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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book I've been waiting for . . ., October 4, 2008
This review is from: Havah: The Story of Eve - A Novel (Paperback)
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.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Prose and Breathtaking Description, September 21, 2008
This review is from: Havah: The Story of Eve - A Novel (Paperback)
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.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This biblical biographical fiction is a superb look at the "First Lady" Eve., September 27, 2008
This review is from: Havah: The Story of Eve - A Novel (Paperback)
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
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