This Other Eden

I have read THE BEST Booker-longlisted book about an island and its isolated people whose traditions are jeopardized when outsiders bring their well-intentioned but prejudiced efforts ashore. It was called The Colony by Audree Magee. And I'm still very bitter that that amazing book was not only not shortlisted, but failed to take the whole Prize last year. Hell, I might even argue it was the best overall nominated book in the last decade. Well, someone was paying attention, because this year's long list features a book with a very similar premise. Hell, the young man who is most affected by the outsiders, the one who can potentially bridge the gap between the two cultures, is a very talented painter. It's almost as if I've read the same book!

Except I haven't. This Other Eden takes place off the coast of Maine, on a fictional island inspired by the real life Malaga island. Malaga Island, like its fictional counterpart here (Apple Island), was the site of a racially integrated community, one of the first of its kind in the 1800s. So there are obvious differences right away between The Colony with its isolated Irish island and the island of The Other Eden. But the biggest difference is really in the quality of the story. This Other Eden has its moments of greatness, but much of this story drags on. Magee was clever with The Colony, using every word skillfully, creating a plot with multiple layers. She created an entertaining story that could stand on its own, but which doubled as an thorough exploration of the ills of colonization without being heavy handed. This Other Eden is not that kind of story. It is one where the writing is overwrought much of the time. Is it full of beautiful and visceral strings of adjectives and descriptions? Absolutely. But a story also needs to be alive, and I did not feel that Harding embraced his characters or was close enough to the story to really capture it. Certainly, as a reader, I never really felt I connected with the occupants of Apple Island.

I recommend This Other Eden for fans of historical novels saturated with ornate descriptions and impossibly complex sentences, e.g. the works of Marilynne Robinson or Geraldine Brooks. For most readers who are curious about this storyline, I suggest checking out The Colony.