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From the internationally acclaimed author of The Preservationist comes a provocative retelling of the story of Eve and Adam, Abel and Cain---a novel of temptation and murder, of exile and loss. Once expelled from the Garden, Eve and Adam have to find their way past recriminations and bitterness to construct a new life together in a harsh land. But the challenges are many for the world's first family. Among their children are Cain and Abel, and soon the adults must discover how to be parents to one son who is everything they could hope for and another who is sullen, difficult, and rife with insecurities and jealousies. In the background, always, is the incomprehensibility of God's motives as He watches over their faltering attempts to build a life. In Fallen, David Maine has drawn a convincing, wryly observant, and enthralling portrait of a family---one driven (and riven) by passions, jealousies, irrationality, and love. The result is an intimate, in-depth story of brothers, a husband, and a wife---people whose struggles are both completely familiar and yet utterly original.
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (September 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312328494
ISBN-13: 978-0312328498
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,233,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #77 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Biblical Fiction #2241 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Historical #108993 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States
Even the world's very first family was seriously dysfunctional, or so argues David Maine in his imaginative, insightful second novel, FALLEN. In Maine's debut novel, 2004's THE PRESERVATIONIST, he focused on the Old Testament story of Noah's flood. Now, with FALLEN, Maine returns to the Book of Genesis from the very beginning, exploring the story of Adam and Eve after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, as well as the story of the world's first murder, when Adam and Eve's oldest son Cain killed his brother Abel.In Maine's novel, Cain is bitter, angry and resentful, yet oddly sympathetic. Cursed to wander about until the end of his days, marked by God with a mark that ostensibly keeps him from harm but actually reveals his true identity (and its accompanying dread) to all he meets, Cain lacks any support beyond his small family.As Cain's history is revealed, Maine grounds the young man's hatred of his father in larger family dynamics. Abel is the family golden boy, beloved by both God and by his parents. Cain, on the other hand, is despised for his skepticism and for his murder (according to Eve) of his stillborn twin brother in utero. Cain's crime can't be forgiven, perhaps, but Maine makes it possible to understand the circumstances that lead to such a shocking event in human history.Although FALLEN lacks the multiple voices that enriched THE PRESERVATIONIST, it is no less compelling. What is most impressive is how Maine weaves, from a few short verses in Genesis, a fully fleshed novel that expands on the Biblical narrative while still remaining true to its source. Chances are that many readers will return to the original text after reading Maine's retelling.
For a book with its fair share of murderers, rapists, and thieves, there are few characters in the Bible more hated than Cain. Even Eve, providing stiff competition by bearing the brunt of the blame for the expulsion from Eden, at the very least, will always be responsible for introducing mankind to sex. While religious theologians can wax poetic about the evils of notorious characters like Eve, Pontius Pilate and Judas, they have always been silent on the subject of Cain. On that, everyone is in agreement - Cain is the embodiment of evil. It is therefore an enormous feat of any writer to attempt to redraw this much-maligned biblical character as three-dimensional and complex. It is one that David Maine courageously takes on and accomplishes, breathing life into the characters of not only Cain, but also Abel, Adam and Eve. The novel, Fallen, takes us on a heartbreaking journey through the eyes of Cain, Abel, Adam and Eve meandering backwards from the eve of Cain's death to end with their eviction from Eden.Every character is given the chance to tell their story through each of the four books: Cain is a tortured, lonely man being punished for an act he isn't sure was entirely of his own volition; Abel is a slightly self-righteous, innocent baffled by his death yet ready to forgive; Adam is bewildered and unprepared for his exile out of Eden but is fervently loyal to the God that banished him; and Eve endures the pain of her punishment with grace and provides her husband with the strength to survive through her passion and love.Fallen is a beautifully written novel that challenges without offending even the most conservative of readers simply by revealing the humanity of these characters.
The Fallen: Life In and Out of Britain's Most Insane Group Fallen Angels The Books of Enoch: The Angels, The Watchers and The Nephilim: (With Extensive Commentary on the Three Books of Enoch, the Fallen Angels, the Calendar of Enoch, and Daniel's Prophecy) Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil: Why Church Fathers Suppressed The Book Of Enoch And Its Startling Revelations The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Roots of Christianity and Islam: Re-Erecting the Fallen Tent of David in the Land North of Damascus An Exorcist Explains the Demonic: The Antics of Satan and His Army of Fallen Angels Fallen Leaves: Last Words on Life, Love, War, and God Fallen A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits Houses of the Fallen (Demon) Fallen in Love Rise of the Fallen: Wars of the Realm, Book 2 Impact of the Fallen: The White Mage, Book 4 Fallen Stars: The Demon Accords, Book 5 Gardens of the Moon: The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1 Kingdom Of The Fallen Confronting Silence: Selected Writings (Fallen Leaf Monographs on Contemporary Composers) Faith of the Fallen (Sword of Truth Series) Faith of the Fallen (Sword of Truth) Fall: The Last Testament of Lucifer Morningstar (The Fallen Chronicles: Book One 1)
