Eve by WM. Paul Young
Published by Simon and Schuster on September 15th 2015
Genres: Christian, Fiction, General, Religious, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 320
The Shack shattered our limited perceptions about God. Eve will destroy harmful misconceptions about ourselves.From the author of the 25-million copy bestseller The Shack comes a captivating new novel destined to be one of the most important and talked-about books of the decade.
Sometime ago, someone suggested I read The Shack by William Paul Young (thank you, Donna). I read the book and while it wasn’t the type of book I usually read, it was an amazing book and I hated to see the book end – it was that good. I loved that the story was enjoyable to believers and non-believers alike. I still talk about that book and recommend it to others. I even liked how it sparked a bit of debate in the Christian community.
When I saw this book, Eve, available and realized it was the same author, William Paul Young, I was excited to read it thinking it might be along the same lines as The Shack. When I read the description for the book, it says it is a “refreshing conversation about the equality of men and women within the context of our beginnings.” That got me curious for sure!
What “they” say: When a shipping container washes ashore on an island between our world and the next, John the Collector finds a young woman inside—broken, frozen, and barely alive. With the aid of Healers and Scholars, John oversees her recovery and soon discovers her genetic code connects her to every known human race. She is a girl of prophecy and no one can guess what her survival will mean… No one but Eve, Mother of the Living, who calls her “daughter,” and invites her to witness the truth about her story—indeed, the truth about us all. Eve is a bold, unprecedented exploration of the Creation narrative, true to the original texts and centuries of scholarship—yet with breathtaking discoveries that challenge traditional misconceptions about who we are and how we’re made. As The Shack awakened readers to a personal, non-religious understanding of God, Eve will free us from faulty interpretations that have corrupted human relationships since the Garden of Eden. Eve opens a refreshing conversation about the equality of men and women within the context of our beginnings, helping us see each other as our Creator does—complete, unique, and not constrained to cultural rules or limitations. Thoroughly researched and exquisitely written, Eve is a masterpiece that will inspire readers for generations to come.
Here’s what I say: I felt that Mr. Young did his job in researching the story and he gives us a story of creation with a modern look. He writes well but I’ll confess I did have a hard time connecting with the book myself.
I honestly spent a majority of the time reading this book feeling confused and slightly bored. Knowing the story in advance was the only reason I was able to continue to follow along. The story seemed to move between the time of creation and some futuristic state with a mix of current day thrown in for good measure. I felt that Mr. Young has readers jumping all over in time, reading a mix of traditional theology and the alternative ideas from the author.
…..and then there are all the names for God. As a Christian, I know quite a few of the names used for God but this book uses more names than I’ve ever heard and trying to keep up with that in itself was a task. The end result of this book – for me – was that I felt disjointed and I had a hard time just understanding exactly what the book was trying to do or tell me.
If the reader is trying to read this book as a biblical account of creation and the fall, the maze of confusion will easily get them lost. Reading this book as a work of fiction, William Paul Young has an amazing imagination for sure!
In The Shack, Mr. Young used provocative and unorthodox views of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t step outside the words of the Scripture. In Eve, he definitely stepped outside the words and in fact, he changes the biblical account.
Honestly, I thought about giving up on this book several times, but felt that I needed to read the whole book in order to form a decent opinion to provide to potential readers.
About the Author: William Paul Young was born in Canada and raised among a Stone Age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of former New Guinea. He suffered great loss as a child and young adult and now enjoys the “wastefulness of grace” with his family in the Pacific Northwest. He is the author of two #1 New York Times bestsellers, The Shack and Crossroads.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion.
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