Havah: The Story of Eve

by Tosca Lee

Book Overview

Created, not born. Her name is Eve. Myth and legend shroud her in mystery. Now hear her story. She knew this earth when it was perfect--as she was perfect, a creature without flaw. Created by God in a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1433668793
• ISBN13: 9781433668791
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: B&H Books
• Length: 373 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Read no other story about Eve…

I love biblical fiction. I often imagine what it might have been like in the days of perfection. I bought three different books about the story of Eve. The other two were disturbing from the first chapter, seeming to focus on the lust of siblings, painting Eve and her daughters as idolators, and imagining Adam to be a man of severe bitterness, anger and abuse. While I believe it was a heart wrenching transition out of the garden, I didn’t appreciate the implications that the only two people on earth who actually walked with GOD would hate Him so much. This book, however, was beautiful. The first half is a refreshing glimpse into Eden. After their fall- also fantastically described- the author doesn’t pretend that there weren’t great challenges. But it wasn’t raunchy, vulgar, blasphemous or anything else. I enjoyed every minute of reading it.

Adam and Eve, told from Eve's point of view

Excellent read. A well written account of (what if) the life of Adam and Eve through Eves eyes.

One of the best novels I've read in 2008!

I was literally entranced while reading the story. I was in the Garden with Eve. I was Eve. It's amazing how Tosca does that with her writing. Havah is written with such passion and conviction you will glimpse into the heart of "the One Who is" and will understand how much He truly delighted in the creation of man and His communion with him. The emotional pull of this story is truly divine. When Havah cried for Adonai and tried to find him after the fall, it moved my heart. I know just how she felt. Can you imagine the horror when Adam and Eve realized exactly what they had done? And then there is the blame and betrayal, "It was the woman you gave me." One of the most powerful lines in Havah is very short. It's simply, "We die." But the impact I felt surrounding those words was incredible. This is not a novel for people who like simple stuff. This is the deeply spiritual memoir of Eve. Thankfully we know how the story ends.

The book I've been waiting for . . .

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a book as much as the one I just finished reading. Havah: the story of Eve by Tosca Lee. I'm not even sure where to begin. Here--I loved it. I devoured it. From the moment I cracked the spine and started to read, I was compelled to finish. Not many books command me to read them, tell me to stop working, stay up late, and sacrifice my entire Saturday so that I might spend a few more moments seated before the hearth of someone else's tale. Havah required that I hear her story. The book never felt like a piece of fiction to me. It was as if, finally, the veil had been lifted and I could hear the beginning verses of Genesis told in Eve's voice. As if we crouched together before a flickering fire, the night wind at our backs, and like a beloved friend, she told me all of her secrets. Tosca has created a masterpiece in Havah. Chapter one begins with the birth of Havah (Eve) in the Garden. With a poetic voice, Tosca tells the tale of the first woman, her relationship with "the adam" and her desire to know the One that Is. Havah frolics in a perfect world, where the river sounds like music and the air is stained with the fragrance of pomegranate and plum. Her dearest friends are a lioness, Levia, and a fallow deer, Adah, and it is through these relationships that we later see the bitter contrast between life in the Garden and life after the Fall. Because, of course, Havah has yet one more friend--a serpent. More beautiful than any of the other animals, it dwells on an island, always near a tree that bears forbidden fruit. If you think this is a story you've heard before, you're wrong. No one has ever told this tale with such lush detail. As much as I have contemplated Eve and her life in the Garden--and I have--I never saw it this way. Havah is both heartbreaking and stunningly beautiful. Tosca's voice, so unique and fluid in rhythm, reminds me at times of Sue Monk Kidd or Janet Fitch. But the spiritual quality of this book elevates it to another plateau. This is exactly the type of story, book, and author that I have been waiting to see emerge in CBA. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to get lost in another world, anyone who would like to experience the Book of Genesis in a fresh way, or anyone looking for a story that is beautiful and compelling from beginning to end.

If You Think You Know the Story....

In the memoir/narrative style that worked so well in Demon, A Memoir, Tosca Lee has returned with her sophomore novel which captures the essence of a woman we all have disparaged a time or two. A woman who traded paradise for a lousy piece of fruit. Havah or Eve, as we know her, is a woman we all resent a little if not a lot, after all the rest of us wouldn't have fallen such obvious temptation. Without her choice we'd be mosquito, disease and death free. A rough price tag. Enter Lee's mesmerizing word weaving and the epic story that spans a thousand years. From Eve's first blink we witness and almost experience ecstasy, whimsy, beauty and the very presence of God in and through all. The reader is invited to feel the wind, taste the wonder of virgin creation, and delight in God's handiwork. One animal in particular seems to be very wise. He befriends Havah and asks profound questions. His eye is always turned toward her, noticing her beauty, her strength and even the love the Creator bestows upon her. And his beauty is beyond anything she sees in Paradise, a remarkable creature full of reflective, glittering, color and light. I wept as Eve slowly succumbed to that which looked pleasing, smelled delicious and was able to give knowledge. Surely she wouldn't die. Such a simple act. Death from a taste of the forbidden? A woman who knew no sorrow found herself plunged into it. With each birth, and each death, Havah begins to despair of ever finding her paradise, or of the promise's fulfillment. Death becomes tangible in every season, every face and every relationship. But, through it all, the death, the despair, the gloom shone the promise. A seed, from her own body, to restore and heal, would enter the now broken world and bring the light with it. Havah is not only a novel full of beautiful prose spinning, it is a book that causes the reader to pause and consider the state of the soul within. As I read Havah, I was faced with a personal struggle regarding whether I would chose to forgive someone close to me. Havah's path toward death convicted me of my own frailties. In Eve's shoes, I would've fallen. I recommend this novel to everyone. Be forewarned that the themes and the realities are PG -13 -- from the innocent wonder of the first marriage -- to the decay and sin that enters the world.

This biblical biographical fiction is a superb look at the "First Lady" Eve.

Eve, called Havah by her mate Adam, came to the Garden in awe and innocence. When she and Adam broke God's rule, they were kicked out of their earthly paradise to live in the wilderness. She tries everything she can think of to obtain forgiveness from the One and return to the Garden, but fails. Instead she learns to survive as she gives birth to children only to learn one son murdered another. If anything, Eve has become a survivor although she has never given up hope of redemption from the One, but as she ages she prays that the next generation gets to go to the Garden. This biblical biographical fiction is a superb look at the "First Lady" Eve. Using events described in the bible, Tosca Lee provides the emotional reaction of Eve to what occurs. For instance she feels shame when she and her mate are kicked out of the Garden into the wilderness by the One. Readers will appreciate this deep tale of paradise lost from the woman's perspective. Harriet Klausner

Beautiful Prose and Breathtaking Description

The story of Adam and Eve is both the oldest and most familiar story known to man. In fact, it is so familiar that we think we know all there is to know. Then along comes a story like Havah that pulls back the veil, giving us a wondrous glimpse into what life might have really been like for the first man and woman. Havah is told from the perspective of Eve, and from the opening lines Tosca Lee hooks us with her intoxicating style and clever storytelling. All of the famous events are here: the garden, the fall, the story of Cain and Abel. But make no mistake about it: this is not the version you heard in Sunday school. Lee holds nothing back in her descriptive narrative as she explores the intimate relationship between Adam and Eve and their rugged lifestyle. Eve's firsthand account of the fall is gut wrenching and emotional, bringing yet more vitality to another familiar aspect of this story. I was especially moved and anguished over the beautiful, yet flawed relationship of the first husband and wife. As the story unfolds Tosca Lee gives some intriguing speculative insight into many of the questions that surround Adam and Eve. How many children did they have? How exactly was the Earth populated? What was their relationship really like? How did they interact with God? Every aspect of this story is backed by careful research and study, and even if you don't agree with Tosca Lee's viewpoint, you have to admire her willingness to re-explore this monumental moment in history. Havah is a beautiful tale that will awe and inspire you at every turn. With beautiful prose and breathtaking description, Tosca Lee has breathed new life into the story we thought we all knew so well. Allow yourself to step out of the box for a moment and experience a retelling of Adam and Eve that will leave you desperate for more.