Book Summary and Reviews of Eden Mine by S. M. Hulse

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Cathryn Conroy

This Book Is Genius. A Multilayered Psychological Novel That Will Leave You Reeling
This book. This book is gripping. This book is provocative. This book is haunting. This book is intense. This book is genius.

Written by S.M. Hulse, this masterpiece novel takes place in the tiny mountain town of Prospect, Montana. The two mines that once offered employment and prosperity—Eden and Gethsemane—have long been shuttered, leaving a dying town in their wake. Josephine Faber and her older brother, Samuel, have lived together—just the two of them—for years. Their father was killed when the Gethsemane mine collapsed. Their mother was horrifically murdered in front of them by an ex-boyfriend, and when the carnage was over, Jo, who was still a little girl at the time, was shot in the spine and paralyzed from the waist down. But Samuel became her beloved guardian and protector. He was her everything--until the day he did the unthinkable: set off a bomb at a courthouse that gravely injured a little girl, the daughter of the pastor whose church across the street was inadvertently caught in the blast. Samuel thought he could get away with it, but a surveillance camera captures his image. The FBI hounds Jo for any information, while agents search for Samuel, who has seemingly disappeared. Or has he? Meanwhile, Jo befriends a most unlikely man, someone who slowly brings out the story of her past and her terrors of the present.

This is a multilayered psychological novel that is so intricately and tightly woven it will leave you reeling. Shrouded in extraordinary biblical symbolism, the story examines the meaning of faith, the importance of family, and the heartbreak that only those we love the most can cause.

Even though the plot is well-developed, the novel's strength is in the finely-wrought characters. The story slowly unfolds but in such a tantalizing way that it pulls in the reader bit by bit by bit. The writing is absolutely beautiful with stunning language and astonishing descriptions of seemingly minor details. Brilliant imagery of light and dark, earth and sky, and love and evil cement the novel as true literature.

This book is genius.

lani

a gem-perfect for book clubs
I don't even know where to start. Reading this was like finding a precious jewel in the bottom of a haystack. I hadn't even heard about this book until a book friend that I respect introduced it to me. I will be forever grateful. I was transfixed by this quiet contemplative work that addresses so many issues. While finding myself simultaneously savoring and devouring this book, it made me think of the biblical Garden of Eden and how biting the apple thrust the characters into a crisis of faith and the spiritual death coming from banishment of the ideal world. The ties to the physical environment were so profoundly drawn, arresting and immersive. Indeed, I also found the inner dialogue and thoughts of the characters vivid and pensive. There are so many issues raised that capture the reader's attention regarding guilt vs. innocence, questioning of faith, painting as a creative modality to express one's emotions, sibling relationships, choices in life etc. I could write about the story but you can find that in the blurb. It's a book that is absolutely perfect for bookclubs. Just know that this is a novel you won't regret reading.

Other books by S. M. Hulse at BookBrowse