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Outside the Gates of Eden
What happened to the idealism of the 1960s? This question has haunted a generation. Outside the Gates of Eden follows two men from their first meeting in high school to their final destination in the twenty-first century. Alex is torn between his father’s business empire and his own artistic yearnings. Cole finds his calling at a Bob Dylan concert in 1965. From the Summer of Love in San Francisco to Woodstock, from campus protests to the SoHo loft scene, from a commune in Virginia to the outlaw country music of Austin, the novel charts the rise and fall of the counterculture—and what came after. Using the music business as a window into half a century, Outside the Gates of Eden is both epic and intimate, starkly realistic and ultimately hopeful, a War and Peace for the Woodstock generation.
880 pages, Hardcover
First published May 4, 2019
30 people are currently reading
424 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 8, 2019
" Instead of the things they'd asked for, they'd gotten endless war in the Middle East,
resurgent racial violence, the death of the middle class, environmental disaster."
Lewis Shiner puts a spotlight on the "Woodstock Generation" and their 1960's dream for peace, love and brotherhood. Hindsight from five decades of time have shown how their idealism has withered and died. The 'Hippies' ( a meaningless stereotype from media convenience and hype) were answered by Nixon, Reagan, Bush II and Trump. The dream, looking back on it now, lasted about as long as a soap bubble.
This novel is a big, sprawling story about my generation. It explores how and why we dared to believe in ourselves as agents of change, and follows the inevitable story of life as we age out and
are systematically ushered into a reality that was NOT of our choosing. It's uplifting in moments, but ultimately a tale of tragedy and loss. Any dream deferred is a loss to us all.
The grim realities of today illustrate perfectly that greed, hypocrisy, and hatred have won over the masses, evidenced perfectly by mass shootings by middle aged white guys and corporate control of politics and wealth. The children born out of the depression and a World War who dared to believe for a few minutes that they could make a difference with their planet are now melting in global warming and choking on fossil fuels and processed food.
The novel is already being called the "War and Peace" of the Woodstock Generation. Shiner's work is impeccable, as perfect a piece of HISTORIC FICTION as I've ever read. It's so big it will undoubtedly scare many readers away, which is too bad. I found it to be the type of book I didn't want to end!
resurgent racial violence, the death of the middle class, environmental disaster."
Lewis Shiner puts a spotlight on the "Woodstock Generation" and their 1960's dream for peace, love and brotherhood. Hindsight from five decades of time have shown how their idealism has withered and died. The 'Hippies' ( a meaningless stereotype from media convenience and hype) were answered by Nixon, Reagan, Bush II and Trump. The dream, looking back on it now, lasted about as long as a soap bubble.
This novel is a big, sprawling story about my generation. It explores how and why we dared to believe in ourselves as agents of change, and follows the inevitable story of life as we age out and
are systematically ushered into a reality that was NOT of our choosing. It's uplifting in moments, but ultimately a tale of tragedy and loss. Any dream deferred is a loss to us all.
The grim realities of today illustrate perfectly that greed, hypocrisy, and hatred have won over the masses, evidenced perfectly by mass shootings by middle aged white guys and corporate control of politics and wealth. The children born out of the depression and a World War who dared to believe for a few minutes that they could make a difference with their planet are now melting in global warming and choking on fossil fuels and processed food.
The novel is already being called the "War and Peace" of the Woodstock Generation. Shiner's work is impeccable, as perfect a piece of HISTORIC FICTION as I've ever read. It's so big it will undoubtedly scare many readers away, which is too bad. I found it to be the type of book I didn't want to end!
May 27, 2019
A sprawling novel that follows several musicians from the promise of the 60s to the realities of the adulthood in the era of Trump.
The book is enormous - and the pages devoted to the 60s and the music that inspired a generation is truly epic. The details of Dylan, Hendrix, Joplin and dozens of other bands weave effortlessly throughout the narrative. The music biz and how important it was to stay on the cutting edge, the impossibility of staying away from the drugs and sex that were rampant. Many of these characters and situations rang so very true. The very thin line of success or bust is explored.
Ultimately, though, it fails as a true classic and falls short on its attempt to be epic. While the 60s are explored in terrific details, as the decades roll on each decade gets fewer and fewer pages and it uses these times to transistion characters through relationships and jobs and life crisis that move past so fast it's not even possible to absorb them all.
Nevertheless, if you are a music lover, it is such a fun book to read, you'll learn a few things about music as well.
The book is enormous - and the pages devoted to the 60s and the music that inspired a generation is truly epic. The details of Dylan, Hendrix, Joplin and dozens of other bands weave effortlessly throughout the narrative. The music biz and how important it was to stay on the cutting edge, the impossibility of staying away from the drugs and sex that were rampant. Many of these characters and situations rang so very true. The very thin line of success or bust is explored.
Ultimately, though, it fails as a true classic and falls short on its attempt to be epic. While the 60s are explored in terrific details, as the decades roll on each decade gets fewer and fewer pages and it uses these times to transistion characters through relationships and jobs and life crisis that move past so fast it's not even possible to absorb them all.
Nevertheless, if you are a music lover, it is such a fun book to read, you'll learn a few things about music as well.
June 29, 2019
For anyone who came of age in the 60s, this is a wonderful trip through the lives of people we might have known. A well written saga by an author who loves music and people.
August 14, 2022
A trawl through the 1960s and 1970s counterculture in the main (the closing chapters race through subsequent decades), this is an enjoyable saga of two guys who get involved in Haight-Ashbury, Woodstock, the music industry, drugs and sex. It’s something of a valedictory ode to an age where change seemed inevitable but never quite happened. The two main protagonists are from Dallas which is a fascinating choice – its conservatism as a place is contrasted with hip Austin and there is an especially good scene involving a poker match played for high stakes with a bunch of local businessmen. The book is flabby indeed and could have been half as long but it is absorbing nonetheless.
January 15, 2019
I love this book. best novel I've read in years!
June 30, 2022
Maybe being three times as long as the average novel is a handicap that prevented this book from getting any kind of popular attention. Didn't stop me from liking it.
September 10, 2019
Outside the Gates of Eden is an epic, sprawling double gatefold concept album of a novel. It is a poignant and powerful swansong to the end of the twentieth century, to the demise of wide-eyed, often drug-fuelled innocence of the Summer of Love and Woodstock; an elegy to ideals and dreams lost. But through it all, like a pounding John Bonham stomp groove, the enduring power of music and love to redeem us all flows through the heart of the story.
Filled with missed opportunities and wasted time, Outside the Gates of Eden is often bleak, frequently ebullient, but always eminently readable. Shiner takes his endearing cast of characters from students wanting to change the world to retirees who, looking back with regrets at their perception of how little they have achieved, do their best to hand over some hope for the future to the next generation.
Lewis Shiner writes with incredible precision and feeling. With seeming effortlessness he captures the ecstatic joy of live performance, and the rush that comes when music and words slot together perfectly to produce something magical in song writing and recording. His passion for music oozes from every page, but above that, his compassion for the characters drives the narrative and makes the book difficult to put down.
This is one of those rare books that fills me with awe and envy in equal measure. I know I could never have written it, but still I wish I had. I loved it!
Filled with missed opportunities and wasted time, Outside the Gates of Eden is often bleak, frequently ebullient, but always eminently readable. Shiner takes his endearing cast of characters from students wanting to change the world to retirees who, looking back with regrets at their perception of how little they have achieved, do their best to hand over some hope for the future to the next generation.
Lewis Shiner writes with incredible precision and feeling. With seeming effortlessness he captures the ecstatic joy of live performance, and the rush that comes when music and words slot together perfectly to produce something magical in song writing and recording. His passion for music oozes from every page, but above that, his compassion for the characters drives the narrative and makes the book difficult to put down.
This is one of those rare books that fills me with awe and envy in equal measure. I know I could never have written it, but still I wish I had. I loved it!
August 1, 2022
A beast of a book to get through. I took my sweet time and loved it, did take a while to understand the rhythm and flow but once you’re in it there’s no going back.
October 2, 2020
Outside the Gates of Eden is without a doubt one of the greatest things I’ve ever read. This 947 page tome never failed to keep me sprinting through the pages, enveloped as I was in the lives of the numerous characters inhabiting them. I felt that I was right there with Cole, Alex, Dave, Madelyn and co, as familiar and comfortable as old friends or an old favourite album. I did not want this book to ever end, didn’t want to let go of these characters, was almost disappointed when there were years skipped in the narrative (not a criticism, just to show how much I was invested). The way time seemed to speed up, as it inevitably does for us all, was so well-handled; catching up with the cast after every jump in time, nothing ever felt forced or unrealistic, and the sense was that you were truly witnessing the most important moments in their lives. Even if Gates of Eden hadn’t stuck the landing (which it absolutely does), the first part of this book alone, with its whirlwind tour of the ups and downs of both a band’s career and the hippie movement and politics and wars of the sixties, would be worth all the stars. Very few books have carried me away so completely and pulled my emotions in every direction so well. I can’t wait to reread this in later years ; but I know in the meantime I’ll still be thinking about Cole and Alex and Madelyn and Dave and Sallie Rachael and Ava and Susan and Adalberto and Steve for a long time to come. Lewis Shiner has truly given the world a gift with this book. It’s my first from him, but it will not be my last. Do yourself a favour, pick up this beautiful book as soon as humanly possible.
December 5, 2023
A really excellent book and great value - so many stories encapsulated in one huge volume. The book synchronises almost exactly with my own life and so pressed so many pleasant memory buttons on almost every page. It essentially follows the lives of a particular group of characters who met and experienced the sixties/seventies together. It follows their stories on into the 2000s and towards the end of their lives. The author uses the music of the different periods covered by the novel as a catalyst for many of the plot interactions. He does it seamlessly.
The strength of the book lies in the characters themselves and their storylines - both are cleverly created and interesting. Throughout the book the reader is peppered with historical events as they occur alongside the lives of the protagonists. It is deftly done and really adds to the context of the book. ALL VERY GOOD!
The strength of the book lies in the characters themselves and their storylines - both are cleverly created and interesting. Throughout the book the reader is peppered with historical events as they occur alongside the lives of the protagonists. It is deftly done and really adds to the context of the book. ALL VERY GOOD!
September 2, 2019
A pleasure to read and fantastically researched, Shiner's novel is mostly the story of my generation and the slow erosion of the values that appeared to become American in the 60s. The book's span, from that era to our current age of, shall we way, rather different values, is impressive and detailed. That said, the viewpoint is not blind to the faults of the 60s and shows the perilous and eroding passage of idealism through the temptations of self gratification, fame, and greed. The main characters are engaging and one feels their triumphs and frustrations as they unfold. Music is at the heart of the story and Shiner's knowledge of many kinds of music shines like a crazy diamond. A fine novel on a subject that every day recedes further into the distance.
September 6, 2019
An incredible tour de force of the evolution of music and American culture from before Woodstock to the near present. At 860 pages, it looks a bit daunting, but it is a great read. Shiner pulls us easily through with great characters, perspectives, and prose so perfect you don’t notice it or the time flying by. He writes about music and musicians like nobody else, and if you’ve ever played any instrument, ever wanted to, or just want to know what it is like to be caught up in the magic of music, read him! Then there is the historical aspect of it, watching his characters live the changes that shaped our country over the past sixty years. I loved this book, and Shiner’s optimism about our future.
November 6, 2019
I inhaled the entirety of this wonderful book in only 3 days. All 900+ pages. Lewis Shiner's telling of the history and evolution of the counterculture of the 60s rings with truth and veracity. It also rings with the truth of experience. The travails of aspiring musician Jeff Cole and his friends, lovers, enemies and fellow travelers are liberally borrowed and embellished from the author's own life experiences.
December 1, 2019
A well done book that covers a lot of time and territory. It examines America from the sixties to today through the eyes of the Vietnam generation. The characters are engaging and believable. My favorite is Madelyn, whose dreams of becoming an English Literature get sidetracked. She has the most grit of all the characters. She doesn't give up.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
September 19, 2019
Nobody writes fiction about '60s sex, drugs and rock&roll better than Lewis Shiner, and this is his magnum opus, a big, sprawling work about the Woodstock generation's dreams, self-deceptions and eventual implosion. We weren't stardust, we weren't golden, just garden-variety human.
January 16, 2022
It took some time to work myself up to reading this (its thickness is daunting), but I finally finished it after starting about a month ago. The novel is a towering accomplishment and showcases once again how Lew Shiner is one of our greatest living writers.
June 27, 2022
I really loved this. On occasions I felt like it was veering towards cliche but I didn't care because I was fully immersed in the world of these characters. Someone needs to make a playlist of every song mentioned in this book (someone other than me, that is). Highly recommended
September 14, 2022
A very captivating book for someone who wasn't alive in the 60's, but who is very interested of that time. I felt like I really connected with the characters and their struggles in life. An amazing book which I will definitely recommend to anyone.
February 14, 2024
This was a great book, one of Shiner's best. The only problem I had was I thought the ending was kind of silly and implausible. But it didn't in any way damage the value or effectiveness of the rest of the book.
September 29, 2019
a very hard pass on this, thanks.
October 2, 2019
I felt like I knew these characters intimately by the end of this enormous story.
Someone wrote that they envied the person just discovering Lewis Shiner and I agree.
Someone wrote that they envied the person just discovering Lewis Shiner and I agree.
dnf
October 8, 2019It's not that this book is bad, I just struggled to get through this brick
January 18, 2020
The first two thirds of the novel are incredible, the last third unbearable.
Pity...
Pity...
February 4, 2020
Loved the book, loved the characters, loved the time period.
September 24, 2020
Wonderful!
October 24, 2020
Wow - what a ride. Don't get intimidated by the size of this book. It is a terrific tale with its roots in the sixties and ends in the present day. Great characters.
April 24, 2021
Quite a compelling tale, until the last quarter when it keeps bringing more and more unnecessary themes in. And the end chapters are just bizarre, lent nothing to the rest of the story.
December 16, 2021
Very conflicted about this one. Loved the first half of the book so much I couldn’t put it away, but the second part felt unfocussed and a bit forced.
February 15, 2022
Epic and marvelous.
February 21, 2022
Ten stars, if I could. READ THIS ONE.
Best book I've cracked in years.
Cheers.
Best book I've cracked in years.
Cheers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews