Diaries of Adam and Eve

Written by Mark Twain

Narrated by Robin Field

Mark Twain spills his wit and whimsical sense of humor onto the pages of his novel The Diaries of Adam and Eve. The story tells of the events that took place in the Garden of Eden prior to the entrance of the deceitful serpent. Adam and Eve are not exactly getting along. Through the struggles listed in their diaries, one can safely assume that these two very different human beings are each other's greatest source of frustration. Intended as a comical insight into the complex relations between men and women, The Diaries of Adam and Eve displays a progression from continual annoyance to a perfect partnership.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Nov 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781633894761

Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was an American humorist, novelist, and lecturer. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, he was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, a setting which would serve as inspiration for some of his most famous works. After an apprenticeship at a local printer’s shop, he worked as a typesetter and contributor for a newspaper run by his brother Orion. Before embarking on a career as a professional writer, Twain spent time as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi and as a miner in Nevada. In 1865, inspired by a story he heard at Angels Camp, California, he published “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” earning him international acclaim for his abundant wit and mastery of American English. He spent the next decade publishing works of travel literature, satirical stories and essays, and his first novel, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873). In 1876, he published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a novel about a mischievous young boy growing up on the banks of the Mississippi River. In 1884 he released a direct sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which follows one of Tom’s friends on an epic adventure through the heart of the American South. Addressing themes of race, class, history, and politics, Twain captures the joys and sorrows of boyhood while exposing and condemning American racism. Despite his immense success as a writer and popular lecturer, Twain struggled with debt and bankruptcy toward the end of his life, but managed to repay his creditors in full by the time of his passing at age 74. Curiously, Twain’s birth and death coincided with the appearance of Halley’s Comet, a fitting tribute to a visionary writer whose steady sense of morality survived some of the darkest periods of American history.

Reviews for Diaries of Adam and Eve

[.monkey.-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This little piece of work was incredibly entertaining, and probably served to change my rather negative view of Twain's writing. I was continuously bursting into laughter while reading it. I do think it maybe went on a bit long, maybe these handful of stories were better left kept published individually, or in a large collection scattered throughout; it seemed to get a little stale by the middle. However, they were all enjoyable and the laughter and insightful nature of some of his observations make this little gem well worth reading.

[komunley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you'll allow me a joke, I'm going to suggest that you start reading Twain at the beginning. The very beginning of human existence with Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve. I want to make it clear that this is not a religious book, not by any means. Nor does it attempt to make fun of religion. Diaries is Mark Twain's take on the story of those first human beings, only that's not entirely correct. Twain borrows the situation of Adam and Eve (that of two people who actually are the only two people on earth), rather than the actual story, to address the various stereotypes of the two sexes, the workings of a relationship, and the effects of aging. The story is told through excerpts of "diary entries" by the main characters, and various other documents and articles left over chronicling their lives. The namesake of the book, the actual diaries of Adam and Eve, make up the first two sections. These diaries tell of the first meeting and subsequent life together of Adam and Eve. Part one recounts the events through the eyes of the practical, unimaginative, scientific Adam. Part two recounts many of those same events through the imaginative, romantic, and emotional eyes of Eve. The fun of these opening sections is in listening to the characters try desperately to understand each other. Adam first wants his space and slowly begins to want to be closer to Eve. Eve, on the other hand, wants desperately to be close to Adam and then later comes to want a little more space (and for Adam to stop experimenting on the baby, whom he assumes to be a strange new mammal that appears much like he and Eve). You might also find it interesting to see how two accounts of the same event can be so vastly different. It is my opinion that these two opening sections are the most entertaining and easily the most hilarious parts in the book (it isn't all hilarity though; the end of Eve's Diary is quite touching). Following the diaries are two pieces from Eve's Autobiography, which Twain wrote a few years after the Adam and Eve's Diaries. Eve's voice is different in these. Instead of the spur of the moment feel of her diaries, these show a slightly more academic Eve commenting on her and Adam's daily life as a family with children and what they are doing to pass their time: experiments, putting together a dictionary, you know, nothing big, right? These sections do not have the raw entertainment value of the diaries but they are, nonetheless, an interesting read to find out how Twain envisioned their daily lives. Besides, they're short. The fifth section of the book is titled "That Day in Eden" and is an entry from Satan's journal. In it he recounts his discussion with Adam and Eve before they ate from the tree of knowledge. Twain's wit comes back into play in this section as the crafty Satan bewilders the pair with ideas of society and fancy talk, slowly turning them on to the idea of seeking greater knowledge while confusing them both completely. Next is another piece by Eve. This section deals with Adam and Eve's first real taste of death – that of their son, Abel. This part is written as though she were thinking or speaking to you as the events unfold and Abel loses his struggle to live. Of course, neither Adam nor Eve knows what death really is, but they have an idea of what it might be. This can be a difficult section to read; the pain in Eve's voice during her final paragraph is palpable, you can feel it. The book ends on a lighter note though. One short story about the ghost of Adam visiting the New York's Museum of Natural History. He is looking at a dinosaur exhibit as the story opens and remarking that neither he nor Eve can remember such a creature (He later hints that this might be due to a mistake by Noah and his ark). The story concerns itself with a discussion he has with another museum-goer who finds it funny that he has only one name, just like "the old original." The book concludes with an account of a man who jokes about erecting a monument to Adam only to see the project adopted by a group of bankers whose only interest in the monument is to draw commerce to the town of Elmira, NY. That might sound like a lot for a book that weighs in at only ninety-three pages long, but it reads fast and that's a good thing. This is the kind of book that you'll end up reading in one sitting. It's also the kind of book that you'll come back to again and again. Though it is under one hundred pages long, Mark Twain imbues The Diaries of Adam and Eve with a lifetime's worth of experiences and emotion. It's a fun trip and one that you'll be glad to have made. But don't get too comfortable yet, there's more time traveling to be done and a Connecticut Yankee around the bend who's getting ready to modernize King Arthur's Court.

[rolyat-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think this is the original version of men are from mars, women are from venus. but with humor.

[hellen0-4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Short and entertaining book that can be read very quickly. The first half is much funnier than the second one, but the book as a whole is ok.

[bicyclewriter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It has been a while since I read anything by Twain, and I’d forgotten just how delightful it is to read his stuff.

Folks who are pretty hung-up on political correctness will find it disturbing that Twain crafts his Adam and Eve characters around pretty common stereotypes of males and females. I wasn’t bothered by this at all, and found it quite interesting that the stereotypes from 150 years ago seem so consistent with our stereotypes from today.

This is a very quick read, but after finishing it, I found myself looking back through it and reading parts of it again. It’s full of little diary snippets where each of the pair describes both the Eden they live in, and this other creature that they have been paired and connected with.

I’ll be reading some additional Twain for sure, now that my taste for his wonderful wit and wisdom has been whetted again...

[marsap_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This sweet novella brings the reader Mark Twain's “translation” of the diary entries by Adam and Eve. At first, Adam is puzzled by the new arrival in the garden and doesn’t really want much to do with Eve. Eve (a much more complex creature than Adam), believes herself to be some sort of experiment, is curious about the other experiment in the garden (Adam). Eve gives names to everything, much to Adam's annoyance. He tries to ignore her, so she seeks companionship among the animals particularly with a certain snake. Adam and Eve grow to love each other and, in the end, an elderly Adam is filled with a realization of that love as he stands at Eve's grave. The novella is organized as half Adam’s diary and half Eve’s. The tones are sharply distinct, and there’s no mistaking whose is whose. Adam’s is a straightforward, puzzled, and sometimes cranky accounting of the day’s accomplishments and discoveries. Eve’s is optimistic, wonderstruck, and emotional. I loved this small little novel—it is playful, ingenious (I found some of the concepts ahead of its time—women as the driver of life, the more complex and thought of the two inhabitants of the garden), funny and very moving at times (particularly the ending). As always, Twain never fails me. 5 out of 5 stars.

[martinbodek · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I began drafting some scratch notes on a book idea, when I suddenly remembered that Twain had written something very similar. I read the book as reference. Indeed, I may have something that might be a proper follow-up. More on that soon, hopefully. Meantime, the book itself is unparalleled wit, and supremely clever. To truly appreciate the writing, one must know when exactly the two parts were written, and know the circumstances in Twain's life at the time. This knowledge enhances the appreciation for the literary mastery. I hope, and I think, I can write something comparable. I'll be working on it.

[markberonte · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The most complete edition of Twain's two stories, it uses Mark Twain's preferred text and includes passages not previously included--and not available in any other version. The editor's afterword tells how Twain came to write the "Diaries," which are recognized today as his most personal works of fiction.

[trishpaw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Charming piecewritten from Adam and Eve's view of their life in the Garden. There is a touching vignette about how Adam feels when Eve dies that is especially sweet.

[cait815 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I doubt that I would have ever come across this story if it hadn't been for Lori's review in December. Thank you Lori! I keep trying to write how much I loved this, but all that comes out is "gush, gush, gush". It was charming, witty, funny as hell, and the ending nearly had me shedding water out of the holes I look with. I deserve a good flogging for never having read Twain before now.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Biting humor. Twain at his most cynical.

[mullinator52 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you like Mark Twain's cynical look on life, you will like his take on the Adam and Eve story. Be aware that the diaries are biased towards Adam.. of course you have to remember when it was written.

[tiffanyhickox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is an enjoyable, light read. It perhaps has one of the best ending sentences I have ever read, and is a book I would read again and highly recommend.

[brendancarroll_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A new twist on Genesis from a different point of view. Very humorous if not taken too seriously. Warning: Very Sexist

[sean191 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm just a fan of Mark Twain. As a "real" person (real is in quotes because I feel like it was a bit of a public persona...) Anyway, this book, which is a fairly short story, is good for a few laugh out loud spots and general amusement throughout. At first, it makes Adam seem a bit dumb and later,Eve seems brilliant. In the end, both come off looking pretty dumb. Which in Twain's mind, probably sums up humanity. Here's the part where I keep my opinion on the matter to myself...

[hermit_9_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although the humor is a tad dated, the book is still funny. Twain’s humor may not be 21st century, but it is OK.

[mpultz_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The obscure Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain is quirky, funny, light reading - I read it in about half an hour. It is of particular interest to fans of Mark Twain, as it is just as much a product of a particular period in his life as of his unorthodox views. It is one of several works, written late in Twain's life, that satirize religion, in this case the Book of Genesis. In a humorous fashion, the book deals with gender relations, human ignorance and limitations, the differences between the lazy and the productive, the creative and the unimaginative, the people with a zest for life and the people who are concerned mainly with eating and sleeping. All of this is condensed into a story of two familiar characters that makes for a brief but entertaining read.

[brianinbuffalo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Humorous, insightful and inventive. Twain's twist on creation is an amazingly quick read, yet it leaves folks with many interesting points to ponder.

[niecierpek · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A funny little book. Adam is just one of the benign beasts in Paradise:) Eve is definitely the more active and mature one. Her language is so much more elegant. But she is also the inquisitive one, hungry for possessions and power. We sort of know where Lady Macbeth came from...They are both very likeable though.I read it for the first time years ago, and it lost a little with the second reading, but not that much.