
With 1268 ratings
By: WM. Paul Young, Roger Mueller, et al.
Purchased At: $16.00
The Shack shattered our limited perceptions about God. Eve will destroy harmful misconceptions about ourselves.
From the author of the 25-million copy best seller The Shack comes a beautifully crafted, captivating new novel destined to be one of the most important and talked-about books of the decade.
Eve is a bold, unprecedented exploration of the creation narrative, true to the original texts and centuries of scholarship - yet with breathtaking discoveries that challenge traditional misconceptions about who we are and how we're made. As The Shack awakened listeners to a personal, nonreligious understanding of God, Eve will free us from faulty interpretations that have compromised human relationships since the Garden of Eden.
Eve opens a refreshing conversation about the equality of men and women within the context of our beginnings, helping us see each other as our Creator does - complete, unique, and not constrained to man-defined rules or limitations.
Thoroughly researched and exquisitely written, Eve is a masterpiece that will inspire listeners for generations to come.
1) about believing in God - He wants us to know & trust him, not just believe (from John's words to Lilly)
2) about evil - it is everywhere, even in the most precious of places (referencing: in the Garden, in the Refuge, in marriage, in friendship)
3) about loneliness - We never have been nor are we ever alone. (from Lilly's realizations about Adam in the Garden and about herself.)
I saw some of the interview of the author with Maria Shriver today. I don't think this is a book about women & how Eve (and all women) have been forever blamed for eating from the Tree of Knowledge. It does describe the fall of man in a very detailed & compelling & heart pounding way. It depicts & describes Biblical events beautifully - like the Garden, Creation, births of Adam & Eve, and more. This book, like The Shack, gives some additional framework for the reader to consider more detail than scripturally written. And, the story of Lilly, her hurt & healing, like The Shack, is amazing. My jaw dropped at the end, in a good way. I personally feel directed back to the scriptures and to my genuine love for God.
However, Eve is a failure at almost every level.
(spoilers at the end)
The setting of the story is some sort of limbo/purgatory; no one seems to know what. Those living there are known by their roles/gifts (e.g. Collector, Finder, Healer, Scholar). The story starts off with the main character - a Collector whose name is John - having a conversation with Eve who describes the coming event as the birth of her daughter. A strange ship floats in from Earth (?) containing the bodies of a dozen young teenage girls and 1 middle-aged man. It was obvious that girls had been victims of sex-trafficking and the man had been trying to free them before they were caught and all shot execution-style. On further examination, another girl is found broken and half-alive. Once the girl, whose name is later revealed as Lilly, is revived, she begins to have excursions into the past with Eve in order to be a Witness. Meanwhile, several Scholars come to learn from what she is a witness to, one of whom brings his own darkness with him. There are allusions to angels and other higher beings, but they are mostly unseen.
I'm the sort of person who should really like this book. It has elements of fantasy, a central mystery and theological insights, but it just left me befuddled. Unfortunately. the fantastical elements were nebulous, the story by turns predictable or just plain muddled and the characters completely non-descript. Even the main character, Lilly is not at all sympathetic or likeable. When unexpected events happened, it was not because they moved the story along, but seemed to be just pulled out of nowhere with no relevance to the story. Theologically, Young takes an overlooked insight into the nature of man and woman, but then uses it to supercede the egalitarian vs complementarian debate and move into outright feminist gynocentrism. I don't see anyway that this book receives anything but universal condemnation
**Spoilers**
The dark Scholar immediately starts calling her Lilith. That tells you the point of the novel. it is a retelling of the Lilith myth.
After the Fall, Adam is thrown out of the garden, but not Eve. Every night he comes to the garden and cries out for her, but with no response. Once Lilly is seduced by the darkness and restored to her previous state as teenaged-prostitute, she goes back to Adam as Lilith to become Eve's replacement. He rejects her and she seeks death, but God restores her within the purifying fire of the wall around Eden. Eve eventually leaves Eden to join Adam. There is then a weird scene where Lilly joins Eve and Mary, the mother of Jesus, during the years after the fall where they commiserate about how all her sons (the men) do is fight.
As the book comes to an end, her companions are all called away to their next calling. In the end, the main character is *sadly* taken to Heaven and Lilly is escorted into a room which the office of the head of the mental health clinic she's been at where she finds her previous companions as her 'new' caretakers (although it is also obvious that at this point she is already completely healed through the fires of Eden).
The story, to some, will seem like just another journey into the realms of SciFy yet for those of us who are aware of the Biblical account of Creation and the fall from Grace it is much much more. The story is told on a lush scale, which Creation certainly was and is. The building of the world coupled with this far reaching story will fascinate readers acquainted with the story of Creation. At the heart of the book is how sin crept into the world long before the fall took place and how it is possible to restore our relationship with God. In my opinion, Wm. Paul Young does not pardon Eve of all sin but seems to place most of the blame on Adam for the fall.
Wm. Paul Young blends Biblical accounts to his stories as well as gives them an ordinary feel that can capture even young people's interest. I have read his other books, The Shack and The Crossroads. All of his works are a pure joy to read and for those of us that are familiar with the "heart" of his stories, they will be delighted when they run into familiar characters that are near and dear to our hearts. I highly recommend this book as well as his other works of joy.
There were a couple of things that have particularly stood out in my mind... I thought the way of introducing the serpent to Adam before the Fall certainly reminded me of ways that I have turned away from God at times in my life - not due to sin, not due to anything actually happening e.g. just by worrying about what *could* happen - through just looking inward to myself and not looking outward to Him/Them, and not renewing my mind in who He is/They are. The second one is the mirror. I know what it feels like to look in a mirror such as Lilly does and see what she saw in my reflection. I now, however, see myself as God sees me, too.
This book has challenged me intellectually, has got me speaking to God about creation in a whole new way, and also has shown me (on a level I had previously not experienced) how much I am LOVED by God. It also touched pieces of my heart and mind that have been bruised and broken and reminded me I have a Healer who will restore me if I return to Him.
Were some parts a bit confusing? Yes... but I was reading it a bit quick!! But it will mean that when I go back... there will be delights that I will read that I missed this time... and I am looking forward to it!
I loved this book and I'm so looking forward to reading more from this author.
Just like in his previous books (The Shack and Crossroads) he's not afraid to tackle some difficult issues but he does it so well. This one touches on human trafficking and abuse but it's so healing.
The characters were named ,I feel so personal I can relate each one in my life.
I felt all Lilly's emotions,and felt I was taking the journey with her. especially at the end when everything slotted into place.
Thank you P.W Young for great story .
Most importantly, though, is that it brought me closer to GOD