finished it in record time. I eagerly await Mr. Bohjalian's next novel and hope he lives a long, healthful life so he can continue to keep his audience satisfied.

Some books are written with the equivalent of a scalpel. This one is written like a blunt instrument.

I ordered this book because I found Midwives enchanting, tightly plotted, and well written. Unfortunately, I found Secrets of Eden disappointing from page one, though I kept reading because I expected the plot's intricacies to outweigh the burden of Bohjalian's inelegant prose.

The plot didn't pan out as interestingly as I expected; Bohjalian throws a twist at the end, same as he does Midwives, but after 362 pages of insultingly wordy chapters and unengaging characters, I just didn't care anymore.

Though the book is far too long and the characters boring, the worst crime this novel commits is the failure to "show, don't tell." I work with my 8th graders on this all the time. Bohjalian's editor could stand to teach him a couple of refreshers. I'm tempted to take my red pen to this book and send it back to Random House.

Some examples:

"The Hayward mess wasn't supposed to have any effing complications."
"Has anyone told you that you have the mouth of a teenager?"
"Teenagers don't say effing. No censorship there. And Paul says I sound more like a sailor, thank you very much. And he spends his life around teenagers: I think if I sounded like one, he would have told me by now."
-p. 110

The entire above exchange feels forced, artificial, and unnecessarily repetitive.

"I saw concretely in my mind the way the medical examiner in our corner of New York had placed each of their bodies on the slanted steel table--slanted for drainage--and meticulously described aloud precisely the physical characteristics of each of my parents."
-p. 289

I think about half of the above sentence could be eliminated, starting with the expression between the em dashes and the redundant "meticulously" and "precisely" at the end.

And the worst . . .

"She knew what it was like to suddenly be an orphan (and I am an orphan) and to feel all the time like you're an imposition. And that is what I felt like."
-p. 356

Where do I start? If the speaker, Katie, is saying that someone knew what it felt like to be an orphan, then obviously that is what SHE felt like. The whole passage is about being able to relate. Strike the last sentence. And what's with the parenthetical expression? The reader has known from page one that Katie is an orphan. We already know she sees herself as an orphan; on page 328, she says "Life in Club Orphan has its privileges." So why, on page 356, most of the way through the novel, does she have to reiterate that she IS an orphan?

It's because Bohjalian has no confidence in the reader. Page after page reminds us bluntly of what we've already been told. Reading through this condescending nonsense is a lot of work for very little payout at the end.

The day after Rev. Stephen Drew baptized Alice Hayward, Alice and her husband George were found dead in their home. In the beginning, everyone thought it was a murder-suicide by Alice's abusive husband. However, autopsy revealed someone shot George and soon Rev. Drew who had an affair with Alice became a suspect.

This novel has 4 narrators. First narrator Rev. Stephen Drew feels guilty for not having done enough to save Alice, and loses faith in God. His feeling seems to be genuine until you hear second narrator Catherine Bnincasa's view. Catherine is a deputy state attorney and she believes Drew killed George. You'll be convinced that Drew is a cold heated selfish person by the time you read the 3rd narrator Heather Laurent's view. But, is it the truth? You have to wait until you read the last narrator Katie, the Haywards' 15 year-old daughter.

Bohjalian's `Secrets of Eden' is read like a mystery novel, but it's actually a mystery of human hearts. We tend to have one view and decide that's the truth, but in reality, we are all too complex to be understood completely. Drew's disappointment in God and Heather's belief in Angels add interesting point of view, too. Although there's no surprise (for me at least) in the end, it was a thought provoking read.

After the first 100 pages, I couldn't wait to finish what starts as a really fantastic "who-dunnit"-and by such a great storyteller! Then it becomes a repetitious diatribe about domestic violence as told by several characters who are intricately involved in the lives of the two deceased. Before I was halfway through the book, however, it was clear who the murderer was. Certainly wasn't the character who all suspected. Had it been him, the story was over before it began. Then who could have done it? There weren't enough plausible characters who were candidates and there were no twists. It had to be the most likely candidate because there was no other who could have pulled the trigger.

And those angels! C'mon. It gets old.

Bohjalian is a GREAT writer and storyteller, but after The Double Bind and Skeletons at the Feast, this is just an enormous disappointment.

Sorry, but I want those 5 hours of my life back.

Author Chris Bohjalian gives readers another look into one of the darker and more disturbing aspects of marriage---spousal abuse. At times very graphic, this novel focuses on two abusive marriages and explores the lasting consequences of each.

The story is told in sections by four main characters. Stephen Drew, pastor of a rural Vermont church, recounts the murder of one of his members. Alice Hayward appears to have been murdered by her husband who later took his own life. But it's not long before the minister is himself a suspect in the sensationalized case and secrets begin to be revealed.

Catherine Benincasa, the state's attorney, narrates the second section. After meeting Reverend Drew, she says "the guy had ice in his veins" and sees the case based on what she has observed in her years of experience. She also broaches the theme of grief versus mourning as she begins to gather evidence to convict Drew.

Heather Laurent, a successful writer of books based on encounters with angels, is drawn to the horrific crime scene because she herself is the child of abusive parents whose murders parallel that of the Haywards. She feels the minister needs her, though she is responsive to Katie, the Hayward daughter, and hopes to give her support. Passages from Laurent's writing are sprinkled throughout the story to either elaborate on or foreshadow what is happening in the main story. She becomes entangled with both Stephen Drew and Katie Hayward and finds herself a "person of interest."

Katie Hayward, the daughter, is the most intriguing of the four narrators. At fifteen, she has been orphaned in one of the cruelest ways imaginable and deals with the after-effects of her parents' years of abuse that culminated in the murders. Her remembrances of growing up with an abusive father reveal a frightened child bound by love to a mother she cherished.

The author is able to make his characters multi-dimensional through what they tell us and what others say about them. The mystery of what actually happened that Sunday night at the Hayward home is shocking in the Bohjalian tradition and jolting in its implications. After a somewhat slow start, this novel picks up and races toward a startling ending.

Enjoyed the 4 voices telling the same story but honestly knew "whodunnit" by the third section. That alone does not diminish the impact of the story. As always, this author writes with an authenticity that is unmatched by most. This is one of my recent favorites and if you like to get lost in a book for the weekend, I highly recommend this one!