Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #442424 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

From the Publisher
Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach or new translations. Through these short classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of exceptional books.

Written in diary form, this first single–volume edition of Mark Twain’s complete writings on Adam and Eve is an ingenious, witty, and delightful retelling of the dawn of human creation. With a Foreword by John Updike.

From the Inside Flap
‘This new creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way. It is always hanging around and following me about. I don't like this; I am not used to company.' – ADAM

‘All the week I tagged around after him and tried to get acquainted. I had to do the talking, because he was shy, but I didn't mind it. He seemed pleased to have me around.' – EVE

About the Author
Author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain is one of America's greatest writers. A novelist, short-story writer, poet and critic, Updike is best known as the author of the Rabbit trilogy and The Witches of Eastwick.

Customer Reviews

Cute..
I liked this; Mark Twain was very creative in showing the points of view of Adam and Eve. I also liked the male versus female dynamic that he touched upon. But I also found it to be a little boring. But still a good and quick read.

The Diary of Adam and Eve
This short but sweet story gives a hilarious look of the ever so familiar creature-the human through the recognizable figures...Adam and Eve.

The Comedy of Creationism
Mark Twain presents the journals of Adam and Eve. In a satirical tone we see how they cope with new things. Eve names things and animals and is appreciative of nature. She comments on the moon which falls out of the sky and is brought back. She recalls her reflection in the water, but regards this as a separate entity all together. Adam, differently, builds shacks and searches the land. They eventually find a baby, Cain, who for Adam may be a fish, a bear, a kangeroo, or parrot. He eventually sees that the baby is, of course, a premature human.

There are many instances of humour. The reader is left to wonder how it might have been for the 'first' couple. Kierkegaard remarked that Adam and Eve must have felt trapped by their own freedom, not knowing what to do. I myself regard Adam and Eve as mythology but can see the curiosities of what a 'first couple' would have been like. Would they be happy? Would they be attractive? What were their conversations like? It gives to the imagination, undoubtedly. But like Twain, I can't take it seriously.