Eve: A Novel of the First Woman
Author: Elissa Elliot
Amazon info
The story of Adam and Eve's family - written as "historical fiction". I always enjoy the speculative nature of fiction that tries to explain the Garden of Eden - including the discussions with God. This book emphasizes the essence of faith and the presence of God - even in the light of pain, tragedy, and suffering. But this is not just another "Jonah" tale or "the ways of God are mysterious" - it is thought-provoking. Not enough to provoke me into believing anything though :).
This is the author's first novel and while it hews closely to the text in Genesis, it creates another civilization (somewhat Sumerian in my usually ill-informed opinion) which allows for enough characters to make a story. And Adam's family does wonder about the origins of these people - were there more than one Garden of Eden, more than one God? And this novel even touches on that big taboo subject - who did Adam's sons marry, if the only women were Adam's daughters? Of course, it also raised the doubt as to why Cain was given the famous "mark of Cain" - it is said to protect him from "the others" - but there were no others!
All that aside, I think this book can be enjoyed by the religious and non-religious alike, although I though "The Fallen" by David Maine was more creative.