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El libro de Eva
Carmen Boullosa ha sido galardonada con el Premio Excelencia en las Letras José Emilio Pacheco 2023, otorgado por la Feria Internacional de la Lectura de Yucatán (FIley) y UC-Mexicanistas.
Finalista de la IV Bienal de Novela Vargas Llosa
«Si fuera verdad (definitivamente no lo es) que Adán fue creado de polvo y un soplo, al primero lo acarreó el Ángel de la Muerte, y el soplo que lo insufló, por lo tanto, fue de pavor y odio.»
Y si todo lo que se nos ha contado sobre el Paraíso fuera al revés? Frente a lo que pareciera un manuscrito apócrifo que contiene diez libros y 91 pasajes, Eva decide contar su versión: ni fue creada a partir de la costilla de Adán, ni es exacto que fuera expulsada por la manzana y la serpiente, ni la historia de Abel y Caín es la que cuentan, ni la del Diluvio, ni la de la Torre de Babel…
Con una brillante prosa, Carmen Boullosa le da una vuelta de tuerca al libro del Génesis para desmontar la figura masculina y reconstruir el mundo, el origen de la gastronomía, la domesticación de los animales, el cultivo de la tierra y el placer, a través de la mirada femenina. A partir de esta exploración, a veces divertida y otras dolorosa, El libro de Eva hace un repaso por las historias que nos han contado y que han ayudado a fomentar (y cimentar) la absurda idea de que la mujer es compañera, complemento y hasta accesorio del hombre, lo que abre la puerta a la violencia criminal contra las mujeres. Boullosa las desmiente y las transgrede en esta novela feminista, fundacional y desfachatada.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
"If it were true (it definitely is not) that Adam was created of dust and a single breath, the first was carried by the Angel of Death, and the breath that gave him life, therefore, was one of dread and hatred."
What if everything they’ve told us about the Garden was the other way around? Faced with what appears to be an apocryphal manuscript containing ten books and 91 passages, Eve decides to tell her version: she was neither created from Adam's rib, nor is it exact that she was expelled by the apple and the serpent, nor is story they tell of Abel and Cain true, neither that of the Flood, nor that of the Tower of Babel...
With brilliant prose, Carmen Boullosa gives a twist to the book of Genesis to dismantle the male figure and rebuild the world, the origin of gastronomy, the domestication of animals, the cultivation of land and pleasure, through the feminine gaze. Based on this exploration, sometimes fun and other times painful, The Book of Eve takes a tour through the stories they’ve told us and which have helped to foster (and cement) the absurd idea that woman is the companion, complement, and even accessory to man, which opens the door to criminal violence against women. Boullosa refutes and breaks them in this feminist novel, foundational and brazen.
Finalista de la IV Bienal de Novela Vargas Llosa
«Si fuera verdad (definitivamente no lo es) que Adán fue creado de polvo y un soplo, al primero lo acarreó el Ángel de la Muerte, y el soplo que lo insufló, por lo tanto, fue de pavor y odio.»
Y si todo lo que se nos ha contado sobre el Paraíso fuera al revés? Frente a lo que pareciera un manuscrito apócrifo que contiene diez libros y 91 pasajes, Eva decide contar su versión: ni fue creada a partir de la costilla de Adán, ni es exacto que fuera expulsada por la manzana y la serpiente, ni la historia de Abel y Caín es la que cuentan, ni la del Diluvio, ni la de la Torre de Babel…
Con una brillante prosa, Carmen Boullosa le da una vuelta de tuerca al libro del Génesis para desmontar la figura masculina y reconstruir el mundo, el origen de la gastronomía, la domesticación de los animales, el cultivo de la tierra y el placer, a través de la mirada femenina. A partir de esta exploración, a veces divertida y otras dolorosa, El libro de Eva hace un repaso por las historias que nos han contado y que han ayudado a fomentar (y cimentar) la absurda idea de que la mujer es compañera, complemento y hasta accesorio del hombre, lo que abre la puerta a la violencia criminal contra las mujeres. Boullosa las desmiente y las transgrede en esta novela feminista, fundacional y desfachatada.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
"If it were true (it definitely is not) that Adam was created of dust and a single breath, the first was carried by the Angel of Death, and the breath that gave him life, therefore, was one of dread and hatred."
What if everything they’ve told us about the Garden was the other way around? Faced with what appears to be an apocryphal manuscript containing ten books and 91 passages, Eve decides to tell her version: she was neither created from Adam's rib, nor is it exact that she was expelled by the apple and the serpent, nor is story they tell of Abel and Cain true, neither that of the Flood, nor that of the Tower of Babel...
With brilliant prose, Carmen Boullosa gives a twist to the book of Genesis to dismantle the male figure and rebuild the world, the origin of gastronomy, the domestication of animals, the cultivation of land and pleasure, through the feminine gaze. Based on this exploration, sometimes fun and other times painful, The Book of Eve takes a tour through the stories they’ve told us and which have helped to foster (and cement) the absurd idea that woman is the companion, complement, and even accessory to man, which opens the door to criminal violence against women. Boullosa refutes and breaks them in this feminist novel, foundational and brazen.
331 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2020
83 people are currently reading
1687 people want to read
About the author
Carmen Boullosa
79 books183 followersCarmen Boullosa (b. September 4, 1954 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a leading Mexican poet, novelist and playwright. Her work is eclectic and difficult to categorize, but it generally focuses on the issues of feminism and gender roles within a Latin American context. Her work has been praised by a number of prominent writers, including Carlos Fuentes, Alma Guillermoprieto and Elena Poniatowska, as well as publications such as Publishers Weekly. She has won a number of awards for her works, and has taught at universities such as Georgetown University, Columbia University and New York University (NYU), as well as at universities in nearly a dozen other countries. She is currently Distinguished Lecturer at the City College of New York. She has two children -- Maria Aura and Juan Aura -- with her former partner, Alejandro Aura --and is now married to Mike Wallace, the Pulitzer Prize–winning co-author of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898.
(from Wikipedia)
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
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June 16, 2023so many people on here who can't stand that a woman might hate men... yes, cry more little babies!!
August 11, 2023
I was fascinated by the cover picture – could it be what I thought it was? Chapter 36 confirmed what I thought.
Moving on: It would appear the author is suggesting an alternative to the story of Adam and Eve and upending the story to become Eve and Adam. It didn’t work for me. I couldn’t care less.
290 pages of rubbish.
Moving on: It would appear the author is suggesting an alternative to the story of Adam and Eve and upending the story to become Eve and Adam. It didn’t work for me. I couldn’t care less.
290 pages of rubbish.
January 11, 2022
I didn't like it, I consider myself feminism, however this book is very radical about it.
I do understand our history has favored men over women, and we do need to fight for our rights, however this book goes very far from it, I kind of think author hates men, and that is not the purpose of being feminisms
I do understand our history has favored men over women, and we do need to fight for our rights, however this book goes very far from it, I kind of think author hates men, and that is not the purpose of being feminisms
November 8, 2023
Really enjoyed this book. It portrays the callouses created by living as a woman, and highlights the everlasting strength that gets us through it. It is heartbreaking to relive the experiences of our ancestral women, yet comforting to see how intertwined we still are, and how we will persevere; be it through rage, hope, pleasure, or survival.
I could've used this book three years ago and I urge all women to give this a read.
I could've used this book three years ago and I urge all women to give this a read.
June 21, 2021
Auto confrontación
July 18, 2023
¿Y si todo hubiera sido al revés? La mirada de Eva nos permite ver el Génesis desde otra perspectiva tan necesaria, con tanto humor como dolor…
May 17, 2021
Un delicioso texto que confronta Los Mitos fundadores, sus imágenes: lo que es propio de Adán, lo que es propio de Eva.
Con un juego tejido de varios puntos de vista, se sugiere que, de cualquier modo, hay muchas posibilidades, especialmente falsas, para todo verdadero inicio, o punto de partida, fundación, etc.
La prosa de Carmen es aquí pura música. Asemeja el morder de aquella primera manzana que hizo de Eva a su propio encuentro; se nace otro mundo; le hace aparecer en cada pasaje: masticamos pasajes.
No se trata de un texto temerario, si no necesario. Valdría la pena leerlo porque, ¿a caso el mundo no nos ha enseñado a ser espejo de esa Eva arbitrio de hombres y otros poderes de suyos?
Con un juego tejido de varios puntos de vista, se sugiere que, de cualquier modo, hay muchas posibilidades, especialmente falsas, para todo verdadero inicio, o punto de partida, fundación, etc.
La prosa de Carmen es aquí pura música. Asemeja el morder de aquella primera manzana que hizo de Eva a su propio encuentro; se nace otro mundo; le hace aparecer en cada pasaje: masticamos pasajes.
No se trata de un texto temerario, si no necesario. Valdría la pena leerlo porque, ¿a caso el mundo no nos ha enseñado a ser espejo de esa Eva arbitrio de hombres y otros poderes de suyos?
June 7, 2022
Es una novela muy bien escrita, la forma de describir lugares, sabores y cosas es espectacular. Le pongo dos estrellas porque me parece un libro escrito desde el resentimiento, cae justamente en lo mismo que critica pero a la inversa, es decir contra los hombres. Esperaba un libro lleno de esperanza y cosas bellas pero para nada fue así.
September 8, 2023
Although I can't say I "enjoyed" reading this book, I was really intrigued by a lot of what was said is in this book. I give it three stars but I can see how this could be many others favorite book. I can also see how some might absolutely hate it. It kind of feels like a book version of a cult classic movie that peoplr either love or hate. Unfortunately, there are so many aspects of this book that I miss out on not having grown up around religion and only knowing the Sunday school basics of Adam and Eve. There's a lot of allusions and references I know I missed that I'm sure would've made this retelling more resonant. Despite not loving it, the book is interesting If mainly for a niche audience.
August 9, 2024
worth reading- i liked the concept of it but i think bc i haven’t whole heartedly subscribed to the Bible’s genesis, it wasn’t really as shocking as intended. i can imagine it would be a five star book to someone who has grown up knowing the Bible’s genesis to be the full and total truth
July 3, 2024
for sure interesting but i didn’t connect with the book much.
September 9, 2025
la idea está bien, pero se queda flojilla
October 13, 2023
This is one of the stupidest and inane books I have ever read in my life. It reads like the writer was on a bad acid trip and dreamed up the narrative.
It is a “retelling” of the story of creation, of Adam, Eve, their sons, and their offspring. Eve claims the Bible story is incorrect and tells her own story. She claims she built the ark, not Noah, and that Noah stole the story from her. She claimed she helped build the Tower of Babel and that an earthquake is what felled it.
The book contains some wild narratives that defy imagination. Eve claimed she conceived a horse in her hair. She also said she created her own anus by scratching a hole at the base of her spine, and did the same for Adam. As I said, the author came up with some wild scenarios for the book. It was not at all what I expected. I could not wait to finish it and move on to something better to read.
It is a “retelling” of the story of creation, of Adam, Eve, their sons, and their offspring. Eve claims the Bible story is incorrect and tells her own story. She claims she built the ark, not Noah, and that Noah stole the story from her. She claimed she helped build the Tower of Babel and that an earthquake is what felled it.
The book contains some wild narratives that defy imagination. Eve claimed she conceived a horse in her hair. She also said she created her own anus by scratching a hole at the base of her spine, and did the same for Adam. As I said, the author came up with some wild scenarios for the book. It was not at all what I expected. I could not wait to finish it and move on to something better to read.
January 16, 2021
A retelling of biblical creation story recounted from Eve’s perspective. The book has an element of folklore that lent itself nicely to the story, especially considering the oral tradition of creation myths. I was intrigued by the feminist reinterpretation, but it didn’t work for me. I wish the story threads and characters were developed further to move the story away from the biblical dichotomy we are familiar with, man v woman; good v evil, etc. I will say that the author succeeded in breathing life into Eve and her role beyond her place as the so called mother of humanity/source of human suffering. The folktale vibe also worked quite well with the story.
August 14, 2023
3.5 Stars
This is a feminist re-telling of the Book of Genesis. Told from Eve’s perspective, it challenges the Biblical patriarchal narrative.
According to Eve, she, not Adam, is the first human; Eden is not a paradise; the knowledge gained by her eating a fruit is essential, not damning; Abel, not Cain, is the villain; Noah never builds an ark; and the Tower of Babel is destroyed by an angry Earth. Eve’s story, however, is subverted by Adam. Jealous of Eve, he distorts the truth of creation and places himself at the centre and establishes a religion which sidelines Eve and all women.
Eve’s depiction of Eden is interesting. She describes it as bland and “a tepid emptiness, a void.” It is a place with “nothing good, nothing bad, no clothes, no scent, no taste, no words.” Leaving Eden allows her to realize the beauty of the world and to discover fire, gastronomy, pleasure, and words. Eve claims that “The apple was the key that set us free. It made us understand ourselves, making us who we were.” She states, “the unbitten apple that hung from the branch of the fruit tree would otherwise have rotted. I gave it meaning because I enjoyed it, and I gave us meaning, too: feelings, intuition, action, desire, pleasure.” Cain argues with his father that “’knowledge is a good thing, life is good, how can you say that what Eve has given us is bad?’”
Eve is a fully-developed character, though at times she seems almost saintly. She is the narrator so of course her flaws are not highlighted, though she does castigate herself for remaining silent: “I never should have held my tongue when I had things to say. Never.” It is reasonable to question how reliable a narrator she is: certainly there is a lack of nuance in the depiction of Adam. Because she experiences pleasure “so effortlessly and simply,” she believes Adam suffers from “clitoris envy. Males always have it, that unspoken, unexpressed envy of the clitoris.” In addition, “His belly always lacked what he needed to be able to give birth.” This jealousy, she asserts, is the foundation of his religiosity and his spiteful concocting of tales in which Eve is “’just the offshoot of a piece of [man], an afterthought, worthless.’” Since we are not privy to his thoughts and feelings, as we are to Eve’s, Adam’s violence and bizarre behaviour sometimes seem to come out of nowhere.
Just as Eve emphasizes that she is the mother of all, she suggests that Adam is responsible for all the mistreatment of women: “with his absurd stories Adam planted the seed, ignited the flame that made raping women a right, a necessity, a pleasure, and even a joy, and justified the murder of more than one – beautiful but nameless – only on account of their gender.” In the end, she states that “being male became equated with causing pain,” all because “They feared us because we could give life . . . they feared our red lips and our beauty, they feared their attraction to us and the boundless pleasure we experienced.” A litany of rules which women have to follow is presented: “We lost half of our names. We had no right to own property. Children were named after their fathers even though [women] were still responsible for looking after them. They used sharp stones to excise the clitoris . . . They made up all sorts of rules about good manners and bad manners. They imposed them on all our households. . . . girls –with or without clitorises – weren’t allowed to attend school. . . . And if they went out in the streets, it was never without a chaperone, and the girls and their mothers had to veil their bodies and faces.”
Besides being critical of men who place themselves above women, the book criticizes humans’ treatment of the planet. Earth is angry at the arrival of humans: “’What am I going to do with so many people living off of me!’” Earth and He (God?) arrive at an agreement so He would help Earth to produce enough. The agreement also defines “the unforgiveable exceptions to the natural order of things . . . any group that cursed, slandered, or plundered the Earth senselessly would be subjected to lethal heatwaves and freezes.” As the world becomes more populated, “Earth was even angrier. What she had known from the beginning was proving true: the hordes of humanity would strip her bare. Arrogant, they continued to build upon her surface, ignoring her.”
Despite its serious themes, there are some humourous touches. Who cannot smile at Eve’s comment that “Adam, who was aware of our nakedness, hid among some plants with very small leaves” or Adam and Eve’s attempts to procreate?
Some readers will find this an uncomfortable read. It questions the existence of God. Eve describes only an abstract Thunder who “expressed itself like falling rock, without words, without verbs, without adjectives; like long oooohs and aaaahs emanating from a fearsome throat, like the blows of an axe or shovel or hammer; but not guttural like the sounds a mouth makes; more like a weapon, or gunpowder.”
Though sometimes heavy-handed in its approach, the book does emphasize the power of words and stories: “The stories Adam invented had triumphed. And therein lies the power of the word: it shapes mankind, their customs, their communities. Words don’t just say things, they do things.” Certainly the novel should leave readers thinking about how the story in the Book of Genesis, definitely not written by women, has shaped the lives of women.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/DCYakabuski).
This is a feminist re-telling of the Book of Genesis. Told from Eve’s perspective, it challenges the Biblical patriarchal narrative.
According to Eve, she, not Adam, is the first human; Eden is not a paradise; the knowledge gained by her eating a fruit is essential, not damning; Abel, not Cain, is the villain; Noah never builds an ark; and the Tower of Babel is destroyed by an angry Earth. Eve’s story, however, is subverted by Adam. Jealous of Eve, he distorts the truth of creation and places himself at the centre and establishes a religion which sidelines Eve and all women.
Eve’s depiction of Eden is interesting. She describes it as bland and “a tepid emptiness, a void.” It is a place with “nothing good, nothing bad, no clothes, no scent, no taste, no words.” Leaving Eden allows her to realize the beauty of the world and to discover fire, gastronomy, pleasure, and words. Eve claims that “The apple was the key that set us free. It made us understand ourselves, making us who we were.” She states, “the unbitten apple that hung from the branch of the fruit tree would otherwise have rotted. I gave it meaning because I enjoyed it, and I gave us meaning, too: feelings, intuition, action, desire, pleasure.” Cain argues with his father that “’knowledge is a good thing, life is good, how can you say that what Eve has given us is bad?’”
Eve is a fully-developed character, though at times she seems almost saintly. She is the narrator so of course her flaws are not highlighted, though she does castigate herself for remaining silent: “I never should have held my tongue when I had things to say. Never.” It is reasonable to question how reliable a narrator she is: certainly there is a lack of nuance in the depiction of Adam. Because she experiences pleasure “so effortlessly and simply,” she believes Adam suffers from “clitoris envy. Males always have it, that unspoken, unexpressed envy of the clitoris.” In addition, “His belly always lacked what he needed to be able to give birth.” This jealousy, she asserts, is the foundation of his religiosity and his spiteful concocting of tales in which Eve is “’just the offshoot of a piece of [man], an afterthought, worthless.’” Since we are not privy to his thoughts and feelings, as we are to Eve’s, Adam’s violence and bizarre behaviour sometimes seem to come out of nowhere.
Just as Eve emphasizes that she is the mother of all, she suggests that Adam is responsible for all the mistreatment of women: “with his absurd stories Adam planted the seed, ignited the flame that made raping women a right, a necessity, a pleasure, and even a joy, and justified the murder of more than one – beautiful but nameless – only on account of their gender.” In the end, she states that “being male became equated with causing pain,” all because “They feared us because we could give life . . . they feared our red lips and our beauty, they feared their attraction to us and the boundless pleasure we experienced.” A litany of rules which women have to follow is presented: “We lost half of our names. We had no right to own property. Children were named after their fathers even though [women] were still responsible for looking after them. They used sharp stones to excise the clitoris . . . They made up all sorts of rules about good manners and bad manners. They imposed them on all our households. . . . girls –with or without clitorises – weren’t allowed to attend school. . . . And if they went out in the streets, it was never without a chaperone, and the girls and their mothers had to veil their bodies and faces.”
Besides being critical of men who place themselves above women, the book criticizes humans’ treatment of the planet. Earth is angry at the arrival of humans: “’What am I going to do with so many people living off of me!’” Earth and He (God?) arrive at an agreement so He would help Earth to produce enough. The agreement also defines “the unforgiveable exceptions to the natural order of things . . . any group that cursed, slandered, or plundered the Earth senselessly would be subjected to lethal heatwaves and freezes.” As the world becomes more populated, “Earth was even angrier. What she had known from the beginning was proving true: the hordes of humanity would strip her bare. Arrogant, they continued to build upon her surface, ignoring her.”
Despite its serious themes, there are some humourous touches. Who cannot smile at Eve’s comment that “Adam, who was aware of our nakedness, hid among some plants with very small leaves” or Adam and Eve’s attempts to procreate?
Some readers will find this an uncomfortable read. It questions the existence of God. Eve describes only an abstract Thunder who “expressed itself like falling rock, without words, without verbs, without adjectives; like long oooohs and aaaahs emanating from a fearsome throat, like the blows of an axe or shovel or hammer; but not guttural like the sounds a mouth makes; more like a weapon, or gunpowder.”
Though sometimes heavy-handed in its approach, the book does emphasize the power of words and stories: “The stories Adam invented had triumphed. And therein lies the power of the word: it shapes mankind, their customs, their communities. Words don’t just say things, they do things.” Certainly the novel should leave readers thinking about how the story in the Book of Genesis, definitely not written by women, has shaped the lives of women.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/DCYakabuski).
January 16, 2024
Tbh I forget most of what happened in the bible so maybe that affected my experience of this book. I enjoyed the first half of this book, found it fascinating, but then the second half became just an infinite he-said she-said bloody brawl between Eve and Adam. Lost me completely. Superficially feminist (almost just misandry). I was hoping for something deeper or more creative.
October 23, 2025
Al leer este libro, me dí cuenta de que la historia de Genesi no me resulta interesante. Me aburre. Y si la historia te aburre, el libro también te aburrirá. Pero había oído hablar tan bien de Carmen Boullosa que pensé que quizá ella lo haría más interesante. No fue así, pero sin duda leeré otros libros de esta autora.
September 18, 2020
No soy fan de las novelas inspiradas en episodios bíblicos, pero me gusta la voz narrativa de Carmen Boullosa. Le puse tres estrellas, porque en general no puedo con este tipo de novelas. Pero si a ustedes les gusta este género, se los recomiendo muchísimo.
October 20, 2023
4.5
The author doesn’t “hate” men as some of the other reviews say. It’s more about what it means to be a women in a man’s world and why men “hate” women. The narrative is more about exploring the inequality between men and women. It is not the author hating men for the sake of hating men.
The author doesn’t “hate” men as some of the other reviews say. It’s more about what it means to be a women in a man’s world and why men “hate” women. The narrative is more about exploring the inequality between men and women. It is not the author hating men for the sake of hating men.
August 30, 2023
what is more is delightfully surreal than the beginning of time?
October 31, 2023
Beautifully written and so disturbing and sad and lovely.
December 22, 2024
This book was selected from my local Louisville library's book rec 'reading river' and started on my birthday as a misandrist, man-hating treat to myself the day after I caused a big family fight for saying the men had to help with the childcare during my birthday party, and calling it what it was (embarrassing) when there was protest. I have been looking for a feminist retelling of Genesis that voiced this type of female-centered world creation, even if I wouldn't have thought to put it in those words exactly.
Regardless, it was healing and devastating to read, especially paired with finishing Pachinko at the same time. "A woman's lot is to suffer" told over and over in the claustrophobia of being contained, corraled, coveted, covered, and concussed ad nauseum over so many landscapes and so many bodies. Very happy I picked this up and I loved the formatting/form of this just as much as the content.
///////Quotes
p28 The moon is, first and foremost, female (so they say), even in her fits of laughter. The same is true of Earth. And what is there that is not female? Tell me.
p46 Eve says she didn’t have a mother, but that’s not right: her mother was the apple.
We’re descended from fruits, which in turn descend from the trees, which intern are descended from the seeds inside the fruits: a complete circle of life.
p64 Laughing for the first time: this, along with the apple and the tears, was shaping us, giving us spirit. The apple, shape. Laughter, spirit. Tears, both together.
p104
We had brought the goal of protecting ourselves and surviving with us from Eden, because we yearned to be outside of Time.
Although I lived all this, it’s not my thing. Mine is roasting apples, cooking vegetables, browning and toasting seeds, finding the flavor in the food we had to eat. But eating or being eaten is a basic question that exceeds the limits of our grammar: it’s part of nature. But I’m not really part of nature, no one is. There’s something in us that doesn’t come from earth, that makes us yearn for it and desire it, knowing we have different roots. Which is why we invent things to belong to – countries, creed, and more. We’ll never fully belong to this paradise or hell we inhabit.
p110
My legs buckle. I squat. At the center of that new passageway, the clitoris blossoms: the vivid pleasure of the apple, breaking and opening my skin. Raw flesh, sensitive, wise to the heart, intimate of blood, aware of earthly gravity, both rigid and soft, it contained both the word and the memory of the intense pleasure I felt when I bit into the fruit, as well as an awareness of myself, and more, much more.
I moved my hand to my clitoris.
That first bite that crunched between my teeth and changed our lives had reserved for me, in that little black seed, the ultimate pleasure.
p112 And it wasn’t just that night. I touched my clitoris constantly; the pleasure was always there, waiting for me. Adam wanted to imitate me, to have what I had. He had noticed that my hand wasn’t the source of the sensation, so he tried with his own. And he kept on trying.
Determined, he rubbed and rubbed and kept on rubbing the space between his legs, even trying with other objects, but he couldn’t obtain the delightful feeling I had been gifted by the seed of that delicious fruit, made incarnate inside my body, manifesting outside it.
Adam rubbed so much that he created a fold in the skin between his legs.
p116 the thing hanging between his legs, a mirror parody of what we’d later refer to as his sword, stood up. But how? Was that also caused by atoms envy of my own pleasure?
Because I had everything I needed for pleasure: I had a clitoris.
But whenever he stopped rubbing his thing, it became limp tail again, dangling. Adam kept on rubbing and until his tail pointed up toward the sky. He was determined to continue rubbing to keep it upright, employing various tools to help rub or sheath his erect dangler. He wanted to keep it erect, no matter what else he needed to do with his hands, in ferocious pursuit of the pleasure that came so effortlessly and simply to me, all mine.
Adam was feeling clitoris envy. Males will always have it, that unspoken, unexpressed envy of the clitoris. The silence that accompanies this it all makes it all the more apparent.
p131
I think now I learned to want to adorn my body from the trees, which do so each passing day, changing their leaves, shedding blossom, releasing spores that adore in the sky.
Regardless, it was healing and devastating to read, especially paired with finishing Pachinko at the same time. "A woman's lot is to suffer" told over and over in the claustrophobia of being contained, corraled, coveted, covered, and concussed ad nauseum over so many landscapes and so many bodies. Very happy I picked this up and I loved the formatting/form of this just as much as the content.
///////Quotes
p28 The moon is, first and foremost, female (so they say), even in her fits of laughter. The same is true of Earth. And what is there that is not female? Tell me.
p46 Eve says she didn’t have a mother, but that’s not right: her mother was the apple.
We’re descended from fruits, which in turn descend from the trees, which intern are descended from the seeds inside the fruits: a complete circle of life.
p64 Laughing for the first time: this, along with the apple and the tears, was shaping us, giving us spirit. The apple, shape. Laughter, spirit. Tears, both together.
p104
We had brought the goal of protecting ourselves and surviving with us from Eden, because we yearned to be outside of Time.
Although I lived all this, it’s not my thing. Mine is roasting apples, cooking vegetables, browning and toasting seeds, finding the flavor in the food we had to eat. But eating or being eaten is a basic question that exceeds the limits of our grammar: it’s part of nature. But I’m not really part of nature, no one is. There’s something in us that doesn’t come from earth, that makes us yearn for it and desire it, knowing we have different roots. Which is why we invent things to belong to – countries, creed, and more. We’ll never fully belong to this paradise or hell we inhabit.
p110
My legs buckle. I squat. At the center of that new passageway, the clitoris blossoms: the vivid pleasure of the apple, breaking and opening my skin. Raw flesh, sensitive, wise to the heart, intimate of blood, aware of earthly gravity, both rigid and soft, it contained both the word and the memory of the intense pleasure I felt when I bit into the fruit, as well as an awareness of myself, and more, much more.
I moved my hand to my clitoris.
That first bite that crunched between my teeth and changed our lives had reserved for me, in that little black seed, the ultimate pleasure.
p112 And it wasn’t just that night. I touched my clitoris constantly; the pleasure was always there, waiting for me. Adam wanted to imitate me, to have what I had. He had noticed that my hand wasn’t the source of the sensation, so he tried with his own. And he kept on trying.
Determined, he rubbed and rubbed and kept on rubbing the space between his legs, even trying with other objects, but he couldn’t obtain the delightful feeling I had been gifted by the seed of that delicious fruit, made incarnate inside my body, manifesting outside it.
Adam rubbed so much that he created a fold in the skin between his legs.
p116 the thing hanging between his legs, a mirror parody of what we’d later refer to as his sword, stood up. But how? Was that also caused by atoms envy of my own pleasure?
Because I had everything I needed for pleasure: I had a clitoris.
But whenever he stopped rubbing his thing, it became limp tail again, dangling. Adam kept on rubbing and until his tail pointed up toward the sky. He was determined to continue rubbing to keep it upright, employing various tools to help rub or sheath his erect dangler. He wanted to keep it erect, no matter what else he needed to do with his hands, in ferocious pursuit of the pleasure that came so effortlessly and simply to me, all mine.
Adam was feeling clitoris envy. Males will always have it, that unspoken, unexpressed envy of the clitoris. The silence that accompanies this it all makes it all the more apparent.
p131
I think now I learned to want to adorn my body from the trees, which do so each passing day, changing their leaves, shedding blossom, releasing spores that adore in the sky.
January 29, 2025
I read this book for an online writing/study group I'm a part of (our topic of discussion was Lost Goddesses). I was raised very Christian, and the story of Adam and Eve always bothered me for what I think are probably obvious reasons. However, I find the story – and Biblical literature in general – fascinating when viewed through the lens of mythology, especially when one takes the myths and spiritual practices of the various cultures of the ancient Middle East into context when examining the text.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. While the writing style might not be everyone's cup of tea, the structure in which it's written is very original and creative. I like that we get the perspective of Eve's perspective and side characters (and some POVs we never get to put a name to!) in the form of "loose papers" at the end of each chapter, allowing us to examine the story from additional points of view. I enjoyed looking at parallels between Eve and Adam's journey from Eden through the beginnings of human history and the chronological timeline of life on Earth and human evolution, though it doesn't synch up cleanly in all instances. The description of Eden as essentially a mute, blank canvas – a void with no color, sound, flavor, and only half-formed creatures, hardly a Paradise – was unlike any description of the Garden I've ever encountered and invites the reader to ask some compelling questions: is it really Paradise if suffering is absent, but there's also an absence of pleasure? Was the expulsion from Eden the Fall of mankind or our liberation? What would *you* have done in Eve's place?
In addition, Boullosa's interpretation of Cain and Abel's story blew my mind; I hadn't thought about their story since I was a child in church, but her rendition flew right in the face of everything I knew and thought of it growing up. Without spoiling the plot, it's a fascinating exploration of the way patriarchy also harms boys and men by teaching them that traits like compassion, nurturance, and caring are "weak" and "unmanly" and that the only acceptable expression of manhood is aggression and violence, especially against women.
That said, Boullosa had an opportunity to write a much deeper subversion of the Genesis myth than she ended up with. Although I understand that the book's purpose is to interrogate the millennia-long patriarchal interpretation of the story and the immeasurable ways it has been weaponized to harm and subjugate women for thousands of years, the male characters fall flat. With the arguable exception of Cain, each is portrayed as inherently evil and violent to the core. It's something that is unfortunately very common in retellings of Biblical stories. And hey, as a woman – and one raised in a very conservative Christian church, at that – I get it. I've been on the receiving end of violence and scorn from men more times than I care to remember, and I consider myself a fierce feminist. That being said, I don't believe that demonizing men as human beings or excluding them from feminist narratives and movements is the answer; the real enemy is patriarchy, and although it affords men far more social, political, and economic privilege over women and gender minorities, it does so at the expense of their full humanity. Patriarchy can only be defeated if people of all genders come together in solidarity, and men have a place in the movement, too. (And frankly, we need our guy allies now more than ever.) I would have liked to have seen an interrogation of this in the book. But at the same time, women deserve space to express our anger and grief at the ways male violence affects our lives, and art is a powerful and appropriate medium to channel that rage.
Overall, it's an interesting and enjoyable read if you are interested in mythology, humankind's origins, and feminist literature. Happy to tick this one off as my first finished book of 2025!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. While the writing style might not be everyone's cup of tea, the structure in which it's written is very original and creative. I like that we get the perspective of Eve's perspective and side characters (and some POVs we never get to put a name to!) in the form of "loose papers" at the end of each chapter, allowing us to examine the story from additional points of view. I enjoyed looking at parallels between Eve and Adam's journey from Eden through the beginnings of human history and the chronological timeline of life on Earth and human evolution, though it doesn't synch up cleanly in all instances. The description of Eden as essentially a mute, blank canvas – a void with no color, sound, flavor, and only half-formed creatures, hardly a Paradise – was unlike any description of the Garden I've ever encountered and invites the reader to ask some compelling questions: is it really Paradise if suffering is absent, but there's also an absence of pleasure? Was the expulsion from Eden the Fall of mankind or our liberation? What would *you* have done in Eve's place?
In addition, Boullosa's interpretation of Cain and Abel's story blew my mind; I hadn't thought about their story since I was a child in church, but her rendition flew right in the face of everything I knew and thought of it growing up. Without spoiling the plot, it's a fascinating exploration of the way patriarchy also harms boys and men by teaching them that traits like compassion, nurturance, and caring are "weak" and "unmanly" and that the only acceptable expression of manhood is aggression and violence, especially against women.
That said, Boullosa had an opportunity to write a much deeper subversion of the Genesis myth than she ended up with. Although I understand that the book's purpose is to interrogate the millennia-long patriarchal interpretation of the story and the immeasurable ways it has been weaponized to harm and subjugate women for thousands of years, the male characters fall flat. With the arguable exception of Cain, each is portrayed as inherently evil and violent to the core. It's something that is unfortunately very common in retellings of Biblical stories. And hey, as a woman – and one raised in a very conservative Christian church, at that – I get it. I've been on the receiving end of violence and scorn from men more times than I care to remember, and I consider myself a fierce feminist. That being said, I don't believe that demonizing men as human beings or excluding them from feminist narratives and movements is the answer; the real enemy is patriarchy, and although it affords men far more social, political, and economic privilege over women and gender minorities, it does so at the expense of their full humanity. Patriarchy can only be defeated if people of all genders come together in solidarity, and men have a place in the movement, too. (And frankly, we need our guy allies now more than ever.) I would have liked to have seen an interrogation of this in the book. But at the same time, women deserve space to express our anger and grief at the ways male violence affects our lives, and art is a powerful and appropriate medium to channel that rage.
Overall, it's an interesting and enjoyable read if you are interested in mythology, humankind's origins, and feminist literature. Happy to tick this one off as my first finished book of 2025!
August 28, 2024
Real Rating: 3.75* of five
The Publisher Says: What if everything they’ve told us about the Garden was the other way around? Faced with what appears to be an apocryphal manuscript containing ten books and 91 passages, Eve decides to tell her version: she was neither created from Adam's rib, nor is it exact that she was expelled by the apple and the serpent, nor is story they tell of Abel and Cain true, neither that of the Flood, nor that of the Tower of Babel...
With brilliant prose, Carmen Boullosa gives a twist to the book of Genesis to dismantle the male figure and rebuild the world, the origin of gastronomy, the domestication of animals, the cultivation of land and pleasure, through the feminine gaze. Based on this exploration, sometimes fun and other times painful, The Book of Eve takes a tour through the stories they’ve told us and which have helped to foster (and cement) the absurd idea that woman is the companion, complement, and even accessory to man, which opens the door to criminal violence against women. Boullosa refutes and breaks them in this feminist novel, foundational and brazen.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Feminist retelling of Adam and Eve from Genesis.
As one might expect I was no fan of the patriarchal version, it being part of a religious tradition that I detest. I can't say that flipping the script to make it clear that Eve was hard done by in the Abrahamic original, and offering an Eve-centered corrective, was particularly agreeable, either; the entire religious framework is just so utterly nonsensical that making a shift in viewpoint doesn't make it less ridiculous.
I've seen significant consumer-review criticism of Author Boullosa (of Heavens on Earth fame) for sounding angry and anti-man in this retelling of the ur-text of misogyny. Well, honestly! How silly of the woman to feel some kinda way about a story that's been used for literal millennia to bludgeon women into submission to men in god's name? Outrageous!
The storytelling volume is indeed turned to eleven of ten, and the weird stop on the organ is out all the way. Eve reclaims the Ark myth as her own (which makes a lot of sense TBH) and has a really, um, off-center story of how we all came to have those indispensible things, the anus. Have to read it to find out. But the fact is, neither Adam nor Eve as created being would have one...or a navel...as they never gestated so never grew 'em. What the hell did I just read was my most frequent thought as I kept reading this uncorked, vociferous Eve's take on the stories I value so little.
So, on the one hand, yes indeed this woman's take on a man's story of why women should submit to him is plenty angry, on the other hand it always makes a story more interesting and more relevant to look at it upside down. Author Boullosa is a dab hand at making her characters sound like they are in the room with you. I found this storytelling voice compelling, angry, and Eve herself resolutely unwilling to be a good girl and quiet down. Thank goodness, though in spite of her absence of sham modesty Eve never addressed my most burning Biblical question:
Can anyone explain to me why the myth got started the Eve was created from Adam's rib, when we've all got the same number of these bones? Clearly it makes more sense...insofar as any of this guff does...to have her created from his baculum, since humans ain't got those no more.
The Publisher Says: What if everything they’ve told us about the Garden was the other way around? Faced with what appears to be an apocryphal manuscript containing ten books and 91 passages, Eve decides to tell her version: she was neither created from Adam's rib, nor is it exact that she was expelled by the apple and the serpent, nor is story they tell of Abel and Cain true, neither that of the Flood, nor that of the Tower of Babel...
With brilliant prose, Carmen Boullosa gives a twist to the book of Genesis to dismantle the male figure and rebuild the world, the origin of gastronomy, the domestication of animals, the cultivation of land and pleasure, through the feminine gaze. Based on this exploration, sometimes fun and other times painful, The Book of Eve takes a tour through the stories they’ve told us and which have helped to foster (and cement) the absurd idea that woman is the companion, complement, and even accessory to man, which opens the door to criminal violence against women. Boullosa refutes and breaks them in this feminist novel, foundational and brazen.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Feminist retelling of Adam and Eve from Genesis.
As one might expect I was no fan of the patriarchal version, it being part of a religious tradition that I detest. I can't say that flipping the script to make it clear that Eve was hard done by in the Abrahamic original, and offering an Eve-centered corrective, was particularly agreeable, either; the entire religious framework is just so utterly nonsensical that making a shift in viewpoint doesn't make it less ridiculous.
I've seen significant consumer-review criticism of Author Boullosa (of Heavens on Earth fame) for sounding angry and anti-man in this retelling of the ur-text of misogyny. Well, honestly! How silly of the woman to feel some kinda way about a story that's been used for literal millennia to bludgeon women into submission to men in god's name? Outrageous!
The storytelling volume is indeed turned to eleven of ten, and the weird stop on the organ is out all the way. Eve reclaims the Ark myth as her own (which makes a lot of sense TBH) and has a really, um, off-center story of how we all came to have those indispensible things, the anus. Have to read it to find out. But the fact is, neither Adam nor Eve as created being would have one...or a navel...as they never gestated so never grew 'em. What the hell did I just read was my most frequent thought as I kept reading this uncorked, vociferous Eve's take on the stories I value so little.
So, on the one hand, yes indeed this woman's take on a man's story of why women should submit to him is plenty angry, on the other hand it always makes a story more interesting and more relevant to look at it upside down. Author Boullosa is a dab hand at making her characters sound like they are in the room with you. I found this storytelling voice compelling, angry, and Eve herself resolutely unwilling to be a good girl and quiet down. Thank goodness, though in spite of her absence of sham modesty Eve never addressed my most burning Biblical question:
Can anyone explain to me why the myth got started the Eve was created from Adam's rib, when we've all got the same number of these bones? Clearly it makes more sense...insofar as any of this guff does...to have her created from his baculum, since humans ain't got those no more.
September 1, 2023
This was a surprisingly brutal book. I mean, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising, considering that the bible itself is a brutal text, and perhaps I am more ignorant than I thought I was in regards to western religion. The Book of Eve retells the bible from Eve's perspective, as though it is text passed down through generations of women, rewriting the tale in their own slang and lingo. In addition to Eve's books (there are approximately 8 of them), there are notes, footnotes, and 'added pages', making this appear to be a type of found book.
The first half of this book was so incredibly interesting; the way in which Adam and Eve were cast from Eden, her understanding of spirituality and nature, their discoveries of how to survive on their own. But the book takes a sudden shift when Adam begins to spout his lies, what we now know to be the stories told in the bible. Immediately, Adam is cast as the villain of the story, and not just intellectually. He is a brute in every sense of the word. Within this book, there is rape, there is incest, there are lies and exile. With the exception of Cain, all the men are shown to be animalistic, violent, and raging. The women, on the other hand, are beautiful, creative, forward-thinking. Cain is the clear exception to the rule, though this book seems to continue the train of thought that women are inherently kind and unselfish and men are...not.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind man-hating. I say it's their turn to get roughed up a little bit. But damn, this book really pushes it really, really far, to the point where even I was uncomfortable. But hey, if you're looking for feminist blasphemy, this might just be your cup of tea.
The first half of this book was so incredibly interesting; the way in which Adam and Eve were cast from Eden, her understanding of spirituality and nature, their discoveries of how to survive on their own. But the book takes a sudden shift when Adam begins to spout his lies, what we now know to be the stories told in the bible. Immediately, Adam is cast as the villain of the story, and not just intellectually. He is a brute in every sense of the word. Within this book, there is rape, there is incest, there are lies and exile. With the exception of Cain, all the men are shown to be animalistic, violent, and raging. The women, on the other hand, are beautiful, creative, forward-thinking. Cain is the clear exception to the rule, though this book seems to continue the train of thought that women are inherently kind and unselfish and men are...not.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind man-hating. I say it's their turn to get roughed up a little bit. But damn, this book really pushes it really, really far, to the point where even I was uncomfortable. But hey, if you're looking for feminist blasphemy, this might just be your cup of tea.
February 11, 2023
This was a pretty interesting book. It had some real strengths, and some areas where it fell a bit flat for me.
It's the Eden story and subsequent banishment (and other bits and pieces from Genesis) told from Eve's perspective, and from a very feminist perspective. I would call Eve a bit of an unreliable narrator, was that the intention? I don't know. The way she told the story should certainly give people who read Genesis pause to think twice about the reliability of anything they read there.
Parts of it were incredibly clever, and funny. So many times I found myself saying "yes! that's what I think too." When the main story was going it was great.
There were parts of the story which were Eve's notes, and often other's notes as well ... on paper? Frankly I got confused sometimes about what seemed anachronistic, but it may have been deliberate. And also, some time warpy stuff like These parts were less interesting to me. They seemed like author's ideas she couldn't let go of so put them in .... Most of them added nothing to the story.
The last maybe 10 percent I could barely get through. It took on a tangential quality that again distracted from the overall story and potentially the message of the book as well.
All that being said, it was original, at times really clever, and at times hit the nail on the head and I'm glad I read it.
It's the Eden story and subsequent banishment (and other bits and pieces from Genesis) told from Eve's perspective, and from a very feminist perspective. I would call Eve a bit of an unreliable narrator, was that the intention? I don't know. The way she told the story should certainly give people who read Genesis pause to think twice about the reliability of anything they read there.
Parts of it were incredibly clever, and funny. So many times I found myself saying "yes! that's what I think too." When the main story was going it was great.
There were parts of the story which were Eve's notes, and often other's notes as well ... on paper? Frankly I got confused sometimes about what seemed anachronistic, but it may have been deliberate. And also, some time warpy stuff like These parts were less interesting to me. They seemed like author's ideas she couldn't let go of so put them in .... Most of them added nothing to the story.
The last maybe 10 percent I could barely get through. It took on a tangential quality that again distracted from the overall story and potentially the message of the book as well.
All that being said, it was original, at times really clever, and at times hit the nail on the head and I'm glad I read it.
January 11, 2025
I had a tough time rating this book.
I bought into the overarching premise right off the bat and was excited for the story, especially where it tied into the themes of language.
Unfortunately, I felt like Boullosa introduced a lot of concepts that she wasn't committed to engaging with.
Entire chapters of this book read like poetry and I loved them. A lot of the content in between read like filler to me, unfortunately. I also didn't love how criticism of Eve (as a character and a narrator) felt like it was being shut down instead of entertained. The more interesting route for me was to embrace and explore her flaws, but doubt is framed more as taking a man's side in a "he said, she said" situation.
As a retelling, this also suffers from not standing well on its own two feet. The book is reliant on the fact that you've read the bible stories and can easily recall biblical chronology (which is unfortunately I couldn't always.) While it might thrive as half of a debate, I must say I felt called out at multiple times by phrases like "you've heard this" and "the version you're familiar with." I have a passing knowledge of the bible at best and parts of this felt like they went over my head.
I'm sure there's an audience for this book. That audience just must have a lot more Bible camp trauma and general anger against men than I do personally.
I bought into the overarching premise right off the bat and was excited for the story, especially where it tied into the themes of language.
Unfortunately, I felt like Boullosa introduced a lot of concepts that she wasn't committed to engaging with.
Entire chapters of this book read like poetry and I loved them. A lot of the content in between read like filler to me, unfortunately. I also didn't love how criticism of Eve (as a character and a narrator) felt like it was being shut down instead of entertained. The more interesting route for me was to embrace and explore her flaws, but doubt is framed more as taking a man's side in a "he said, she said" situation.
As a retelling, this also suffers from not standing well on its own two feet. The book is reliant on the fact that you've read the bible stories and can easily recall biblical chronology (which is unfortunately I couldn't always.) While it might thrive as half of a debate, I must say I felt called out at multiple times by phrases like "you've heard this" and "the version you're familiar with." I have a passing knowledge of the bible at best and parts of this felt like they went over my head.
I'm sure there's an audience for this book. That audience just must have a lot more Bible camp trauma and general anger against men than I do personally.
January 14, 2023
El viaje de El Libro de Eva es una maravilla que no te quieres perder. Una versión diferente de la historia que nos han contado en la que la biblia posiciona a la mujer como una extensión del hombre. Eva les dice ‘pues no mi ciela’. En una prosa detallada que te transporta al paraíso y después a su llegada a la tierra, Boullosa te describe impecablemente otra versión de cómo se dieron las cosas. El placer, el fuego, la agricultura y los pasos de cómo se fue formando una civilizando, mientras Adán y Eva viven matices distintos en su estructura familiar te pone a reflexionar de diversos temas sociales y te cuestiones de dónde surgen estas ideas del papel del hombre y la mujer en la sociedad. Un libro feminista que todos deberíamos leer y entender que dice de nuestra actualidad como sociedad patriarcal.
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