Garden of Eden
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Author Description
Product Description The perfection of the novel: a sweeping tale of a woman's loss and discovery from the best-selling author of The Perfection of the Morning.Sharon Butala achieved that magical combination of critical acclaim and popular sales success with her #1 national bestseller, The Perfection of the Morning (over 50,000 copies sold). Now, in what many are predicting will be her most powerful novel ever, Sharon Butala returns to Perfection territory in a profoundly moving tale of two generations of western women and their search to heal themselves.A farm woman like her mother and her grandmother before her, Iris finds her comfortable rhythm of prairie life shattered forever when her husband dies suddenly. She begins a search for the niece she raised as a daughter, but has not seen for ten years. Lannie, fleeing from her own past, is desperately trying to save others - and herself - in the drought-ravaged deserts of Ethiopia. In her quest for Lannie, Iris must come to terms with her rage, her longing for love and the inexorable truths of nature.The Garden of Eden is a transforming story that travels deep into the heart of contemporary womanhood and challenges the myth of the West. A search for redemption in a landscape on the edge of ruin, The Garden of Eden is a passionate testament to Sharon Butala's immense talent as a writer and interpreter of our own search for a place in the world.HarperFlamingoCanada - A Phyllis Bruce Book"... one of this country's true visionaries."' The Toronto Star About the Author SHARON BUTALA is an award-winning and bestselling author of both fiction and non-fiction. Her classic book The Perfection of the Morning was a #1 bestseller and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award. Fever, a short story collection, won the 1992 Authors’ Award for Paperback Fiction and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for best book (Canada and Caribbean region). Butala is a recipient of the Marian Engel Award, the Saskatchewan Order
Menrva's Summary
THE PULSE
The sudden death of her husband forces a prairie farm woman to confront her own grief and embark on a search for the niece she once raised as a daughter. Iris, accustomed to the predictable rhythms of rural life, finds her world dismantled by loss and the subsequent silence of her home. Her objective is to locate Lannie, who has spent a decade distancing herself from her past by working in the drought-stricken regions of Ethiopia. The narrative alternates between the stark, expansive landscapes of the Canadian West and the harsh, unforgiving environment of East Africa, highlighting the internal and external obstacles both women face as they attempt to reconcile their pasts with their present realities.
INSIDE THE PAGES
- Dual-perspective narrative structure alternating between Canada and Ethiopia
- Exploration of the psychological impact of sudden bereavement
- Detailed depiction of prairie farm life and its seasonal cycles
- Examination of the complex, often strained bonds between mothers and daughters
- Contrast between the Canadian landscape and the drought-ravaged African desert
- Themes of personal redemption and the search for emotional stability
- Focus on the internal monologue and character development of two generations of women
- Critique of traditional myths surrounding the Western frontier
THE COLLECTIVE ECHO
This novel is characterized by its focus on the internal landscapes of its protagonists as they navigate grief and displacement. The narrative structure suggests a deliberate pacing that prioritizes character introspection over rapid plot progression. By juxtaposing the Canadian prairie with the deserts of Ethiopia, the work emphasizes the universality of the search for personal meaning and healing. The prose reflects a deep engagement with the physical environment, treating the land as a central force that shapes the characters' identities and their capacity for change.
Page Count:
400
Publication Date:
1999-08-23
Publisher:
Phyllis Bruce Books Perennial
ISBN-10:
0006485030
ISBN-13:
9780006485032
Literary Fiction
Contemporary
Canadian
Contemporary
Literature & Fiction
Prairie
World Literature
