This Other Eden

Book cover of This Other Eden: A Novel

Book description

In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. Over a century later, the Honeys' descendants and a diverse group of neighbors are desperately poor, isolated, and often hungry, but nevertheless protected from the hostility awaiting them on…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked This Other Eden as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Jordanna Max Brodsky

Author

Coastal Maine is one of my favorite places on earth. Rock meets sea, and islands pepper the horizon, each with their own story to tell. The true story of Malaga Island, where a multi-racial community was forcibly displaced in the early 20th century, is one of Maine's most heartbreaking. In masterful prose, Harding envisions a fictional version of the island, full of weird and wonderful characters as unforgettable as the landscape they inhabit. Their story may be tragic, but the book never is.

From Jordanna's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Randy Kraft

Author

The story at the heart of this novel is based on an island off the coast of Maine that was settled in the mid-1800s by former slaves, some with native American DNA. There, they built a self-contained community without conflict until eugenicists and developers took over.

They were evicted, their homes burned, the dead exhumed and trashed, and several were committed to an asylum for supposedly feeble-minded. The story is, of course, disturbing; however, it is a fascinating anthropological journey, questioning the meaning of family and community and what it means to survive against the odds.

Another master class in…

From Randy's 3 favorite reads in 2023.