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The Diaries of Adam & Eve
- Narrated by: Jack de Golia, Abby Elvidge
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
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The Diaries of Adam & Eve
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Summary
Mark Twain's "Extracts from Adam's Diary" first appeared in 1893. He based Adam and Eve on himself and his beloved wife Olivia ("Livy") to create a humorous counterpoint the traditional Garden of Eden story, this time centered on what life may have been like for the first man.
In this story, we hear Adam trying to work out what the "new creature with long hair" is all about. She names things, much to Adam's annoyance. She follows him around. Then suddenly, there's another creature, which eventually Adam decides is his son Cain. It's all about confusion and curiosity, and finally, love for Eve.
The innocent lark of the first story was joined in 1905 with a more wistful tale, "Eve's Diary". Twain's personal life had been turned upside down by Livy's death in 1904. While the humor of the first Adam story comes through, the Eve tale is, at its heart, a sweet eulogy from an aching heart, exemplified by the Eve story's closing line, "Wherever she was, there was Eden."
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Critic reviews
"Mark Twain's amusing and moving retelling of the Garden of Eden story is delightfully presented in diary form by narrators Jack de Golia, as Adam, and Abby Elvidge, as Eve. De Golia's Adam especially captures Twain's humor. For example, he finds the idea of just one day of rest a puzzle, as he'd previously had six others each week. He's initially frustrated by Eve's talkativeness, habit of giving names to all creatures ('though they never come when you call them'), and need for companionship. Elvidge's Eve movingly expresses Eve's joy of discovery with each new creature and her puzzlement over the male mind. The audio ends movingly after Eve's death as Adam comes to realize that 'wherever she was, there was Eden.'" S.G.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2019]