Eveless Eden

by Marianne Wiggins

Wiggins, the author of John Dollar and one of the most imaginative writers of fiction today, tells the story of a passionate love affair between a foreign correspondent for an American newspaper and the tough, sexy, talented photographer whom he meets at the site of an ecological disaster in Africa.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Marianne Wiggins is the author of seven books of fiction including John Dollar and Evidence of Things Unseen. She has won an NEA grant, the Whiting Writers' Award, and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, and she was a National Book Award- and Pulitzer Prize-finalist in fiction for Evidence of Things Unseen.

Reviews

[Kristy Knowles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmmm, this book was ok. It was hard to get into and I was only able to read the first few pages without my brain hurting. It's written from the main character POV and he is erratic. It was a struggle. I was basically waiting for the love interest - Lilith - to enter the story as that is what Noah is focusing on from the beginning.

The story picks up when Lilith arrives but falls flat when she leaves. I found that the non-central character depths and story sub-plots were lacking. What is this story without Lilith? It was basically Noah groaning for years about how Lilith was no longer with him whilst he went about his life.

The novel is also described as "psychologically dark" but I was not in the least psychologically disturbed by the psychological events.

"A novel of intrigue and romance follows the adventures of an American journalist and a tough but pretty photographer, who investigate a scandal involving AIDS-tainted blood discovered in a Romanian orphanage"

The main character had literally nothing to do with investigating the AIDS-tainted blood scandal. It's only brought up in the last leg of the novel - it definitely NOT a story of a journalist investigating a scandal but a story of a journalist who is sorry that his lover left him for another man.

[Jana Kasperka · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad this book is out of print. Every couple of years I have to order a new used copy because mine has wandered off with a friend.

The writing can be hard to read at times and the characters are not exactly like able but the story is interesting. It was recommended to me by a creative fiction professor and she was spot on. It's one of my all time favorite books.

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2/5 stars

If you take this book as a snapshot of a pre-9/11, pre-internet world, it's a really interesting story. However, the characters and plot itself fell flat for me and the writing was really difficult to get through.

[Mirrani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I think about this book, the way it is written and the way words fall in place with action, the more I realize I enjoyed it and the more respect for it that I have. There is some strong language in here, so if you object to reading from a character with a foul mouth, you won't want to pick up this book. That sort of thing doesn't bother me, however, so I was able to enjoy it as if it were any other story.

One thing that I found utterly mesmerizing was the fact that each page, instead of having chapter title or book title at the top, had a short summary of the page's contents. "I didn't run fast enough" and "her camera bag" are only two examples of this. I spent some time reading a a page and then looking at the line above, but I also went the other way and read the line before I read the page. I don't know which reading style I enjoyed more. It totally changes the experience in a way.

The story itself was good, about love and loss and pain and reunion, but it ends so abruptly that I almost wondered if I wasn't somehow missing a section. Out of everything, that was the one thing that really put me off. I felt a lot of things while I was reading, I did a lot of thinking, and I was amazed at some of the creative ideas that sprang from me as I read certain parts. This is a very well written book and an enjoyable read, just don't be surprised when you turn the last page and blink quizzically, wondering where the ending went.

[Karla Huebner]

This was a book bought years ago and finally read--it seemed like a good choice for travel, and that proved correct. Two journalists--a writer and a photographer--met in Africa and became lovers, but the novel begins well after their breakup, when the writer learns of the death of the man the photographer left him for. Through the course of the book, we learn about the history of the affair and the kinds of international stories the two were covering, and as the story unfolds at the end of the 1980s, there was much news to report, as well as an unexpected encounter between the two during the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is Romania, however, that proves key, and I won't detail how and why except to say that if you think back to the end and aftermath of the Ceaușescu regime, some ideas might come to mind.

It's a deftly written book from the point of view of one, and one only, character. The ending is perhaps a bit too much like what one would expect in a thriller, but it's not totally out of whack for these particular characters.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book. I received it as a gift, and it’s not something I normally would have purchased. However, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. It had its own distinct writing style, and though the book ends very abruptly, it fits.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never know what to expect with Marianne Wiggins novels. Very well written. Interesting, fascinating personalities, plot turns and twists. Reads as if someone is telling you the story, not as if you are reading it. Will have to find another of hers soon.

[Deltabird · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 star read. Wiggins' writing is smart and intimate. My aim is to read all her work.