In 2017, Lucy, the much younger wife of famous astrophysicist Thom Bergmann, watches in horror as a grand piano being lowered from a window in Amsterdam slips and kills him. Devastated, Lucy protects the memory stick he entrusted to her, which contains proof of extraterrestrial life. Fast-forward three years to Mesopotamia (Iraq), where a wounded American soldier has barely survived his injuries and is immersed in religious delusions. Adam saves Lucy after the crash of the small plane she was piloting while smuggling an ancient codex, given to her by Pierre, an Arab now living in France. Adam tends to Lucy's burns, and they both restore body and soul in their Eden. Pursued by evil men who fear the knowledge contained in both the memory stick and the codex, Adam and his Eve flee their assailants and seek refuge in France with Pierre and his beautiful daughter, where all four are now in the crosshairs of danger.
VERDICT To describe the elements of this ambitious novel is to sound unhinged, but Naslund (Ahab's Wife; or, The Star-Gazer) pulls it off. This thriller is rich in brilliant discourses on religion, fanaticism, the meaning of ancient cave art, the speculative future, and love. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/10.]
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