"Infinity in the Palm of her Hand" by Gioconda Belli

“Infinity in the Palm of her Hand [2009]” is a translation by Margaret Sayers Biden of “El infinito en la palma de la mano” by Gioconda Belli. This interesting book is a feminist look at the story of Adam and Eve from the sentience of the first man to shortly after the first homicide recorded in the Bible. The author says that she was inspired to recount the tale after coming across some books that she found in her father-in-law’s library. Perhaps she had perused ancient writings based on the Mishnah, or perhaps it was Mark Twain’s “The Diary of Adam and Eve.” We don’t know. Nevertheless, her browsing inspired the author to ponder those first familiar chapters of Genesis.

The Other [aka Elokim] makes Adam to tend his garden; the creator then makes Eve from Adam. He communicates with his creations not through discourse and conversation but mainly by intuition and dreams. While the first man and women do not possess the knowledge of Good and Evil, they understand that fruit of two trees in the garden are forbidden to them.

Eve is also advised by a feathered serpent who claims that she has been with Elokim since the time before there was a garden. Curiously, the creature speaks to the woman in enigmatic caveats, and so Eve is forced to make her own decisions. The serpent also tries to explain Elokim’s ways and motives, but she also urges the human to “Accept your solitude, Eve. Don’t think of me, or of Elokim. Look around you. Use your gifts.”

Adam accepts Eve’s choices, and pragmatically he tries to adjust to the real world when Paradise is taken away. Although he is a problem solver, there still are thoughts of returning to the garden lingering in his heart.

Gioconda Belli, a poet, creates lovely descriptions of the changing worlds that surround her characters. Additionally, she does a great job when recounting the challenges that threaten violence that were faced by mankind’s first family in the real world. She, however, doesn’t follow Genesis chapter and verse as she tells her tale. As a result, the book ends in an unusual way.

In the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book, Belli cautions her readers that her story is not Creationist or Darwinist, it is fiction, and as fiction this is a fun and worthwhile novel. It is important to read and meditate on stories in the Bible. It’s also important to read other people’s meditations-both scholarly and lay-on the Scripture. With that in mind, I encourage you to read “Infinity in the Palm of her Hand” as you make up your own mind how it was in the beginning.