Secrets of Eden

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Like Midwives and The Double Bind, Chris Bohjalian's newest suspense novel, Secrets of Eden, was (no exaggeration) nearly impossible for me to put down.

Set against the beautiful backdrop of a small town in rural Vermont is the horrific murder-suicide of a local couple. Businessman George Hayward, who has a history of abusing his wife Alice, murders her while their teenage daughter, Katie, is out at a concert, and then turns the gun on himself. Holding the family—and the town—together immediately after the tragedy is Reverend Steven Drew, who baptized Alice the day she died and suspects that she foresaw her own death.

Enter Heather Laurent, the author of a book on angels who also lost her parents in a murder-suicide. Heather tries, along with Steven, to befriend the orphan Katie, and they all try to pick up the pieces. Having his own crisis of faith after the tragedy, Steven buries himself in Heather (literally) in an attempt to escape his own grief at the loss of Alice. The twist: shortly after Steven and Heather begin their affair, Steven becomes a suspect in George's death, which police believe was not a suicide after all.

To reveal more would be a spoiler. Although there is plenty of violence and sex in this novel—including within the church congregation—Bohjalian writes about it in both realistic and tasteful ways. Each section of the book is written from a major character's point of view (including the tough-as-nails county prosecutor, Catherine Benincasa), and it's difficult not to sympathize with each of them because they're so realistically human. Bohjalian excels at writing about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

Although Heather's new age persona got on my nerves, she was one of several strong female characters that Bohjalian is never afraid to include in his novels, and I find that to be gratifying. Even Alice, who was a victim, is revealed to have had secret and brave parts of her story.

As in life, nothing in Secrets of Eden is neatly resolved or as clear-cut as it initially seems. When the book ends, you're still left wondering who deserves the label of hero or villain. For this reader, that's part of Bohjalian's genius as a writer.

Written by: M.L. Madison, April 19th 2010

Fidel's Last Days

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:50:00 +0000

By Roland Merullo

Shaye Areheart Books

Fidel’s Last Days is a novel about a fictional conspiracy to kill Fidel Castro by applying a poisonous topical cream to his hairline. Supposedly the CIA has attempted to assassinate Castro 638 times, but Roland Merullo leads you to believe that maybe this time, with the cream, the secret society, and the beautiful woman, it will work. It has to.

The story moves effortlessly between Carolina Anzar Perez in Miami and Carlos Arroyo Gutierrez in Havana. Carolina is our likeable protagonist. She is powerful, wealthy, independent, and a trained agent of deceit: “At five foot five and 121 pounds, she could incapacitate a man twice her weight with one kick.” But hold onto your envy, because with that independence comes a concomitant void. Beyond her powerful uncle she has no family, no kids, and no peaceful daily existence. But we can tell Caroline won’t give up her espionage for the life of a “domestic would-be saint.” She’ll never back down, she’ll never fail—she is far too good at succeeding.

Carlos is Cuba’s Minister of Health, and in his opinion the country is sick, its strength ready to give way. He is our portal to Castro’s inner circle, where we see that fear, like a vicious school schoolgirl rumor, has infected contemporary Cuba. The torture, the corruption, the death—it’s real. People tell themselves it’s not so they can walk alone after dark to get milk for tomorrow, but Merullo reminds us that it’s real, and that a land governed by fear is a playground for evil.

When given the chance, Carlos risks his life and his loved ones to fight for his ideals. But he is untrained, paranoid, and disillusioned. So we turn the pages, wondering if he can survive under the weight of his task. Meanwhile, Carolina finds herself in the midst of her own inner turmoil, “being tugged gently back again, not all the way back, but closer, into her Cubanness, one high-heeled foot feeling around tentatively in the old world.” Eventually we don’t know who to trust, or just how much is at stake.

Fidel’s Last Days is clever and sneaky, with provocative characters and a transparent look at Cuba’s messy political calculus. Besides that it is thoroughly entertaining and at times even educational.

Written by: Katy Pine, April 17th 2009