Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Leaving Eden
Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Ann Chamberlin
Class/Genre: Fantasy
Forge, Jul 1999, $22.95, 240 pp.
Adam knows the law periodically enforced by the Mother Goddess, Lilith that man must never take a second wife as long as the children of his first spouse live. However, for fifteen years, the clan members discuss Adam's loneliness and need for a helpmate. In many respects, Adam blames his daughter Na'amah, begat from his union with Lilith, for his forlorn situation. If she was never born, he could find a new mate to replace his first wife the Mother Goddess.
With Lilith absent for over a decade and a half, Adam heeds the words of a new God. He is encouraged to mate with Eve, a former member of a different clan. The female members of his own clan recognize the new relationship and begin to whisper "Adam and Eve". However, everyone fears the wrath of Lilith, who will know that Adam has violated the law and slept with Eve. Her punishment for defying one of her prime directives could be death or banishment from Eden forever.
LEAVING EDEN is an incredible pre-historic fiction work that retells the story of Adam and Eve. The fast-paced story line leaves readers enthralled with the characters and Ann Chamberlin's ability to tell an exciting tale. Told in the third person by Na'amah, Adam is described as arrogant, loving, yet filled with resentment. Eve is a friend and a rival. Anyone who takes pleasure from the great biblical love story rewritten based on modern historiography's approach to prehistory will want to peruse Ms. Chamberlin's latest masterpiece.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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