READING CHALLENGE BOOK REVIEW: Eden Close by Anita Shreve

 

Publication Date: October 4, 2005 Format: Paperback Genre:  Fiction

Publisher: Mariner Books Length: 265 pages Buy: Paperback

Synopsis

Andrew, after many years, returns to his hometown to attend his mother's funeral. Planning to remain only a few days, he is drawn into the tragic legacy of his childhood friend and beautiful girl next door, Eden Close. An adopted child, Eden had learned to avoid the mother who did not want her and to please the father who did. She also aimed to please Andrew and his friends, first by being one of the boys and later by seducing them. Then one hot night, Andrew was awakened by gunshots and piercing screams from the next farm: Mr. Close had been killed and Eden blinded.

Now, seventeen years later, Andrew begins to uncover the grisly story––to unravel the layers of thwarted love between the husband, wife, and tormented girl. And as the truth about Eden's past comes to light, so too does Andrew's strange and binding attachment to her reveal itself.

Review: 

I read this as part of my 2022 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge. This was my pick for E. 

Andrew returns to his hometown and starts reminiscing about his childhood, and the girl next door who has always held his attention.  This is almost a character study of how we view our lives, and how when we look at it through different lenses it can shift.  Did I have an idea of where this was going from the beginning yes I did but the writing is beautiful and haunting and maybe its the stage in life I'm in but I know that feeling of reminiscing of looking back over your life and also reconnecting with people you had left behind and now you see them in a different light. 

Its a slow methodical book as Andrew goes through his childhood home and tries to piece together his life now and his past, to uncover secrets and reconnect the girl next door who captured his attention so long ago. Its also about finding yourself and starting over.  I really enjoyed this book and forgot how truly captivating Shreve's writing can be.  

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