Member Review
Review by
Aravind R, Reviewer
James Lee Burke has been, for over half a century, a brilliant star on the American literary scene and Another Kind of Eden is his forty-first novel. Set in the American west of the early 1960s, it straddles multiple genres and features Aaron Holland Broussard, a war veteran and aspiring writer, as its lead.
Aaron is exploring the country by riding freight trains and stops at Trinidad, Colorado, where he finds a job as a farmhand. Suffering from non-chemically induced blackouts and frequent nightmares from the war, he tries to lose himself in his new life on the farm. Suddenly, due to some freak events, his idyllic existence is threatened as he finds himself on the wrong side of a local man of terrifying repute and his seemingly psychopathic son. Meanwhile, he falls in love with a beautiful, fiery girl who, somehow, is mixed up with a shady art professor and a busload of banged up hippies. Amidst all this, a local policeman pesters Aaron to help him catch the killer of a number of girls and women in the area. Things start to deteriorate quickly and Aaron finds that nothing is as it seems anymore. In order to save himself and his love, Aaron has to confront several demons—both inside his head and outside of it.
This was my first experience of Burke’s work and I was expecting it to be a mystery / suspense thriller out and out. Though it feels like one initially, it ends up being something entirely different thanks to the heavy dose of magical realism that permeates it in the latter half. Burke’s characters are etched with a lot of detail and all of them are messed up one way or another. There are multiple layers to these characters, which get peeled off as the narrative progresses, showcasing the author’s supreme skill. Aaron, as the narrator, is quite engaging, but is exasperating at times due to his unreliability. Burke’s description of the people and the scenery is starkly lifelike and his dialogues are snappy.
As much as enjoyed Burke’s engrossing storytelling, I could not help feeling cheated by the utterly inconclusive epilogue—following the nerve-racking climax—that leaves many questions unanswered. Maybe I was expecting something different from what Burke normally delivers, but I was still disappointed by the ending and would rate it 3.5 out of 5.
Another Kind of Eden is sure to be loved by Burke’s fans but, in my opinion, it may not be the ideal place to start reading him.
My sincere thanks to James Lee Burke and Orion Publishing Group for the e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
Aaron is exploring the country by riding freight trains and stops at Trinidad, Colorado, where he finds a job as a farmhand. Suffering from non-chemically induced blackouts and frequent nightmares from the war, he tries to lose himself in his new life on the farm. Suddenly, due to some freak events, his idyllic existence is threatened as he finds himself on the wrong side of a local man of terrifying repute and his seemingly psychopathic son. Meanwhile, he falls in love with a beautiful, fiery girl who, somehow, is mixed up with a shady art professor and a busload of banged up hippies. Amidst all this, a local policeman pesters Aaron to help him catch the killer of a number of girls and women in the area. Things start to deteriorate quickly and Aaron finds that nothing is as it seems anymore. In order to save himself and his love, Aaron has to confront several demons—both inside his head and outside of it.
This was my first experience of Burke’s work and I was expecting it to be a mystery / suspense thriller out and out. Though it feels like one initially, it ends up being something entirely different thanks to the heavy dose of magical realism that permeates it in the latter half. Burke’s characters are etched with a lot of detail and all of them are messed up one way or another. There are multiple layers to these characters, which get peeled off as the narrative progresses, showcasing the author’s supreme skill. Aaron, as the narrator, is quite engaging, but is exasperating at times due to his unreliability. Burke’s description of the people and the scenery is starkly lifelike and his dialogues are snappy.
As much as enjoyed Burke’s engrossing storytelling, I could not help feeling cheated by the utterly inconclusive epilogue—following the nerve-racking climax—that leaves many questions unanswered. Maybe I was expecting something different from what Burke normally delivers, but I was still disappointed by the ending and would rate it 3.5 out of 5.
Another Kind of Eden is sure to be loved by Burke’s fans but, in my opinion, it may not be the ideal place to start reading him.
My sincere thanks to James Lee Burke and Orion Publishing Group for the e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
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