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Book Review By John Marcel
The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway

David and Catherine Bourne are newly-weds honeymooning in the South of France. David has just had his second book published to good reviews and Catherine is supporting his writing with her own wealth. Beautiful, rich and one a writer they are loved and admired by the people they encounter. However as David begins to start on his third novel Catherine begins to stray into craziness. She has her hair cut like a boy's and decides she wants to invite another woman into their relationship. Marita is found in a café and herself a wealthy heiress she worships David and loves Catherine. Catherine explores her sexuality with Marita and agrees to share David with her also. The book follows the threesome as they drink and swim during the day and drive their Bugatti into Cannes for shopping trips and trips to the hairdresser. David begins each day alone writing a short story about a hunting trip he did as a small boy with his father to kill a huge elephant. Catherine's craziness comes to a head after David and Marita have sex together and she burns his reviews and the short stories he has been working so hard on. David is furious but is gentle with his wife because he is worried about her craziness. Catherine leaves him and runs off to Paris and David asks Marita to be his new wife. The book is wonderful to read for anyone who likes to write as it describes the writing process in all its glory. This beautiful book was published posthumously and is my favourite Hemingway novel – a gem!


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 1900-1920's
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance:
Life of a profession:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story Yes
Lover is
Unmarried Love Triangle? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status:
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - France - Spain

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - lesbians!
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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