Eden: A Novel

by Kevin May

In a world divided, a new revolution is our only hope. Eden is about each one of us, exposed through the spiritual wanderings of the multi-dimensional Daniel, a successful businessman seeking to escape the tragic realities of our post-9/11 world. Having just completed an extended international business tour, Daniel's long awaited reward was only a matter of hours away - a pleasure-filled weekend in paradise. However, his journey took an unexpected detour and headed straight to hell. Turns out, Daniel's pleasure-filled weekend was precisely that, and so much more. Eden takes a psychologically raw and often irreverent look at our current state of affairs, while weaving a tantalizing tale filled with seduction, suspense and conflict. Shamefully honest, riotously self-deprecating and seriously intriguing, Eden leads you through Daniel's vivid world of diverse cultures, faraway places, prophetic perspectives and extraordinary encounters. If you believe there are no coincidences, Eden promises to be a life-changing, even revolutionary experience.

First published May 2, 2008

About the author

Kevin first visited the island of Key West in the 1980s, became entranced by her fantastical allure and funky charm, leaving him with the dream of someday making that tropical paradise his home. The decades to follow were a blur of business and pleasure, accompanied by the responsibilities such escapades demand. Growing weary of the high life, Kevin dropped from the radar to pursue the freedom that can only be found in the simple life. Today, his longing fulfilled, Kevin lives in Old Town Key West and is a naturalized citizen of the Conch Republic.

Reviews

[Karen Kress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise. Kept me curious how it would end!

[V H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phil lent me this book a few days ago, telling me it's a really good book and I have to read it. I'm glad he did.

The first thing that came to mind as I started reading it is that May is not a writer, the writing style can be a bit confusing at times and the layout of the book is not what you would expect from a novel. However, that's understandable as it is a retelling of true events with varying degrees of accuracy as May himself writes in the prologue.

The book has a lot of religion in it. The main character (May) is a very religious person and thinks about God a lot, God has a big influence on his life. I'm not a religious person, and the first time I realised just how religious he was while reading the book it almost made me a little uncomfortable, but his belief is an important part of the book and it was quite interesting to get an insight into his thoughts on his own beliefs.

It's a very thought provoking book, I actually already started writing this post while I was on page 44, I just had to make sure I got my thoughts on it down before I forgot. However, although it was thought-provoking and I wanted to find out what would happen, I did struggle getting through it, it didn't really keep my attention. Starting to write this review, of sorts, helped me finish the book I think, as I wanted to finish the review also.

The first half of the book was weird and very thought provoking, but the second half was just weird, to me anyway. It was an interesting book, to be honest I can't quite believe it's supposed to be true, but weird things happen in real life.