Roof Beam Reader

The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway

Final Verdict: 4.0 out of 4.0

YTD: 44

Plot/Story:

4 – Plot/Story is interesting/believable and impactful (socially, academically, etc.)

It is no surprise that it took Hemingway fifteen years to write The Garden of Eden; nor is it surprising that the book was not published until twenty-five years after he died.  This story is like no other Hemingway work.  It is dark and dangerously bold.  Hemingway described this book’s theme as “the happiness of the Garden that a man must lose.”  It is about the loss of innocence and a shedding of naivety – the realization that the world is much more complicated and uncontrollable than one imagined.  At the center of the book are four relationships: one between David and Catherine, newlywed Americans honeymooning in Europe; one between Catherine and Marita, a young woman she discovers and begins a romantic relationship with; one between David and Marita, whose own relationship is encouraged by Catherine; and the final one, a ménage-a-tois between the three – simultaneously necessary and destructive.

Characterization:

4 – Characters extraordinarily developed.

Catherine and David are two of the most compelling characters from Jazz Age literature.  They are, by far, the most rounded and interesting of Hemingway’s works, particularly Catherine.  Hemingway is often criticized for his (mis)treatment of women in literature (specifically the absence of any primary females in his literature).  Catherine, and even Marita, should push Hemingway miles away from this argument.  Catherine is tragically beautiful – she is written with a deeply-felt honesty that one can imagine was truly painful for Hemingway to put in print.  The evolution of her character and devolution of her sanity were impossible to look away from, even when the character turned petty or when the subject matter became bizarre.  Hemingway’s development of Catherine and her development throughout made it clear that she was not strange just to be strange and, similarly, that the husband David was not just passive or acquiescent, but truly loving and sadly lost.  The minor characters, such as David’s father who is present only through David’s stories, and the hotel keeper, are well-written and important to the plot, as contrast characters and biographical presences.

Prose/Style:

4 – Extraordinary Prose/Style, enhancing the Story.

Typically, I am appreciative of but never over-the-moon about Hemingway’s prose.  Anyone familiar with Hemingway knows what we mean when we say “Hemingway-esque.”  Simple, plain, mild – made up of short sentences, sparse dialogue, and little creative expression.  Sometimes (usually) this serves the purposes of the stories quite well.  What is different about The Garden of Eden, is that Hemingway keeps his signature style, but adds two things:  one, a character (David) who is a writer and who, as a sort of Hemingway projection, explains why he writes the way he does; and two, adds a certain level of emotion to the same sparse style: drama, disappointment, fear, passion, eroticism.  Hemingway typically leaves the emotional side of his stories sub-service, to be inferred.  The Garden of Eden is similar in that respect, but not exactly the same – it breaks the mold and adds an interesting dynamic to the writing style of one who is already considered to be a master craftsman – further supporting the fact that Hemingway was groundbreaking in his prose.

Additional Elements: Setting, Symbols/Motifs, Resolution, etc.

4 – Additional elements improve and advance the story.

Had it not been for the novel’s style and prose, which is clearly Hemingway, it would have been difficult to believe that he had written this book.  There is a great deal of sentimentalism and raw emotion, which is typically sparse in Hemingway’s novels.  Much of this book reminded me more of Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night than anything else.  It is strikingly modern in comparison to his other works, and it tackles serious exploration of gender roles and “taboo” sexuality, including reversed masculinity/femininity and bisexuality.  The primary relationship in the book is a ménage-a-trois, the presence of which is rather sparse in literature to date, and the major conflict is Catherine’s mental degradation and psychosis – a psychological instability which becomes more intrusive and violent as the story progresses.  All of this, coupled with the meta-fictional aspects, wherein Hemingway talks about his own writing process through his own story’s writer, David (who finds himself evaluating his own process), manages to create a work which is highly dangerous and incredibly ahead of its time.

Suggested Reading for:

Age Level: High School +

Interest: Sexuality, Gender Roles, Expatriate American Literature, Psychology, Open Relationships, The Writing Process, Identity & Co-Dependence

Notable Quotes:

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”

“When you start to live outside yourself, it’s all dangerous.”

“Everybody has strange things that mean things to them.”

This week’s theme is: Top 10 Books I Loved but Didn’t Review

Technically speaking, I have “reviewed” pretty much every book I have read; however, as you can see by looking on my “Reviews” page, many of these reviews are actually just brief thoughts.  The reason for this is, I only started book blogging/reviewing a couple of years ago, so anything I read before then … well, wasn’t reviewed.  I tried to go back and at least provide a sentence or two about what I thought/felt about each book, but I do need to write actual reviews for many.  Of the many, these are ten books I hope to go back and re-read someday, so I can provide a formal review for books I love but haven’t had the chance to review:

1.       All works by J.D. Salinger.  (The Catcher in the Rye, Nine Stories, Franny & Zooey, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction). 

I have read all of these books multiple times, but none of them since I started book blogging.  I know, without a doubt, that I will go back and read them all, to review them all (especially since I recently bought the complete works in a hardcover set).

2.       Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. 

Another one of my all-time favorite books.  As a book lover, it’s almost impossible not to cherish this novel.  I do own a copy, though it’s in storage.  Hopefully, someday, I can get all of my books out of storage and into a little library of my own; then, I can find books like Fahrenheit 451 which deserve a re-read & review!

3.       Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

My introduction to Burroughs, the Beats, and subversive/counter-culture literature.  I owe this book so much and I have already read it twice, but both were previous to graduate school (at which point I started to really keep track of what I was reading).  I have read and reviewed numerous Burroughs novels since – but I definitely need to get back to the beginning.

4.       Ender’s Game & Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card

My two favorite science-fiction novels of all-time.  I have reviewed a couple of the books which come later in the Shadow series, but never had the chance to re-read or review these two originals.  They are the starting point to an incredibly well-crafted universe, one which I hope to revisit (and complete) someday soon.

5.       The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

It actually pains me to admit that I have not reviewed this book, considering it is likely my favorite book in the world.  I have read it four times (that I can recall), and I quote it or reference it all the time.  When I began book blogging, I had every intention of re-reading and reviewing this book right away, but I always feel guilty for re-reading books I love, when there are so many out there left un-read.

6.       Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

This is another book I think about all the time.  It’s just one that stays with you forever.  I’m not ashamed to admit that it made me cry!  I read this book when I was just out of high school, I think.  So, ten years later, I think it’s about time for another read.  It definitely deserves a proper review.

7.       The Giver by Lois Lowry

One of the most profound books I have ever read – and it’s Young Adult!  As a literature and classics lover, I am always tickled when a young adult or sub-genre book can move me or speak to me, as much as this (and the previous three mentioned) book did.  I have read this one twice – first in 7^th grade and again in college, and it would be hard to imagine never reading it again.  I will absolutely provide a real review for this book sometime in the near future.

8.       Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I may have written more on my blog about this book than any other – so how can I not have a formal review of it?!  I have read this one three times – in college and in graduate school, then again about two years ago.  The first time, I wasn’t such a fan.  The second time, I gained serious respect for it (and for Twain).  The third time, I fell head-over-heels in love with it.  Hopefully, the fourth read will be the one which finally comes with a proper review.

9.       Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Readers of my blog will find quite a few Vonnegut reviews here – and will likely see me mention or reference Vonnegut fairly regularly.  Unfortunately, the two books which introduced me to Vonnegut (Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five) came before my book blog was established.  While I may not re-read Slaughterhouse-Five, I will definitely re-read Cat’s Cradle.  It was my first Vonnegut and still, in my opinion, Vonnegut’s best.

10.   The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Here is another one I have read more than once.  For some reason, the advent of my book blog has actually deterred me from re-reading books I really enjoy.  I re-read the entire Harry Potter series last year, because I had never reviewed any of the books, but that was an exception to the rule.  I loved Dorian Gray and now own Wilde’s complete works (including a “lost” text which was published anonymously but is purported to have been written by him).  I do plan on re-reading this book some day; hopefully soon, I can provide a review.

Maybe some day I will remember to re-read the books I love and not just focus on the number of “new” books I finish each year.  I think those of us who feel guilty or anxious about re-reading books might be suffering from a similar ‘book blog numbers’ syndrome.