Havah by Tosca Lee

Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee (originally published in 2008 but reissued in 2010 by B&H), 384 pages

Summary
Havah is, as the subtitle suggests, a story of the biblical Eve. It begins in the Garden, with creation. I’m not really sure what else to say here.

Thoughts
I think this is one of those instances where, at least at first, I was disappointed because my expectations were so high. I’d heard great, amazing raves of this book for almost 3 years before finally picking it up. For the first few chapters, I was underwhelmed. After awhile, though, I adjusted. It’s really a great novel, and I appreciated the writing.

I appreciated that she used nontransliterated names for the characters; it helped me come to the story anew. And I did see the story afresh, at least certain aspects of it. It is, at least in some ways, an exploration of what it means to be human, what it means to be a woman.

Better than most, but it didn’t blow my mind.

Sadly, the part of this reading experience that most has stuck with me is the Author’s Notes at the end of the book. When I read it, it felt like Lee felt the need to defend her choices, to remind her readers that although the book is based on the biblical narrative, it is fictional. Maybe I read too much into it. I actually hope so.

Even though it wasn’t a perfect read for me, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of Lee’s books.

Rating: 4 stars

About the author
Tosca Lee (Facebook) is also the author of Demon: A Memoir; her third novel will be a first-person account of Judas Iscariot; and she’s also written a novel with Ted Dekker, Forbidden, due out this fall. She lives in Nebraska.

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