Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Metropolitan Books (2010), 496 pages
Description
From the head writer of the originalIn Treatment, an exquisite novel of the maturation of a girl, a family, and an entire community Eden is no paradise: it is the stifling, rural community in which upscale urban escapees, Alona and Mark, drift apart and divorce under the resentful scrutiny of Roni, Mark's needy adolescent daughter. Against a rich panorama of Eden's oldtimers and newcomers, Mark, an emotionally detached architect, begins an involvement with his ex-wife's best friend, Dafna, who is desperately trying to conceive through the torments of technology, while sixteen-year-old Roni pursues the attention of older men by readily dispensing sexual favors. Over the course of one month, Roni's self-dramatizing turns to tragedy, her parents are jolted out of their absorbing concerns, and a new family structure begins to form out of an unlikely set of characters. Through a portrait of family entanglements, disappearing countryside, and disappointed expectations, Yael Hedaya, a determinedly plainspoken novelist, has brilliantly mapped the social and emotional ecology of midlife and achieved miracles of insight and understanding.… (more)
Media reviews
Hedaya’s third book, Eden, reads like a psychologically astute Israeli version of American Beauty: Roni, not yet 16, has taken to sleeping with middle-aged men; someone in Eden, a collective farm turned SUV-infested suburb, is molesting young boys; one marriage is ending, another floundering over
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infertility. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member goose114
There are good and not so good aspects to this book. The characters are realistic and believable, and it is enjoyable to see them connect and link in ways that they may not even realize. There is an overwhelming sadness that makes me feel for the characters. The role of sex is important, but
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uncomfortable at times. I see why it's necessary but it may not be presented in the best way. Not recommended for people who are uncomfortable with sex scenes. Show Less
LibraryThing member chutzpanit
I love reading any Israeli books because I try to imagine the conversations in my head in Hebrew. This was an extremely well written book that kept me engaged. There were so many different main characters that I can't really say that there was one narrator. Each chapter was narrated by a different
The book centers around a Moshav (a small village) called Eden. It's near Tel Aviv and has a mixture of people who have lived there for a long time and those who are seeking some quiet from the storm. I guess the main crux centered around a family, Alona and Mark, a separated couple who were still very much together living in different houses and their children, Maya and Ido, as well as Mark's daughter from a previous marriage, Roni, Roni is sixteen and quite confused. She has been sleeping with many different, older men, both in her Moshav and outside. I really felt a lot of pity for Roni and wanted her relationship with her father to become more than it was.
All in all, it was a pleasant read and I look forward to reading more books by Hedaya.
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person, in all, I would say there were about ten narrators. The book centers around a Moshav (a small village) called Eden. It's near Tel Aviv and has a mixture of people who have lived there for a long time and those who are seeking some quiet from the storm. I guess the main crux centered around a family, Alona and Mark, a separated couple who were still very much together living in different houses and their children, Maya and Ido, as well as Mark's daughter from a previous marriage, Roni, Roni is sixteen and quite confused. She has been sleeping with many different, older men, both in her Moshav and outside. I really felt a lot of pity for Roni and wanted her relationship with her father to become more than it was.
All in all, it was a pleasant read and I look forward to reading more books by Hedaya.
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LibraryThing member sringle1202
One of the best books I have read in a long while. This was a beautiful story with characters who were beautiful in all their imperfections. Simply delightful to read, and I read it very slowly to delay finishing it. I really identified with one of the characters, Alona, and found many similarities
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between myself and her. This is not a book that I would have bought at a bookstore just from reading the back cover description, but I took a chance on it with ER, and I am so glad I did. It opened my eyes to a new author, whom I now have to run out and buy everything I can find with her name on it. Show Less
LibraryThing member lorimarie
I simply could not get into this book. I liked the narratives from each character, but none of the characters were likable and it just wasn't that interesting. I wanted more action sooner. Too much bla bla bla. Get on with it already.
LibraryThing member revzonian
Thank you, Holt, Henry & Company, Inc. for the advanced copy. This has been a slow read for me. Like one of the other reviewers, I just cannot get into it. I have been putting it down and picking it up in hopes of renewing my interest. Unfortunately, I have been put off by the verbosity. I have
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skipped some pages. However, I do like the characters and their stories; it's just not moving quickly enough for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beezie
I received this advance reader copy through LTER...it's been a slower paced book, but I think that enhanced the experience. I found it an ideal commuter's companion and read it, bit by bit.
LibraryThing member unknown_zoso05
Eden is a novel about a handful of characters, their lives and the intersection of them in a moshav outside of Tel Aviv. The most striking personality is Roni, a teenage girl who has lived in the U.S. with her hippy mother but now lives with her restauranteur father in Eden while she has various
The only major criticism that I have with this book is that Uri, a soon to be published writer that is one of Roni's lovers, doesn't have his own voice. He's influence plays such a major role in the novel but the reader knows so little about him.
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love affairs with three older men. The characters are what really make the story. Because it covers the day to day lives of all the characters, the plot can drag at time but Yael Hedaya makes it work because everyone has a unique and separate voice. Asides from this, Hedaya is able to bring in the personal pasts of the characters and how it effects their present actions. It works to further explore the personal relationships of those in the novel. The only major criticism that I have with this book is that Uri, a soon to be published writer that is one of Roni's lovers, doesn't have his own voice. He's influence plays such a major role in the novel but the reader knows so little about him.
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LibraryThing member bobbieharv
I love her books; love her writing; love the leisurely pace that develops the characters. The structure, where each chapter was devoted to a different character, recurring throughout the book, worked beautifully to give us a long-term view of each character. By the end I felt part of their
The only character for whom this didn't work so well was Jane, Roni's American mother, who was only brought in at the end - but once she arrived, the way in which the story of Roni's birth was intertwined with her recovery was masterful.
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lives.The only character for whom this didn't work so well was Jane, Roni's American mother, who was only brought in at the end - but once she arrived, the way in which the story of Roni's birth was intertwined with her recovery was masterful.
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LibraryThing member bostonbibliophile
I was bored by this domestic drama about an Israeli settlement turned middle class 'burb. It seemed kind of soap-opera-y to me and mundane. It's very character-driven and it might be an interesting book club pick for a synagogue group up for a longer book but it wasn't really the right book for me.
LibraryThing member -Eva-
What I normally love about Hedaya's stories is her ability to get to the truth of human relationships, the bad, the good, and the downright nasty. She does some of that here - there are parts of this novel that cuts to the core and really exposes the truth about the characters. However, there is
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also a lot of exaggerated "drama" that I wasn't expecting in a Hedaya book and I'm not entirely sure I like it, exciting though it is. I'm wondering to myself if writing for television has changed her voice to more overt and attention-seeking one and if she has left the more subtle one behind. Although the storylines and the characters are quite interesting, the raw, vulnerable truth I was hoping for isn't all there and I can only wish that it comes back for her next novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
I read through page 330 of this book. I can't go back to it. It was an interesting read while I was actively reading it, but it was too long and drawn out for me. I did enjoy another book by this author in the past so I'll not give up reading her works.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2005
Physical description
496 p.; 6.4 inches
ISBN
0312427263 / 9780312427269