The Edge of Eden
In 1960, when her husband, Rupert, a British diplomat, is posted to the remote Seychelle Islands in the Indian Ocean, Penelope is less than thrilled But she never imagined the danger that awaited her family there Her sun kissed children run barefoot on the beach and become enraptured by the ancient magic, or grigri, in the tropical colonial outpost Rupert, meanwhile, falls under the spell of a local beauty who won t stop until she gets what she wants Desperate to save her marriage, Penelope turns to black magic, exposing her family to the island s sinister underbelly Ultimately, Penny and her family suffer unimaginable casualties, rendering their lives profoundly and forever changed Helen Benedict s acerbic wit and lush descriptions serve up a page turner brimming with jealousy, sex, and witchcraft in a darkly exotic Eden Helen Benedict, a Columbia University professor, has written four previous novels, five nonfiction books, and a play Her novels have received citations for best book of the year from the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago and New York public libraries. Free Download [ The Edge of Eden ] By [ Helen Benedict ] – kino-fada.fr A perfectly engaging story, but not, as promised by my local bookseller, well written, Woolfian prose Okay, admittedly, promising that I ll like a book because it s like Woolf sets the bar pretty high for me, and so maybe I went into it with unfair expectations, but I actually found this book to be surprisingly poorly written I kept feeling like I could see the machinations of Benedict s prose, as she worked extra hard to make sure all the plot pieces fit together The people tasked to watch t A perfectly engaging story, but not, as promised by my local bookseller, well written, Woolfian prose Okay, admittedly, promising that I ll like a boo...I really enjoyed this book It s the best one I read based in the Seychelles such a good story, brilliant characters, various different plots and themes, and most surprising of all a serious account of the l...Sadly, because I didn t think this book was absolutely great, the review has been shelved and likely won t be published So, here it is Helen Benedict s paradisial edge is as rugged and complex as the borders of her characters native islands The most apparent dark side of eden is the negative affects of colonialism on both the colonized and the colonizers But Benedict s fiction also does not hide from the very real contrasting sides to love jealosy, hate, regret and the depth of the affects o Sadly, because I didn t think this book was absolutely great, the review has been shelved and likely won t be published So, here it is Helen Benedict s paradisial edge is as rugged and complex as the borders of her characters native islands The most apparent dark side of eden is the negative affects of colonialism on both the colonized and the colonizers But Benedict s fiction also does not hide from the very real contrasting side...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here An English family moves to a poor tropical island and each member is affected in a different way by its spell Penelope the mother is deeply depressed from being dragged there without being consulted, Rupert the father falls for a local beauty and leaves his family, and the children are left in the care of a nanny The older girl begins dabbling in the dark arts to bring her family back together and the consequences are life threatening Things go from bad to worse, mostly from really bad de An English family moves to a poor tropical island and ea...I wanted to like this bookThe setting was exotic and the plot got into a little of the island culture I think the story would have beenengaging with a few less characters andediting As it was, the arc of the story was rather flat and predictable It didn t ...I was hoping the book would beabout Seychelles people and less about pathological British colonial family crap The story is okay I guess Surveying the other reviews, I sense that readers are missing t...this is a really interesting take on the fish out of water theme we watch a very unlikable english family, including their two very young daughters, disintegrate after being relocated by the home office to an equatorial island betw...This novel follows the break up of a marriage, which occurs after a family relocation from England to the Seychelles Unfortunately the location provides the only real excitement of the novel Whilst some of the supporting characters are of some interest, th...I liked this book much better than the two stars would suggest Its is a real page turner and kept me in suspense I absorbed the feel of the location, and ms Benedict was excellent with putiing you in the place of an ex p...I thought this book a true page turner and was not at all sure how it would end Zara and Marguerite were very well developed characters and the author had fine descriptive skills I felt I was right there living the story The date of 1960 seemed incongrous but there were ma...
- English
- 26 February 2018 Helen Benedict
- Hardcover
- 368 pages
- 1569476020
- Helen Benedict
- The Edge of Eden