From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Tinkers, a novel inspired by the true story of Malaga Island, an isolated island off the coast of Maine that became one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast. In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. Over a century later, the Honeys’ descendants and a diverse group of neighbors are poor, isolated, and often hungry, but nevertheless protected from the hostility awaiting them on the mainland. During the tumultuous summer of 1912, Matthew Diamond, a retired, idealistic but prejudiced schoolteacher turned missionary, disrupts the community’s fragile balance through his efforts to educate its children. His presence attracts the attention of authorities on the mainland who, under the influence of the eugenics-thinking popular among progressives of the day, decide to forcibly evacuate the island, institutionalize its residents, and develop the island as a vacation destination. Beginning with a hurricane flood reminiscent of the story of Noah’s ark, the novel ends with yet another ark. In prose of breathtaking beauty and power, Paul Harding brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters: Iris and Violet McDermott, sisters raising three Penobscot orphans; Theophilus and Candace Larks and their brood of vagabond children; the prophetic Zachary Hand to God Proverbs, a Civil War veteran wholives in a hollow tree; Ethan Honey, a young artist; and Bridget Carney, an Irish housemaid. A spellbinding story of resistance and survival, This Other Eden is an enduring testament to the struggle to preserve human dignity in the face of intolerance and injustice.
© 2023 Recorded Books, Inc. (Äänikirja): 9781705090251
Julkaisupäivä
Äänikirja: 24. tammikuuta 2023
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Tinkers, a novel inspired by the true story of Malaga Island, an isolated island off the coast of Maine that became one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast. In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. Over a century later, the Honeys’ descendants and a diverse group of neighbors are poor, isolated, and often hungry, but nevertheless protected from the hostility awaiting them on the mainland. During the tumultuous summer of 1912, Matthew Diamond, a retired, idealistic but prejudiced schoolteacher turned missionary, disrupts the community’s fragile balance through his efforts to educate its children. His presence attracts the attention of authorities on the mainland who, under the influence of the eugenics-thinking popular among progressives of the day, decide to forcibly evacuate the island, institutionalize its residents, and develop the island as a vacation destination. Beginning with a hurricane flood reminiscent of the story of Noah’s ark, the novel ends with yet another ark. In prose of breathtaking beauty and power, Paul Harding brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters: Iris and Violet McDermott, sisters raising three Penobscot orphans; Theophilus and Candace Larks and their brood of vagabond children; the prophetic Zachary Hand to God Proverbs, a Civil War veteran wholives in a hollow tree; Ethan Honey, a young artist; and Bridget Carney, an Irish housemaid. A spellbinding story of resistance and survival, This Other Eden is an enduring testament to the struggle to preserve human dignity in the face of intolerance and injustice.
© 2023 Recorded Books, Inc. (Äänikirja): 9781705090251
Julkaisupäivä
Äänikirja: 24. tammikuuta 2023
Astu tarinoiden maailmaan
Arviot perustuu 17 arvioon
Surullinen
Ajatuksia herättävä
Koukuttava
Lataa sovellus niin voit osallistua keskusteluun ja kirjoittaa oman arviosi.
Arviot 1/17
Lucy
6. kesäk. 2023
Mainen rannikolla pieni saari, jonne asettuu "aikojen alussa" mixed race perhe ja vitivalkoinen irkkuperhe. Elävät oman onnensa nojassa ja pärjäävät. Sehän ei tietysti päättävälle taholle käy, vaan seuraako siitä mitään hyvää, kun hyvää tarkoittava opettaja heitä alkaa opettamaan?Korkeakirjallisuutta, ehkä mun makuun hivenen ylihieno. Ymmärrän vitoset kuitenkin oikein hyvin. Tuli vähän mieleen The Colony. Ajatus harhaili liikaa fiineimmissä kohdissa.
Suomi
Suomi