Eve's Apple
by Jonathan Rosen
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Description
The powerful story of two young lovers bound together by an obsession, this debut is an intricate meditation on the nature of hunger - for food, for knowledge and for love. Rosen looks at the mystery of appetite and the disorders that can plague it.Tags
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Member Reviews
I read this book about a decade ago shortly after it was published. That it still resonates in my memory speaks to the power of the writing of Jonathan Rosen. The story is of a young couple facing a battle with an eating disorder - she experiencing it and he trying to save her. This is not the stuff of the usual romantic story, but it is powerful and full of questions about the nature of life and love.
Early in the novel, for example, the narrator, Joseph, describes his lover's effect on him this way:
"Ruth's kiss was sinking through me, spreading concentric circles of fear." Her need for him is figuratively eating him up. The story gradually unfolds and the characters grow, but the questions remain. This is not a book for everyone, but show more an intriguing read for those willing to take the risk. show less
Early in the novel, for example, the narrator, Joseph, describes his lover's effect on him this way:
"Ruth's kiss was sinking through me, spreading concentric circles of fear." Her need for him is figuratively eating him up. The story gradually unfolds and the characters grow, but the questions remain. This is not a book for everyone, but show more an intriguing read for those willing to take the risk. show less
Does the narrator love Rachel because of her food problems or in spite of them?
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Author Information
12+ Works 1,341 Members
Jonathan Rosen is the author of Eve's Apple and the culture editor of the Forward. He lives in New York City. (Bowker Author Biography)
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1997
- People/Characters
- Ruth Simon; Joseph; Dr. Ernest Flek; Carol Simon
- Important places
- 42nd Street branch of New York Public Library, New York, New York, USA; New York, New York, USA
- Epigraph
- Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree ...
- John Milton, Paradise Lost
"I always wanted you to admire my fasting," said the hunger artist. "We do admire it," said the overseer, affably. "But you shouldn't admire it," said the hunger artist.
- Franz Kafka, "A Hunger Artist" - Dedication
- For Mychal, body and soul.
- First words
- The first thing Carol Simon does when she enters a room is water the plants.
- Quotations
- "If someone wants to be sick," she said, "there's nothing you can do." (p. 216)
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Her suitcase was heavy and we took our time, moving slowly past stores and restaurants and people as the traffic roared and a breeze from the river brought us the cool promise of fall.
- Blurbers
- Ozick, Cynthia; Kincaid, Jamaica; Goldstein, Rebecca; Kazin, Alfred; Wolf, Naomi; Lopate, Phillip
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 110
- Popularity
- 289,260
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.66)
- Languages
- English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 1
