Science & Technology - Fiction, Religion & Beliefs - Fiction, Space Exploration - Fiction, Thrillers
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Overview
By decoding light from space, Lucy Bergmann’s astrophysicist husband discovers the existence of extraterrestrial life; their friend, anthropologist Pierre Saad, unearths from the sands of Egypt an ancient alternative version of the Book of Genesis. To religious fanatics, these discoveries have the power to rock the foundations of their faith. Entrusted to deliver this revolutionary news to both the scientific and religious communities, Lucy becomes the target of Perpetuity, a secret society. When her small plane crashes, Lucy finds herself in a place called Eden with an American soldier named Adam, whose quest for both spiritual and carnal knowledge has driven him to madness.
Set against the searing debate between evolutionists and creationists, Adam & Eve is a thriller, a romance, an adventure, an idyll—a tour de force from Sena Jeter Naslund, one of the most imaginative and inspired writers of our time.
Editorials
USA Weekend
"Filled with the fear Naslund witnessed, the characters ...come to life ....Naslund succeeds splendidly in making history a page-turner."Detroit Free Press
"This is a wonderful, wonderful novel ...[Naslund] has blown a deep breath of life into Four Spirits."Louisville Courier Journal
"Adam & Eve has the potential of making not simply a splash, but a small tsunami. The novel is nothing less than a futuristic gloss on all creation, pitting religious fundamentalism against the discovery of extraterrestrial life"New York Times Book Review
"Surprisingly affecting. "Boston Globe
"[A] charming parable...but along the way, Naslund weaves into the story an effective condemnation of dogma and religious zealotry as well as an understated plea for open-mindedness and tolerance."Bookreporter.com
"[Adam & Eve] transcends the boundaries of the genres it flirts with. In the hands of a lesser storyteller, it might degrade into a flimsy pastiche, but Sena Jeter Naslund’s lyrical, exact prose kept me engaged."Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"This is a brave and multifaceted book, propelled by a mission, and ...it is a page-turner."People
“Exceptional...A richly detailed portrait of an opulent, turbulent time, revealing the Queen’s journey from frivolity to responsibility, and from palace to prison cell to be one of striking beauty and terrible loss. 4 stars.”Christian Science Monitor
"A wealth of period details...the queen faces imprisonment and beheading with both charm and a new dignity, even the most cynical reader will wish for a last-minute pardon."Elle
"[Naslund] shed[s] light on what the creation myth (and religious fanaticism) reveals about the human condition: that however formative our beginnings may be, they can always give way to the drama of rebirth. In Adam & Eve, Naslund asks, Which is really more important to us?"San Diego Union-Tribune
"Naslund’s insight and craftsmanship ...capture the complexities and cultural nuances of the times."Alabama Writers' Forum
“A really satisfying surprise ending.”New York Times
“Provocative”Huntsville Times
“Adam & Eve is a book about passions—a carefully crafted mosaic of devoted love, gut-wrenching betrayal, religious extremism, scientific inquiry, artistic expression…a wonderfully imaginative romp.”Huntsville Times on ADAM & EVE
“Adam & Eve is a book about passions—a carefully crafted mosaic of devoted love, gut-wrenching betrayal, religious extremism, scientific inquiry, artistic expression…a wonderfully imaginative romp.”Louise Erdrich on Ahab's Wife
“An intense treat, powerfully written, Ahab’s Wife is one of the best contemporary novels I have read in years.New York Times on ADAM & EVE
“Provocative”Alabama Writers' Forum on ADAM & EVE
“A really satisfying surprise ending.”People Magazine
"Exceptional...A richly detailed portrait of an opulent, turbulent time, revealing the Queen’s journey from frivolity to responsibility, and from palace to prison cell to be one of striking beauty and terrible loss. 4 stars."USA Weekend
“Filled with the fear Naslund witnessed, the characters ...come to life ....Naslund succeeds splendidly in making history a page-turner.”Louisville Courier Journal
“Adam & Eve has the potential of making not simply a splash, but a small tsunami. The novel is nothing less than a futuristic gloss on all creation, pitting religious fundamentalism against the discovery of extraterrestrial life”People
“Exceptional...A richly detailed portrait of an opulent, turbulent time, revealing the Queen’s journey from frivolity to responsibility, and from palace to prison cell to be one of striking beauty and terrible loss. 4 stars.”Detroit Free Press
“This is a wonderful, wonderful novel ...[Naslund] has blown a deep breath of life into Four Spirits.”Elle
“[Naslund] shed[s] light on what the creation myth (and religious fanaticism) reveals about the human condition: that however formative our beginnings may be, they can always give way to the drama of rebirth. In Adam & Eve, Naslund asks, Which is really more important to us?”Boston Globe
“[A] charming parable...but along the way, Naslund weaves into the story an effective condemnation of dogma and religious zealotry as well as an understated plea for open-mindedness and tolerance.”New York Times Book Review
“Surprisingly affecting. ”San Diego Union-Tribune
“Naslund’s insight and craftsmanship ...capture the complexities and cultural nuances of the times.”Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“This is a brave and multifaceted book, propelled by a mission, and ...it is a page-turner.”Christian Science Monitor
“A wealth of period details...the queen faces imprisonment and beheading with both charm and a new dignity, even the most cynical reader will wish for a last-minute pardon.”Bookreporter.com
“[Adam & Eve] transcends the boundaries of the genres it flirts with. In the hands of a lesser storyteller, it might degrade into a flimsy pastiche, but Sena Jeter Naslund’s lyrical, exact prose kept me engaged.”Publishers Weekly
Naslund (Ahab's Wife) delivers a cheesy blend of futuristic thriller, pseudoreligious speculation, and idyllic romance. In 2017, Lucy Bergmann's astrophysicist husband is murdered just before he is to reveal the existence of extraterrestrial life. Now, as the keeper of a copy of his data, Lucy's being stalked by the leaders of a sect called Perpetuity, who intend to destroy any challenge to their fundamentalist beliefs. And when Lucy agrees to transport an ancient scroll that offers an alternate version of the Book of Genesis from Cairo to the Dordogne, she becomes a double target. Lucy pilots a plane (this convenient ability is indicative of the preposterous plot) and crash-lands in Mesopotamia, where she meets a gorgeous, naked man named Adam (an American GI gone a touch nutty) who nurses her back to health in a facsimile of the Garden of Eden. Their chaste but busy domesticity is eventually threatened by the evil Perpetuity crew, and they face even more danger after an escape to France. It's embarrassingly bad in every way, from the dopey conceit of a 21st-century Eden to the paper-thin characters who spout ersatz philosophy and spiritual theorizing while enjoying the cloying clichés of romance fiction. (Oct.)Book Details
Published
July 26, 2011
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
384
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780061579288