Scan barcode
A review by andrewspink
This Other Eden by Paul Harding
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
If the plot of this book was not based on reality, then you would never believe it. It is such a heart-rending tragic story that you would expect that reading the book would be a miserable experience. However, the characters are so great and Paul Harding does such a good job of explaining to us why normal, sometimes even good, people did appalling things, that it becomes bearable.
The book is well written, and has an interesting use of vocabulary. I had to look up all sorts of words; dory (I'd forgotten it was a fish), entablature (never heard of it, it is the architecture above an architrave), lye solution (I guess I once knew that it was potassium hydroxide) and skep (a beehive, according to the dictionary only in American English, like the agricultural machine tedder). Although it has some long sentences, they are beautifully formed and it was not hard to read. An odd feature is that it swaps to the present tense every so often for no apparent reason.
In the end, the book's greatest achievement is that it makes crystal clear how skin colour and 'race' are really completely irrelevant when trying to understand how people are inherently in themselves. The meaning of 'social construct' becomes understandable. It is only in a racist society with a racist history that these things matter.
The book is well written, and has an interesting use of vocabulary. I had to look up all sorts of words; dory (I'd forgotten it was a fish), entablature (never heard of it, it is the architecture above an architrave), lye solution (I guess I once knew that it was potassium hydroxide) and skep (a beehive, according to the dictionary only in American English, like the agricultural machine tedder). Although it has some long sentences, they are beautifully formed and it was not hard to read. An odd feature is that it swaps to the present tense every so often for no apparent reason.
In the end, the book's greatest achievement is that it makes crystal clear how skin colour and 'race' are really completely irrelevant when trying to understand how people are inherently in themselves. The meaning of 'social construct' becomes understandable. It is only in a racist society with a racist history that these things matter.