The Fallen
Author: David Maine
Amazon info
This is a fictionalized expansion of Genesis, with an emphasis on the first Family - Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Interestingly the story is told in reverse, starting with Cain's death and proceeding back in time to Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden. Since it is told backward, the reader is seeking causes and foreshadowings, not a traditional story line. For me, this plot device worked well.
Fallen also strikes me as a traditional "myth" - in that it attempts to show how various elements of civilization began - Eve is bored and bangs two rocks together, discovering sharp edges; she looks at a spider's web, creates a fishing net; crops are developed, animals domesticated, etc.
A central theme of the book (of which there are many) was the existence of "others". In the first chapter, we find that Cain has been roaming much of his life to escape those who shunned him. But who are these people exactly? It brought up a mystery I have always had about the bible - who did Cain and Abel marry? Was it their mother or their sisters? So, at first I scoffed at the writer with the question of "who are these strangers???" But Maine does address this issue in a number of different ways. We first meet the strangers and wonder from where they came (it is not explained), before then we see Cain ask his father who will he marry, his sister? Adam replies that "God will provide". But the answer of the strangers just raises another issue - if Abel and Cain marry strangers then Adam is not the "Father of all people" - as there is another lineage that was there from the beginning. I guess it shows you can't try to think to hard about fiction :).
I can't tell if the author is a believer or an atheist. I was not offended in any way by the book (which makes me think he is a non-believer). But I conclude that he is a believer in God, although not in the literal interpretation of the Bible.
Highly Recommended: To all, except intolerant religious fundamentalists.