This was my second reading of the novel and I found it even more enjoyable than the first. My feelings about the writing are that it was multi layered and textured--much more abstract than the immature writing evident in FAREWELL. I think that the cryptic nature of the novel only served to intrigue. I felt that if I only kept reading, maybe there would be some evidence of the nature of the bedroom gamesmanship instigated by Catherine--not from a pruient standpoint--but to gain more insight into their relationship, as well as the manic Catherine. The "other" woman, Marita, was the real indication of how "unfinished" the book was. Her character was quite unrealized--being used only as an early pawn in the dysfunctional games. I loved the feel and sensual nature of the book--and, therefore, was completely transported to the beaches of the Riviera.

If, indeed, this book was as heavily edited as has been indicated, I would love the opportunity to see/read it in its entirety as envisioned by "Papa". Voyeurism? Not at all. No more than with any other author writing about bedroom activities between characters....

This book can make you hate Hemingway. Imagine being trapped on a vacation with two young lovebirds. That's all it is. I really wished I hadn't read it. Imagine Farewell to Arms if it only consisted of the love affair parts between him and the nurse. Don't waste your time.

This is a very strange novel that I found oddly mesmerising. I also have to admit, that because the novel was published posthumously and appears to have been based on Hemmingway's most intimate personal experiences, I felt a little uncomfortable reading it - as if I were a voyeur.

Garden of Eden is about the complex dysfunctional relationship that develops between a young married couple and a second woman, whom they both fall in love with. It is Catherine, the young bride, who manipulates the other two players in this strange romantic triangle. David, presumably Ernest's alter ego in this novel, is portrayed as pathetically passive, unable to stand up to Catherine and her destructive obsessions and jealousies.

The dynamics of this relationship are sophisticated, although much of the dialogue and routines of the threesome seem banal. The Garden of Eden is interesting also; in that it gives the reader some insight into Hemmingway's writing process. David a young writer has published two successful novels and is labouring on a collection of stories about his childhood in Africa. It is David's writing, and the fact that his lover is able to share the experience with him, that Catherine is most jealous of.

Comparisons to The Sun Also Rises are inevitable. Catherine, like Brett in The Sun Also Rises, is the self-destructive heart of Garden of Eden. Both novels feature characters whose lives seem trite and empty, filled with the excess of drink and food. And both novels feature a young writer, struggling to find his literary voice while drawn to a narcissistic beauty.

While the novel isn't sexually explicit by today's standard, some readers will be uncomfortable with the nature of the relationship in this novel and with the `gender bending games' Catherine insists the young couple play.

The novel has its shortcomings and won't be appreciated by all. It may seem tedious and trite to some, a posthumously published, uneven effort that should have stayed off the book shelves, but I found it unexpectedly sophisticated and oddly mesmerizing. Garden of Eden is a far cry from Hemmingway's best work (For Whom the Bell Tolls is my personal favourite), but I found it worth reading (3 ¾ stars).

Why the negative buzz about this book?
It is Hemingway; it is very good Hemingway. Unfortunately, it is Hemingway edited--heavily edited; apparently hundreds of pages of manuscript were cut. I would like to read these additional pages. . .I think.
I wouldn't want to read additional pages of the details of the marriage between David and Catherine, a marriage ruined by sexual curiousity, by impervious, mad behavior, by entanglement with another woman. . .Perhaps it is these unpleasantries which critics and readers react negatively to.
I would want to read more pages about David and his writing. The portions of the book about writing are astonishing. They, I believe, are instructions on writing from Hemingway, reflections on writing by Hemingway. . . And they could, they should--if they exist--run on and on.

Ernest Hemingway is one of my most favorite writers and Garden of Eden is one of most favorite novels by him for me. I have read this novel long ago in the Russian translation; now, I have a great pleasure to re-read it in the original form.