Manyebook

Eden, Ohio

Communities share history and hope, lamentations and lore. Through the fictional town of Eden, Ohio, enchanting new talent Shawne Johnson captures a locale where all of the contradictions of heritage converge.

Established by twelve runaway slave families who named their new home after paradise, Eden’s picturesque landscape is deceptively lush. Matriarch Eliza, who has been blessed with a powerful intuition, guided the twelve runaway slaves to freedom. Though Eden was founded on freedom, an undercurrent of violence burdens all the town’s inhabitants. Eliza’s female descendants, each bearing her name and the burden of her blessings, nurture Eden even as the town’s inhabitants forget the sacrifices of their ancestors — an ingratitude that could turn perilous. Seamstress Aspasia treasures her family but can’t escape her feelings of emptiness. Though labeled a lunatic, Hawk Eye has the ability to foresee death and decipher truth when others are blind to it. And at the novel’s heart is Jeremiah, who left Eden years ago to pursue his dreams but must now return with a shameful secret.

Just as Johnson’s Getting Our Breath Back deftly portrayed intertwining characters at a series of poetic crossroads, Eden, Ohio takes readers on a journey filled with beauty and compassion.

  • Format
  • hardcover
  • Pages
  • 215
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9780525948100
  • Release date
  • 2004