Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - This Other Eden

This book was better as I kept reading. The writing was great with details but not a lot of character backstory or information below the surface. It almost seems like a list of characters but no real substance. The subject is very interesting and I would have loved more follow up and character plots.

Content Warnings

squintyfarmer's review

Go to review page

sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

bodenleben's review

Go to review page

dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

bessadams's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

soswiin's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

had some incredibly strong moments but failed to really pull me in for any part that wasn't the second section. really didn't learn too much about most of the cast despite most of the book depicting the mundane parts of the islanders' lives. so dull for the majority of the book that i was only truly invested in the painting scene and the occasional tense end of a paragraph. though there were some genuinely striking lines, it felt like harding was trying to hard to be deep in his narrations and descriptions that it just came off as pretentious. the lack of quotation marks and abundance of run-ons just made this a chore to read at times as well.

Content Warnings

deedireads's review

Go to review page

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

As of this writing, This Other Eden is shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. Still, given that it got some lukewarm reviews in my personal circle, I was surprised by how much I ended up liking it. It’s not perfect, but it is gorgeously written and undeniably moving.

The book is a fully fictional story featuring fictional characters from a real place with a real history: Malaga Island off the coast of Maine, home of a mixed-race community that was evicted and partially institutionalized by the government. There are a lot of characters for a book, but not very many to serve as the sum total of all the island’s inhabitants; still, it’s easy to keep track of them (a testament to Harding’s skill) and even easier to love them.

My main complaint about this book was that it isn’t very researched at all; in an interview, Harding said that he heard about Malaga Island, got inspired, and then essentially stopped researching it (not even visiting), because he didn’t feel like those real people’s story was his to tell. That feels like a cop out to me.

Still, Harding succeeds in much of what he set out to do, at least: paint a devastating picture of eugenics, raise questions about the concept of paradise, and make his readers feel something deeply.

Content Warnings

rei_reads's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

More...