This book begins in 2014 with a general breakdown of the economic infrastructure in the U.S. followed by the inevitable social unrest and violence. A young family, Kianna and John Wallace and their two 13-year-old twins, Val and Eron, try to escape from Chicago – which is rapidly disintegrating – to John’s parents’ house in New Hampshire. On the way, they are robbed, John is killed, and only after Kianna and the kids are almost dead themselves are they rescued and taken in by a remarkable group of people who call themselves The Tribes of Eden.
The story basically takes off from there, describing life both in the “shire” of the Tribes of Eden and in the “GRID” of the remaining population in the former United States.
Discussion: Part of the author’s agenda is to incorporate into his story his personal passion for helping to change the life experience of people from one of greed, acquisition, and violence into one of sharing and caring. He does indeed make this point with Tribes of Eden and I think it’s a good cause. But a novel is perhaps not the best way for him to proceed. The prose is leaden, characterized by stock epithets (e.g., “Dawn’s rosy fingers”), inappropriate metaphors (Venus as “a dusky jewel” which really doesn’t make sense unless you happen to be listening to The Doors sing “Hello I Love You” as you’re looking up at the sky), cardboard characters (both good and evil), political improbabilities, and an episode towards the end of the book of NanoSecondLove that makes most Instalove fixations look like long-term courtships.
So let’s not talk about the book, but rather the real life project that inspired the book, “The Eden Alternative.” Here’s what the website says:
Eliminating the Plagues of Loneliness, Helpless and Boredom
The core concept of The Eden Alternative is strikingly simple. Dr. William Thomas, his wife Judy, the Eden home office staff, 50 Eden Educators, 60 mentors and more than 15,000 associates teach that where elders live must be habitats for human beings, not sterile medical institutions. They are dedicated to eliminating the plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom that make life intolerable in most of today’s long-term care facilities.Creating Homes Where Life is Worth Living
The Eden Alternative shows how companionship, the opportunity to give meaningful care to other living things, and the variety and spontaneity that mark an enlivened environment, can succeed where pills and therapies often fail. Places that have adopted the Eden Alternative typically are filled with plants, animals, and are regularly visited by children.”
Evaluation: If your reading time is limited, I’d be in favor of skipping the book and using the time to take a look around at the author’s website and learning about The Eden Alternative. It sounds like a very worthwhile program!
Rating: 1.5/5
Published by Sana Publications, 2012
Filed under: Book Review Tagged: | Book Review
I will definitely pass on this book, and while I think the project itself is worthy, many assisted living and graduated care projects are trying to do the same thing. Quite often I see or hear about animals going to nursing homes, entertainment, and children’s visits to the elderly. The expensive is the only thing that prevents these things from being available to all elderly people. As we get closer and closer to something like assisted living, I’m paying attention.
Totally with you on this one! I am not the least bit interested in reading the book (I think I’ve got at least a half dozen that are biting at my heels) but I love this initiative. Hey, we are all getting older and we will all be affected. I’d much rather have children and animals around me that a hospital environment.
Sorry the book was a stinker. It sounds rather depressing.
Wow. Jill, have you considered the possibility that you are angry at the world in general (and are therefore disinclined to love your authorial soul mate Terry Pratchett as you should) because you read so much dystopia? As someone who is aware that 2014 is rapidly approaching and as a Chicagoan already under complete lockdown due to the NATO conference, I can only hope that this world never comes to be.
I think all living facilities should operate like that! I worked in a nursing home when I was a teen and it was very depressing!! Thanks for reading the book and letting us know that it truly is one to pass.
I am not sure this book and I would get along very well, and I am glad that you shared your honest reactions to it with us. I don’t really enjoy heavy-handed novels, and I am not sure I would have gotten on board with the message the author was trying to impart.
Hmmm…this sounds just awful but the web site does sound kind of interesting. If the purpose of the novel was to drum up business for his group, I doubt it will do well.
The aim does sound worthwhile, and I appreciate your feedback on the book. I trust your judgment, especially when you rate a book that low.
Thanks for reading this one so the rest of us don’t have to! LOL!
I am not really suprised to find that the majority of ‘young’ (read under 60 y.o.) readers are not interested in entertaining notions of aging especially aging in a society (ours) that does not find value in age but finds it depressing. While I enjoy a good read and appreciate excellent literature —I want to read this book for its message. Perhaps it will actually present a positive uplifting possibility for my future years.The Eden experience is certainly one that I would like to consider…and its philosophy goes much further than just having animals and plant in your room.