After Eden: A Novel Volume 17

by Valerie Miner and Miner

Book Overview

After Eden is a provocative novel that examines the meaning of home and homelessness among people who see such issues as more than abstractions. In a story populated by Pomo Indians, Euro-American ranchers and vintners, and Mexican American migrant laborers, Valerie Miner deftly juxtaposes differing cultural views of wilderness, trespassing, and home. Her dramatic novel is contemporary, while reflecting on two centuries of change in a seemingly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806167416
• ISBN13: 9780806167411
• Release Date: August 2020
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Nice try--great nature writing, but plot is weak

This book tells the story of a lesbian who recovers from the death of her long time partner in their cabin that is part of a larger tract purchased with some other lesbian friends in the hills of northern California. The descriptions of the countryside and the culture are exceptional--I have never been there, and yet I could easily visualize the area and understand the sociology. The story of the group of friends, however, felt less well developed--I understood the protagonist well, but I got confused with the many short threads of the back stories of the rather large group and they seemed a bit thinly characterized. I saw the romantic angle coming a mile away, and it felt awfully soapy. The obligatory childbirth angle added to the Lifetime movie feel. Too bad, because the writing was so vivid and the better written characters so strong--less plot next time, maybe?