Eden: A Novel

Eden is no paradise: it is the stifling, rural community in which upscale urban escapees, the separated Alona and Mark reunite under the resentful scrutiny of Roni, Mark's needy adolescent daughter. Against the rich panorama of Eden's oldtimers and newcomers, Roni's father and stepmother are jolted out of their own absorbing concerns and a new family structure begins to form out of an unlikely set of characters. Through a portrait of family entanglements, disappearing countryside, and disappointed expectations, Yael Hedaya, "does an excellent job of presenting the struggles, joys, and intimate moments of middle age through this austere, beautifully crafted, and many-voiced novel". ("Booklist").