THE CHOSEN TWO Book Review

The Chosen Two (book 1 in The Real Lives of Adam and Eve) by Edward N. Brown, eBook, 64 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: This book, the first title in the series "The Real Lives of Adam and Eve", covers the time from their births up until the time of their banishment from the Garden of Eden. It is divided into two chapters, the first covering all the events from birth until entry into the Garden at the age of 20, and the second covering all the events that happened during the 7 years they lived in the Garden – including, of course, their temptation and fall from grace.

In this book, the people, places, and times are real. But the story is considered by literary critics to be fiction. But is it really? Maybe this is the way it actually played out. After all, it is diligently based on existing historical records – writings from ancient scribes and scholars who meticulously tried to document the truth of events that happened before writing was even invented. This book presents a plausible scenario – a history of events – told here mostly from the perspective of Eve herself – as reminisced to her son Seth. How she believed it all played out, why it happened the way it did, and what it means for their future life together.

Immerse yourself in the thoughts and feelings of Eve, considered by many to be the progenitor of us all. Putting away the effect of hindsight, you’ll be able to ask yourself, “Would I have acted like Eve did, if I had been in the same situation? Or would I have done otherwise? Just what would I have done?” This is a powerful blend of history, philosophy, theology, romance, spirituality, and personal drama – all mixed together into an informative, but easy-reading, inspirational tale of courage and fortitude. A total fantasy based on an overactive imagination? Or a literary history enacted as a rollicking adventure story? Take your pick.

BOOK REVIEW: First I want to start off by saying that this is NOT a religious text. I don't normally list genres but I will for this one. In an email exchange, the author calls this a type of historical re-enactment and (I will quote him directly)

"...can be classified as ‘fiction’, but I prefer to say ‘narrative nonfiction’ or ‘creative nonfiction’ (some say ‘speculative nonfiction’) since they are based on historical records and are not simple musings of an overactive imagination."

Please keep that in mind if you chose to read this story.

Now with all that said, I very much enjoyed this short story. I have read the entire Bible once and in that journey I have often wondered, specifically when in the Old Testament, what some of the conversations would have or could have been like and that is kind of what you get here. Sure the dialogue isn't all real but it's nice to see someone give us that little bit of perspective of what could have been! The author does a great job with his endnotes giving guidance through scripture which I greatly appreciated as well as providing other references to go a little deeper (for example, the hierarchy of the angels).

For this being part 1 of 5, I give this a 5 star rating. I may be among the few that really enjoy the history in the OT (not necessarily the census parts, iykyk) so that is part of the reason for my high rating. The addition of scripture to back up his story is perfect for me as I still consider myself new in my faith journey since I only really started to know God and Jesus in January 2021. This is a perfect and short snippet into the lives of Adam and Eve. The rest of the series will be going through their lives as well, this is just our starting point. If you're looking at this to be a true/factual religious text, I would say keep an open mind. If you're like me and curious about what isn't said in the dialogue of the Bible then give this a read. It is a short and quick read at only 64 pages and that includes the endnotes. This is currently set to be released on 10.10.2025.

5/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 55/50 complete