Wall Around Eden [Paperback]

Joan Slonczewski (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two decades after a nuclear war, small enclaves survive the destruction of the ozone layer, somewhat protected by walls of air established by the alien floating globes that the radiation-contaminated humans call angelbees. Isabel Garcia-Chase comes of age in Gwynwood in what was formerly Pennsylvania, rebelling against the angelbees, who communicate with humans only through a now-dying Contact and forbid the use of much technology, including radios. The enclaves, the largest of which is in Australia, keep in touch with each other through the angelbee-operated Pylons which provide instantaneous transmission. While Isabel and others believe the angelbees either caused the devastation or at least exacerbated it, the Quakers who mostly populate Gwynwood see them as saviors. After an act of rebellion, Isabel and her new husband, Daniel Scattergood, are taken into the Pylon and they begin to learn more about the aliens. Slonczewski ( Still Forms on Foxfield ) writes a thoughtful and unusual after-the-holocaust novel, strongly infused with the Quaker outlook. Its slow but careful pace rewards the reader with such beautifully developed characters as Peace Hope Scattergood, born without hands and a talented painter, and a hopeful view of humanity and its future.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the wake of the Death Year's atomic holocaust, an alien invasion imposes a kind of peace upon the survivors of a shattered Earth until a small community of Quakers decides to confront the saviors with their own version of resistance. The author of A Door into Ocean ( LJ 12/1/85) juxtaposes the horrors of nuclear aftermath and the persistence of human hope with rare skill and grace. Recommended for sf collections.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (November 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038071177X
• ISBN-13: 978-0380711772
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,278,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Lyn Slonczewski is a microbiologist at Kenyon College and a science fiction writer. Her novel "The Highest Frontier" shows a college in a space habitat financed by a tribal casino and protected from deadly ultraphytes by Homeworld Security. According to Alan Cheuse at NPR, her book invents "a worldwide communications system called Toy Box that makes the iPhone look like a Model-T Ford."

Slonczewski's classic book, "A Door into Ocean" (Campbell Award) depicts an ocean world run by genetic engineers who repel an interstellar invasion using nonviolent methods similar to Tahrir Square. In her book "Brain Plague," intelligent microbes invade human brains and establish microbial cities. She also authored with John W. Foster the leading microbiology textbook, Microbiology: An Evolving Science (W. W. Norton).

Author blog: ultraphyte.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good and Unconventional Science Fiction, July 30, 2001

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wall Around Eden (Hardcover)

This book is an interesting combination of pacifist-Quaker tract, coming of age novel, and post-holocaust science fiction. The story is set in a near future after a nuclear holocaust-nuclear winter. There are small colonies of survivors in communities maintained by enigmatic aliens, whom some survivors suspect of triggering the holocaust. The main character is a young woman coming to maturity in a community of survivors in Pennsylvania, a community where many survivors are Quakers. The point of the story is the necessity of pacifism and Quaker respect for life beliefs. The characterization is convincing and the author's depiction of this future is equally convincing. The quality of writing is very good.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Tale of Salvation Wrapped in Doomsday Aliens meet Small Town Pennsylvania, April 12, 2009

By 

Andrew Ho - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wall Around Eden

The Wall around Eden is a cautionary tale that illustrates consequences of human tendancies to solve problems through violence. Joan Slonczewski spins the tale at leisurely pace and develops the cast of characters to teach lessons of utmost importance that face human survival. As a lover of Science Fiction, this is a worthy gem to appreciate.

As a resident of Pennsylvania, this novel helps me appreciate the world view of the Quakers and the rationale of their practices. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the Quakers. Congratulations Joan on this masterpiece!

5.0 out of 5 stars Post Doomsday Quaker and Jewish lessons about compassion and stewardship, April 12, 2009

By 

Andrew Ho - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

The Wall around Eden is a cautionary tale that illustrates consequences of human tendancies to solve problems through violence. Joan Slonczewski spins the tale at leisurely pace and develops the cast of characters to teach lessons of utmost importance that face human survival. As a lover of Science Fiction, this is a worthy gem to appreciate.

As a resident of Pennsylvania, this novel helps me appreciate the world view of the Quakers and the rationale of their practices. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the Quakers. Congratulations Joan on this masterpiece!