The Book of Eve
Ratings2
Average rating3
The Binding meets The Handmaid's Tale - Discovering a book of dark and ancient power, a convent librarian must defend it with her life. Perfect for fans of dark academia and historical feminist fiction. 'A wonderfully rich and absorbing tale' Observer 'Expertly crafted and beautifully told' Jennifer Saint 'All so good. I read it in two days flat, and wish I had spaced it out more' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ READER REVIEW Beatrice is the convent's librarian. For years, she has shunned the company of her sisters, finding solace only with her manuscripts. Then, one carnival night, two women, bleeding and stricken, are abandoned outside the convent's walls. Moments from death, one of them presses something into Beatrice's hands: a bewitching book whose pages have a dangerous life of their own. But men of the faith want the book destroyed, and a zealous preacher has tracked it to her door. Her sisters' lives - or her obsession. Beatrice must decide. The book's voice is growing stronger. An ancient power uncoils. Will she dare to listen? More praise for THE BOOK OF EVE: 'What an extraordinary book' Harriet Tyce 'A ravishing, erudite feminist hijack of Renaissance Florence' Alice Albinia 'A beautifully written, utterly enthralling read' Karen Coles 'Mysterious, bewitching and beautiful' Elizabeth Lee 'Brutal and haunting' Melissa Fu 'Erudite and bewitching' Costanza Casati And some early reader reviews: 'It is a tribute to female strength, power and resilience' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A very interesting take on myth, mythology and the power of women when they work together for the greater good' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The writing was excellent with a compelling storyline and well developed characters and a fantastic setting' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'An emotional journey, I absolutely loved the story and characters' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Another challenging book for me to review. There are some things about it which are extremely well done. I can fully appreciate the quality of the prose which flows nicely and is very easy to read whilst at the same time being expressive and poetic in places. There is a clever sense of ambiguity about the setting. We are in a convent. The time period and place is never fully defined. There is a strong undertone of magical realism flowing through the text. The implicit criticism of patriarchy within religion was mostly well crafted. At the same time, I found myself struggling to connect with it.
I really want to like the more feminist takes on fantasy which are cropping up more and more (the GSFF book subscription which I received this through is doing a good job of highlighting them), but they are consistently fallen down on the caricature like presentation of men, losing any subtlety and ending up trying to bludgen the reader with pretty much all male characters being one note evil. This is taking the bechdel test and flipping it to its opposite extreme and honestly it ends up feeling just as unrealistic. I want books where there is a balance on these things!
I also got a sense that this book doesn't know where it is being marketed - I received it through a fantasy and Sci-fi subscription box, but honestly it felt more like historical fiction even if it isn't exactly placed in time or place. The fantastical elements are mostly present through a sense of magical realism which was only very minor.
Mostly, I feel this book just wasn't for me. I can respect the ambitions of the author even if I ended up a bit underwhelmed during the reading
