Translated by Mark Twain 1835 - 1910
ISBN 0-9658811-9-9 (acid free paper)
Read 2007 January 1 – 11
Reviewed 2007 March 30,
Mother gave this book to me for my 51st birthday,
well in advance since she would be in the hospital recuperating from bi-lateral
knee replacement surgery on the actual day. I
was there too, though, and, from her hospital bed, she gave me something else.
The book was written late in Samuel ClemenÕs life, when he
would understand his subject matter from long experience. The presentation is of two diaries
covering most of the same events at the beginning of the world, the Diary of
Adam and the Diary of Eve. They
appear interlaced so the reader has dual perspective.
There are four major sections: ÒAt First,Ó ÒAfter the Fall,Ó ÒAt EveÕs Grave,Ó and ÒIn the
Present Day.Ó
This work is not a tome of theology but a recounting of the
experiences of people who suddenly existed. Adam sits around naming things, staying out of the cold and
rain. This Òother creature,Ó who
he names Eve, is disruptive to his peace and comfort. She flits around in all weather, talks all the time (naming
things indirectly by doing so) and just generally makes the manÕs life less
ordered. And, sheÕs
demanding. When he goes off into the
woods for a few days of peace, she gets lonely and lets him know. She makes friends with her own
reflection in the pool, but find that this friend has limitations.
They do interesting things like throw rocks and try to hit
the stars, believing after considerable trying that they are É nearly
there. If this isnÕt an allegory
for the entire human situation, I donÕt know what is.
Eve is also smarter, but they both have their roles.
A characteristic set of entries from Adam:
Sunday
Pulled through.
Monday
I believe I see what the week is for: It is to give time to rest up from the
weariness of Sunday. It seems a
good idea.
Tuesday
She told me she was made out of a rib taken from my
body. This is at least doubtful,
if not more than that. I have not
missed any ribÉ
She is in much trouble about the buzzard; says grass does
not agree with it, is afraid she canÕt raise it, thinks it was intended to live
on decayed flesh. The buzzard must
get along the best it can with what is provided. We cannot overturn the whole scheme to accommodate the
buzzard.
Sunday
Pulled through.
EveÕs entries are much more verbose, introspective and
stream of consciousness.
They are in some touch with God whom they know as the Lord
of the Garden. They hear a voice
in the woods. They receive
instructions, rules. Violation of
the rules would have consequences.
They are confused by this.
They discuss it. What is
good and evil? Adam has no
idea. What is death? No one has any idea. Eve wants fruit from that tree, canÕt
grasp what the problem could be.
She says of knowing, ÒYes, I know it, but how vexatious it is. Just because I canÕt know, I all the
more want to know.Ó They then go off and chase some
creature from tree to tree, ultimately naming it Ôpterodactyl.Õ
Dinosaurs appear throughout the text for context.
Adam, though still vexed by Eve, grows to find her
beautiful. Sometime later there is
another creature. Adam thinks at
first it is a fish, but Eve wonÕt let him put it in the water. She hides with it for a time. It grows slowly into another
person: Cain.
They are not together at The Fall, but Adam recognizes
immediately what has happened. All
turn carnivorous (the buzzard must be pleased) and life becomes quite hard in
an instant. The Garden is lost.
Abel turns up one day inanimate. They donÕt know why or have any conception of what could
have happened. They set him out
and wait but he never moves again.
They are perplexed.
ÒAt EveÕs GraveÓ says, ÒWheresoever she was; there was Eden.Ó
It was a love story, and a tragedy, in the form of all
flesh.
At the end, Adam is sitting in a bench in Central Park after
visiting an exhibit on dinosaurs in the museum. He sees a mother and child and remarks that the pair is much
like the first such pair.
There is considerable background material in the volume as
well, discussing Mark TwainÕs life and career and his own marriage and itÕs
effects upon him. These are
clearly inextricable.