This Other Eden

Více o knize

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tinkers, this novel is inspired by the true story of Malaga Island, one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast. In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, find an island where they can build a life together. Over a century later, their descendants and a diverse group of neighbors live in desperate poverty, yet remain shielded from the hostility of the mainland. In the tumultuous summer of 1912, Matthew Diamond, a retired schoolteacher-turned-missionary, disrupts the community's fragile existence with his attempts to educate the children. His presence draws the attention of mainland authorities, influenced by the eugenics movement, who decide to forcibly evacuate the island and institutionalize its residents, aiming to transform it into a vacation spot. The story begins with a hurricane flood reminiscent of Noah's Ark and concludes with another Ark. Through breathtaking prose, Paul Harding brings to life a memorable cast of characters, including sisters Iris and Violet McDermott, who raise three orphaned Penobscot children, and the prophetic Zachary Hand to God Proverbs, a Civil War veteran living in a hollow tree. This spellbinding tale of resistance and survival serves as a powerful testament to the struggle for human dignity amidst intolerance and injustice.