Eden Close – Anita Shreve

I was lucky enough to find a copy of Anita Shreve's Eden Close on a book case at my Father in Law's cricket clubhouse a couple of weeks back and just from reading the cover was intrigued to read more.

Eden Close was the daughter of Andrew's childhood neighbours. They grew up together as childhood companions. Tomboy Eden accompanied Andrew and his friends as they went about doing the things that boys of that age do.

One night everything changes. Eden is blinded by the same gun that was used to kill her father. They went their separate ways until Andrew returns seventeen years later to bury his mother. He is drawn to Eden with fascination as to how she has lived since that day and to discover what happened that night.

I believe this was Shreve's first novel and having read many of her later books it is true that there is a certain rawness in the way this book is written. This is far from a bad thing though and the rawness with which she describes Eden in particular is compellingly beautiful. If you're a fan of her work then I definitely recommend getting hold of a copy of this one.