Eden is an artist who paints her nightmares, lives her nightmares, and converses with them. They are the snake and the rhinoceros and they are insidious, invading every thought and act that Eden has. Drugs help stop the noise but are their own disease. Beware cures that are more destructive than the infection…

I’ll be frank, when I first started to read Eden Fell, I was completely confused by the first person acid trip the narrator is apparently on as she wends her way through a series of drug- and alcohol-induced nightmares populated by a snake and a rhinoceros. Despite the author’s complete inability to use a comma and a few grammatical errors, this story grew on me in an almost literary-brilliance way. This tale is not for the person looking for a quick or relaxing read; it is for the person who wants to be mentally challenged, to contemplate the complex lives of others and to reflect on our personal luck, because in comparison, most of us are wealthy beyond measure. Let me warn you that what I am about to say next could be construed as a SPOILER so be warned and read on with caution.

This whole tale is a series of metaphors covering up childhood molestation, mental illness, and serious drug and alcohol abuse. Eden is functionally dysfunctional. As an alcoholic and a drug abuser, she’s a brilliant abstract painter who generally meets her obligations; however, as she sobers up and gains a hold on her mental health, she’s completely dysfunctional at normal life. Her name, her nightmares, her choice of lovers - they are all metaphors for temptation and humanity’s fall from grace. Sounds obvious when you read the title, but the story is dense and complex. Nearly every revelation of Eden’s state of mind and health are obscured by the snake and rhino nightmares (there is some biblical context for this, but to say more might ruin the story). She’s consumed by her own version of morality and has rules for what is or is not appropriate for drug and alcohol abuse and, when she crosses her own lines of moral ambiguity, she falls hard over and over. She’s a woman you want to cheer and see redeemed, but can she really atone and be normal when she’s fought with normalcy her whole life? This is reminiscent of Sylvia Plath’s poems such as “Mad Girl’s Love Song” or “Monologue at 3AM”.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Damnation Books, LLC (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1615720286
• ISBN-13: 978-1615720286

To purchase a print copy of Eden Fell from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Eden Fell from Barnes & Noble click here.

To purchase an eBook copy of Eden Fell from ARe click here.

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