This Other Eden

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE

''Masterful . . . [This Other Eden] has much to say to our times.'' Guardian

''A testament of love . . . so real it could make you weep.'' Danez Smith, New York Times

''A luminous, thought-provoking novel.'' Esi Edugyan, author of Washington Black

Set at the beginning of the twentieth century and inspired by historical events, This Other Eden tells the story of Apple Island: an enclave off the coast of the United States where waves of castaways - in flight from society and its judgment - have landed and built a home.

Benjamin Honey- American, Bantu, Igbo- born enslaved- freed or fled at fifteen- aspiring orchardist, arrived on the island with his Irish wife, Patience, and discovered they could make a life together there. More than a century later, the Honeys'' descendants remain, with an eccentric, diverse band of neighbours. Then comes the intrusion of ''civiliz