This Other Eden by Paul Harding

This Other Eden

by Paul Harding

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE

“Masterful . . . [This Other Eden] has much to say to our times.” - Guardian

“A testament of love . . . so real it could make you weep.” - Danez Smith, New York Times

“A luminous, thought-provoking novel.” - Esi Edugyan, author of Washington Black

Set at the beginning of the twentieth century and inspired by historical events, This Other Eden tells the story of Apple Island: an enclave off the coast of the United States where waves of castaways - in flight from society and its judgment - have landed and built a home.

Benjamin Honey - American, Bantu, Igbo - born enslaved, freed or fled at fifteen, aspiring orchardist, arrived on the island with his Irish wife, Patience, and discovered they could make a life together there. More than a century later, the Honeys' descendants remain, with an eccentric, diverse band of neighbours.

Then comes the intrusion of 'civilization': officials determine to 'cleanse' the island, and a missionary schoolteacher selects one light-skinned boy to save. The rest will succumb to the authorities' institutions or cast themselves on the waters in a new Noah's Ark.

Full of lyricism and power, Paul Harding's This Other Eden explores the hopes, dreams, and resilience of those seen not to fit a world brutally intolerant of difference.

“Harding invites comparisons with authors such as William Faulkner, Robinson and even Elizabeth Strout . . . This Other Eden . . . begs to be widely read.” - Spectator

Pages: 224

Release Date: 09/02/2023