Reviews

Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee

plettr's review

5.0

One of the most thought provoking books I've read in a long time. I'd never considered Adam & Eve's perspective on creation and the fall.

eatingfiction's review

3.0

A poetic and prompting reimagining of the story of Eve, the first woman.

This tale spans her whole life, with most of it dedicated to the aftermath of her eating of the fruit and exile from the garden. I really enjoyed this perspective and the nuances of it. All together I found Lee's writing to be waaaay too poetic and metaphorical--it kept drawing me out of the story--but I still enjoyed that the book made me examine the story in ways I hadn't considered before.

nevara5's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

juliet1102's review

3.0

This was an interesting book but I didn't really get the feelings that the author wanted me to feel.

catrev's review

5.0

Havah by Tosca Lee is the intelligent and poignant tale of the first woman on earth, Eve. From those first days in Paradise to the hard-scrabble early days of the exile to raising a brood and then finally dying as the Great Mother of everyone living on earth, Lee takes Havah through every stage of her life. Her first breath and steps are taken in wonder and joy as she learns the name to each animal and plant and lives in complete harmony with the adam and the One who made her. But she is intrigued by the serpent who lives near the succulent fruit of the tree of knowledge. Adam has told her that they must never touch much less eat the enticing fruit, but the serpent tempts her with its beauty and her own ego. Lee's description of the Fall is both terrifying and heartbreaking as seen through Havah's eyes. Her loss of connection with both her mate and her Creator leaves her reeling and lost. In the new world, the two must fight daily for existence, and although the birth of their many children eases some of the burden, it also creates new turmoil as their children are also tainted with sin. Kayin, their eldest, is weighed down by the expectations of his mother that he will crush the head of the serpent, returning them to their paradisaical life in the valley. Lee takes the reader through stories heard endless times about Adam and Eve and makes them truly come to life. Most Christian fiction books aren't written this intelligently or with as much passion. Her version of Paradise lost if completely believable and will bring new understanding to readers about the first woman and how her sin has effected us all to this very day. I will never read the first four chapters of Genesis the same way again.

rdubbaneh's review

5.0

Unbelievably good. Stellar writing. Phenomenal historical research. Captivating story.

oldmanarnold's review

5.0

I think this was the best Christian Fiction book I have ever read besides The Pilgrim's Progress. I thought it provided good insight about what Eve's life might have been like. It raised questions about creation and Adam and Eve that I had never thought of before. A great book. One of my favorite fiction books.

moodyrose79's review

5.0

I love the way Tosca takes a few chapters from the Bible about a relatively unknown subject and weaves such a beautiful story! Like Iscariot, she challenges many ideas I had of the topic.

eressea's review

3.0

Though I did like the story, the proze Lee used was a bit too much for me. Couldn't get through the first pages, sorry!

godsdanceralwayz's review

5.0

You know a book is good when you finish reading it and think to yourself “Man, do I love to read.” That is what happened to me when I read Tosca Lee’s Havah: the Story of Eve. When I wasn’t reading it, I was literally dreaming about it. We know about Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Lee fills the reader in on the in-between-the-lines as she would imagine it to have been. Havah starts off with a poetic feel, which is fitting, I think, coming from the female voice-that of Havah’s. I think sometimes we get stuck in these stories we’ve always heard, barely understanding. Lee finds the heart of Eve in this story, connecting the reader to that which we came. I’ve recently started to track my family tree, and as I find things out about my ancestors I find out why I am certain ways. We are so lucky to have accounts of our earliest ancestors and Lee finds their humanness, connecting us to where we came. You will have to keep telling yourself that this is fiction; that it is not fiction at all. As soon as I closed the back cover, I cracked open Genesis, I just had to see where the lines crossed! I don’t think I will ever read my bible the same again; I will try to look at the heart of who I am reading about.