book review: secrets of eden

Secrets of Eden
Chris Bohjalian

From Publishers Weekly:
Starred Review. Bohjalian (Law of Similars) has built a reputation on his rich characters and immersing readers in diverse subjects—homeopathy, animal rights activism, midwifery—and his latest surely won't disappoint. The morning after her baptism into the Rev. Stephen Drew's Vermont Baptist church, Alice Hayward and her abusive husband are found dead in their home, an apparent murder-suicide. Stephen, the novel's first narrator, is so racked with guilt over his failure to save Alice that he leaves town. Soon, he meets Heather Laurent, the author of a book about angels whose own parents' marriage also ended in tragedy. Stephen's deeply sympathetic narration is challenged by the next two narrators: deputy state attorney Catherine Benincasa, whose suspicions are aroused initially by Stephen's abrupt departure (and then by questions about his relationship with Alice), and Heather, who distances herself from Stephen for similar reasons and risks the trip into her dark past by seeking out Katie, the Haywards' now-orphaned 15-year-old daughter who puts into play the final pieces of the puzzle, setting things up for a touching twist. Fans of Bohjalian's more exotic works will miss learning something new, but this is a masterfully human and compassionate tale. (Feb.)
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my review:
chris bohjalian has written several books that many people love, but this was the first one of his that i have read. the first thing i noticed that i wouldnt have connected with a year ago was that it is set in vermont and new hampshire. after living here, reading things that take place in cities i have visited makes it much more real. the story started a little bit slowly for me. i had a hard time connecting with stephen, but as the story progressed and more details were revealed about this town and the main characters, i became fully engrossed in the story. i really didn't know what to expect from this author, and the ending was not at all what i thought it would be. it was a really book and i can't wait to read more of his work! if you are a fan of chris bohjalian or if you have never read any of his work, i think you would still enjoy this story.

still waiting...

everyone keeps asking the same questions. including us.

so, no, we don't yet know exactly where we will be placed (still probably in connecticut) or when we will be finishedwith our training (probably in about a week).

we are learning lots and making friends. last night, the owner of a moving company that works a lot with holiday had all of us over to her house for a cookout. it was really fun. she is a connection we will be able to use in ct, so that is exciting.

we have been doing a litttle bit of exploring in portsmouth and kittery. downtown portsmouth reminds me of berkeley and malibu mixed together with waaaaay less people.

i've been running with the portsmouth runner's alley folks and our 5k is this sunday. it is going to be really hot and my first race in a long while so i am a little bit nervous. my goal is always to PR but i am not confident that its gonna happen this race. still excited for it though!

today we spend time with the executive chef and tomorrow we are both housekeeping. it has been fun to learn all of the jobs of the people we will be supervising. i think the kitchen jobs are my favorite so far, although enrichment/activities is fun too. there is a great staff here - i can only hope that the staff at our building will be half as great!

as soon as we know something more solid about our job placement and actual address etc, we will let you know!

in training

we have been in training for about a week and a half. we are learning tons of stuff that we can take to our new building, which will probably be in connecticut (but we still havent received the final word). the residents and staff here at kittery estates are great. everyone has been so nice and helpful to us. i am falling in love with a couple of the ladies here and am going to be really sad to leave them.

however, i am very excited to have our own apartment again and be settled. all of our stuff is now in storage in middletown, connecticut except for our clothes and cats. we have a cute studio that we are staying in during training and its great, but i like my own bed and furniture.

cricket and rumpy like the studio bcause they can keep eyes on both of us all the time. rumpy keeps trying to run out inthe hallway and meet everyone that he sees walking past the window all day long.

we've been pouring coffee, giving tours and making phone calls. there is still tons of stuff to learn but so far so good!

kittery kittehs

we are going to be training in kittery, maine starting on monday. we drive up sunday after jeremy gets off work (his last day at citizens!). we get to take our kittehs, and they are thrilled. cricket has been teaching rumpy to be scared of boxesand packing tape and they both aren't acting like themselves.

we are super excited for training to start. it should last 4-6 weeks. at some time during that period we will find out for sure where we will be living and working. it will most likely be in connecticut, between groton, guilford and branford. and yes, wilimantic is romantic.

we will keep you informed as we are informed! looking forward to working and living on the maine coast for a while though!