Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Book Type: Hardcover
Eden Undone is an often fascinating account of a deadly mix of personalities thrown together on a small, remote island. Once all the people were in place, it was only a matter of time before disaster struck.
The remote Galápagos Island setting with its fascinating flora and fauna intrigued me, but I have to admit that I often found the backgrounds of the millionaires who visited to be more interesting than those of the people living on the island.
Ritter was so devoted to his idea of a splendid life in isolation that he had all his teeth extracted and wore a set of steel dentures. His patient/lover, Dore Koerwin, was dedicated to ensuring Ritter's brilliance to the world. But it was Ritter's insistence on spreading the word about his Utopia that brought about its downfall-- especially when newspapers were quick to emphasize that the two roamed around the island naked. Soon tourists were beating a path to the island.
Wittmer and his family wanted to escape a Europe that was rapidly descending into madness, and there was little strife between them and Ritter and Koerwin. It wasn't until the supposed baroness showed up with her lovers that emotions began to run high.
Watching these personalities clash and resentments begin to fester and boil, disaster was a foregone conclusion, and Abbott Kahler gives readers ringside seats to the calamitous end of another dream of paradise.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
The remote Galápagos Island setting with its fascinating flora and fauna intrigued me, but I have to admit that I often found the backgrounds of the millionaires who visited to be more interesting than those of the people living on the island.
Ritter was so devoted to his idea of a splendid life in isolation that he had all his teeth extracted and wore a set of steel dentures. His patient/lover, Dore Koerwin, was dedicated to ensuring Ritter's brilliance to the world. But it was Ritter's insistence on spreading the word about his Utopia that brought about its downfall-- especially when newspapers were quick to emphasize that the two roamed around the island naked. Soon tourists were beating a path to the island.
Wittmer and his family wanted to escape a Europe that was rapidly descending into madness, and there was little strife between them and Ritter and Koerwin. It wasn't until the supposed baroness showed up with her lovers that emotions began to run high.
Watching these personalities clash and resentments begin to fester and boil, disaster was a foregone conclusion, and Abbott Kahler gives readers ringside seats to the calamitous end of another dream of paradise.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
