Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes: Review

Teddyrose@1

5 years ago

Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Publisher: Pronghorn Press, (May 25, 2020)
Category: Literary Fiction, Southern Fiction, Family Fiction
Tour dates: May & June, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-941052-32-2
Available in Print and ebook, 285 pages

Description Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Rowen Hart has been raised as the pampered son and only child of a prominent family in the small community of White Rock, North Carolina. It’s the 1950s and he’s drifting through the days, following the life path his parents have planned for him and preparing to go away to college. When his father’s suicide turns his world upside down, he finds himself responsible for his mother in their suddenly reduced circumstances that leave them dependent on his uncle, his father’s business partner.

Ill prepared to take over as head of the family, Rowen doesn’t know which way to turn. Then a neighbor’s ten year old daughter comes to live with them, baffling him with her wild behavior and never ending attempts to win his approval and making his new responsibilities even more overwhelming.

As Rowen tries to find his way, he begins to question everything about his upbringing, his current circumstances and his plans for the future as they turn to dust in his hands.

My Thoughts Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

It is 1950, as Rowen Hart is about to go off to college, his world splits apart when his father commits suicide. His mother takes to her bed and the only one left to help pick up the pieces is their housekeeper Adeline. Rowen has a summer job picking tobacco but he slacks off quite a bit. As the book opens, he has slacked off to attend a trail that 10 year old Eden is called to testify at. Her father died around the same time and Rowan’s father. She testifies that her uncle shot her father but no one believes the 10 year old, including her own mother. Eden shows up on the doorstep of Rowans and asks his mother if she can live with them.

She looks up to Rowen and takes to following him around. He goes to his Uncle, who was in business with his father to get his father’s share. His uncle said there was nothing left from his father’s share and gives him a little money for his mother. He says he will give his mother a small sum every month but Rowen will have to pay for college and also make up the balance his family will need to survive. He suspects his uncle is lying about his father’s share but just doesn’t have the backbone to argue. Against his mother’s and Adeline’s wishes, he decides not to go to college.

Rowan’s luck turns when their neighbor Claude stops by to repair the broken gate that Rowen keeps putting off fixing. Actually, he doesn’t really know how and doesn’t have the proper tools. Rowen comes out of the house to ask Claude why he is fixing their fence and then proceed to help as Claude directs them. Claude sees something in Rowen and invites him to work for him on his construction crew until the end of summer when he will leave for college. Of course he doesn’t go to college.

As the months and years go by, Rowen starts to mature. He marries and has 3 children and keeps bring money home. However, he still has a long way to go. There are many times I wanted to slap some sense into him. I wanted someone to slap some sense into him!

The characters leaped of the page and welcomed me into their dysfunctional lives. I couldn’t help joining them; I was caught like a deer in headlights. I especially loved Eden, so precocious and full of life despite her lot in life. I would love to tell you more but don’t want to risk spoilers.

I really had a hard time putting this book down and be warned, there were parts that made me cry like a baby. Jamie Lisa Forbes owes me a box of tissue! She really captured the 1950’s south, warts and all. Her take on the human condition reminds of the greats like John Steinbeck and Harper Lee! This is her third book and I also read and loved the first two. The first two won awards and I believe ‘Eden’ is just as deserving! She really captures the heart and soul of her characters. I imagine they haunt her as they will haunt me for a long time to come. I just can’t get them out of my head. I highly recommend ‘Eden’ and give it 5 stars!

About Jamie Lisa Forbes

Award winning author, Jamie Lisa Forbes was raised on a ranch along the Little Laramie River near Laramie, Wyoming. She attended the University of Colorado where she obtained degrees in English and philosophy. After fourteen months living in Israel, she returned to her family’s ranch where she lived for another fifteen years.

In 1994, she moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2001, she graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and began her North Carolina law practice.

Her first novel, Unbroken, won the WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction in 2011. Her collection of short stories, The Widow Smalls and Other Stories, won the High Plains Book Awards for a short story collection in 2015. Her law practice gave her the opportunity to travel many of the back roads of North Carolina and meet the unique and diverse individuals who inspired Eden.

Website: https://www.jamielisaforbes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jamielisaforbes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieLisaForbes

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Giveaway Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of print or ebook however, print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. There will be 2 winners. This giveaway ends July 1, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway