Leaving Eden (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"In the beginning..." traditionally opens the Judeo-Christian story of origins; but this provocative novel by historical fiction writer Chamberlin (The Reign of the Favored Women) wrestles with what happened before the beginning. The down-to-earth style of the narrative is set early on with a sly feminist joke ("Oh, Adam.... He thinks he's the only man in the world. He always has") and proceeds to explore the world of Na'amah, Adam's daughter by his first wife, Lilith, the immortal mother/goddess who vanished when Na'amah was still an infant. Now 15-year-old Na'amah is a respected storyteller, with a resentful, brooding father. Adam has grown restless without a wife, since tribal laws hold that a man cannot remarry while children from the first marriage live, unless he kills a great bull aurochs, an animal not seen since Adam's father's time. But Na'amah anxiously notes the increasing sensual tension between Adam and a woman from another tribe, called Eve. Soon enough, Adam begins to challenge the clan's laws to support his desire to take Eve as his wife. His increasingly delusional state separates him from the tribe, with Eve joining him in his dramatic estrangement. Na'amah trails the wayward couple, hoping to prevent disaster, but as Adam begins to make claims to a new God, "his" God, the peaceful valley of Eden is shaken. Lilith reappears to refute Adam's heresies and to challenge his selfish views. Chamberlin herself challenges traditional Christian theology in her supposition that Goddess Lilith preceded Adam's God, and in the book's surprising finale. Fans of Jean Auel, Linda Lay Shuler and the Gears (Kathleen O'Neal and W. Michael) will enjoy these strong, fascinating and multifaceted characters as well as the details that enliven the visionary panorama of Chamberlin's fine speculative fiction. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In a dramatic departure from her well-known series set in the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century (e.g., The Reign of the Favored Women, LJ 8/98), Chamberlin takes a step further back in time to explore the biblical story of Adam and Eve. But this is not a faithful retelling of the Genesis story; as narrated by the daughter of Lillith, the mythical first wife of Adam, it casts the principle characters in an unfavorable light. Adam, in particular, is selfish, weak, and determined to replace the goddess-worship practiced by his clan with his own male godlike figure, the Auruch, a prehistoric bull-like animal. Eve is a youthful, self-centered temptress who never sees the folly of her allegiance to Adam in spite of the destruction of the clan's traditions and values. Though Chamberlin doesn't go into great anthropological detail, Lilith appears to come from a race of people who lived prior to modern man and are now extinct. The writing descends into a somewhat heavy-handed diatribe against men from time to time, but the story will appeal to those who are attracted to a more goddess-worshiping, female-centered way of life.AJane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (July 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312865503
• ISBN-13: 978-0312865504
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,850,530 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique perspective on the Creationist theory, March 21, 2001

By	Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I could not put this book down as it was an engrossing read narrated by Adam's daughter, Na'amah, by his first wife Lilith. It weaves in ancient folklore with whispers of Lilith, the Mother Goddess of all the earth. And Na'amah tells the story softly to enchant the readers into listening to what may have happened in the Garden of Eden. It weaves together the creationist and evolution theories together.

I must be brutally honest here ~~ I did not care for Adam and Eve in this story. I walked away with the impression that those two are incredibly selfish and bent on having their own way of doing life. In the hunter-gatherer age, the clan was very vital for survival. No one could survive outside of the clan. Adam came up with a new vision to create a new beginning of the way life should be ~~ a farmer rooted in one spot. It's a great vision ~~ for it led the way to our lifestyles today ~~ but to accomplish that, he had to deny the daughter he had. Na'amah wanted nothing more than to haver her father to love her ~~ which he was never able to do, especially after he set eyes on Eve. He wasn't allowed to marry Eve because of the tradition that a man should never remarry while the offspring of his first wife was still alive. He literally had to resort to murder to accomplish his dream of marrying Eve.

It is an awesome feat of changing the way a clan shall live from then on ~~ that is how things evolve over time. Adam can be credited with having the foresight of changing the future ~~ but he can also be credited with destroying a beautiful way of life and for destroying the garden. Eve in this book is nothing more than an immature child with eyes only for Adam. She was the temptress ~~ but so immature!

I could go on and on with discussing this book but I better not ~~ so you can read the book yourself. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant (I think that's her last name!). "Leaving Eden" is a book that leaves you feeling that your vision of Eden is slightly altered ~~ it is a what if book ~~ what if Adam hadn't met Eve, what if Eve was a different woman, and what if the ruler of the universe is a woman. It just gives you a different perspective of how things could have been. It is a book that requires a lot of imagination ~~ just listen to Na'amah tell the story and listen carefully. It'll be worth your journey.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liliths [e-mail], November 16, 2000

By	"lilithsown13" (Traverse City, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Ann Chamberlin did a wonderous job on the book, her poetic discriptions made the book not only a master piece but it made it come alive. With the facts of Lilith (adams first wife) and a fictional outlook on a the times taken place. I do say that this book is not ment for children under 17 for the material that it does cover throughout the book. Another thing that Ann Chamberlin did to make this book great was putting the book not in the eyes of Lilith or in a third person view but in the view of Liliths daugther (Na'amah). Ann Chamberlin Discribes Na'amah as being abandoned and left to take care of Adam (her father), which in this case brings fact and fiction to the story. With this event Ann Chamberlin puts a sublime twist to the book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very different take on the ADAM AND EVE saga, June 10, 1999

By A Customer

Adam knows the law periodically enforced by the Mother Goddess, Lilith that man must never take a second wife as long as the children of his first spouse live. However, for fifteen years, the clan members discuss Adam's loneliness and need for a helpmate. In many respects, Adam blames his daughter Na'amah, begat from his union with Lilith, for his forlorn situation. If she was never born, he could find a new mate to replace his first wife the Mother Goddess.

With Lilith absent for over a decade and a half, Adam heeds the words of a new God. He is encouraged to mate with Eve, a former member of a different clan. The female members of his own clan recognize the new relationship and begin to whisper "Adam and Eve". However, everyone fears the wrath of Lilith, who will know that Adam has violated the law and slept with Eve. Her punishment for defying one of her prime directives could be death or banishment from Eden forever.

LEAVING EDEN is an incredible pre-historic fiction work that retells the story of Adam and Eve. The fast-paced story line leaves readers enthralled with the characters and Ann Chamberlin's ability to tell an exciting tale. Told in the third person by Na'amah, Adam is described as arrogant, loving, yet filled with resentment. Eve is a friend and a rival. Anyone who takes pleasure from the great biblical love story rewritten based on modern historiography's approach to prehistory will want to peruse Ms. Chamberlin's latest masterpiece.

Harriet Klausner