The Diaries of Adam and Eve: Classic Tales Edition
Written by Mark Twain
Narrated by B. J. Harrison and Cilla Harrison
4/5
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About this audiobook
Adam had a fine life. He had all the food he wanted, a fine garden to live in, and miles and miles of peace and quiet.
Until one day, a woman entered his life. And amongst her other garrulous qualities, she says that his beautiful garden doesn't really look like a garden at all. She thinks it looks more like a park.
Mark Twain
Frederick Anderson, Lin Salamo, and Bernard L. Stein are members of the Mark Twain Project of The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.
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Reviews for The Diaries of Adam and Eve
278 ratings19 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I love Mark Twain sense of humor and really enjoyed this short story. Very funny. Of course you have to listen through the lens of history to appreciate the ssxist humor. But funny nonetheless.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I think this is the original version of men are from mars, women are from venus. but with humor.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Short 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It 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... - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Charming 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Biting humor. Twain at his most cynical.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5If 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A new twist on Genesis from a different point of view. Very humorous if not taken too seriously. Warning: Very Sexist
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'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...
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Although the humor is a tad dated, the book is still funny. Twain’s humor may not be 21st century, but it is OK.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Humorous, insightful and inventive. Twain's twist on creation is an amazingly quick read, yet it leaves folks with many interesting points to ponder.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A 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.