This Other Eden
AuthorPaul Harding
LanguageEnglish
Publication date
2023

This Other Eden is a 2023 novel by American writer Paul Harding.

Background

The novel presents a fictionalized version of Maine's Malaga Island, dubbed "Apple Island" in the book.[1] It’s based on the historical record of when “Maine forcibly removed all residents of a mixed-race fishing community on a small island off the coast of Phippsburg in 1912.”[2]

Harding began the earliest version of the novel by writing a scene featuring Mrs. Hale, a character from his novel Enon.[3] In the scene, Mrs. Hale and members of her family sit in a meadow, and observe an unknown person, inspired by a Charles Ethan Porter painting.[3]

Reception

According to literary review aggregator Book Marks, the novel received mostly "Rave" reviews.[4] Danez Smith, in a review published by The New York Times, praised Harding's prose.[5] In a review published by the Financial Times, Catherine Taylor also praised Harding's writing.[6]

Writing for the The Los Angeles Times, Mark Athitakis compared the book unfavorably to Harding's previous works.[7] Athitakis also wrote that Harding's writing was "fussed over".[7]

The book was shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize[8] and shortlisted for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction.[9]

Some historians and those with family ties to the island claimed the novel includes harmful myths about the island's residents that historians have tried to correct.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Franklin, M. J. (22 January 2023). "Paul Harding Captures the Quiet Side of Calamity". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Hoey, Dennis (November 26, 2023). "Book about Maine's Malaga Island falls short in Booker Prize contest". Press Herald.
  3. 1 2 Terrell, Whitney; Ganeshananthan, V.V. (2 February 2023). "This Other Eden: Paul Harding on Imagining Our Integrated Past". Literary Hub. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "This Other Eden". Book Marks. Literary Hub. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Smith, Danez (24 January 2023). "In 'This Other Eden,' a Historical Tale of Paradise Lost". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Catherine (27 January 2023). "This Other Eden — a tragedy of American racism and eugenics". The Financial Times. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 Athitakis, Mark (24 January 2023). "Paul Harding's modest debut won a surprise Pulitzer. His third novel aims too high". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Porter (2023-09-21). "In England: The Booker Prize for Fiction Names Its 2023 Shortlist". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  9. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A. (October 3, 2023). "Here Are the Finalists for the 2023 National Book Awards". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  10. ↑ Gray, Megan (2023-11-12). "Malaga Island-inspired 'This Other Eden' is fiction; critics say it revives harmful myths". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-11-12.


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