A question of trust

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This article was published 29/04/2023 (1134 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In Toronto-raised Brooklynite Adam Sternbergh’s gripping new novel — his fourth — New York actress Daisy secretly rents a cabin in the rural woods upstate, and surprises her husband Craig with an invitation to meet her there for a week.

It catches him on the day that he was going to leave her and head for Mexico with another woman.

Daisy, 32, and Craig, 38, have been together for three years, married for two. The beautiful and clever Daisy has become a success off-Broadway and has avoided television and movies. Craig is handsome but mired in an uninspiring job as a “brand advocate.” He’d like to be a writer, but he’s made no move in that direction. His most satisfying activity is wooing other women.

Author Sternbergh offers a thriller-like novel written mostly in a laconic style. Nearly all of his 56 chapters have cliffhanger endings — it is not easy for the reader to decide when to take a break.

Daisy has done a thorough job of planning the getaway, paying good money to a couples-therapy group called the Edenic Foundation. It is run by Kit and Bridget Arden, who stop by on the first day to explain the Eden Test.

“The point isn’t to patch up anything,” Kit tells them. “The point is to truly understand what kind of relationship you’re after. And how committed you are to building it.”

Craig seems ready to settle into the peacefulness of the woods, while Daisy muses that, for her, “emotional security doesn’t come from doe-eyed devotion or unwavering adherence to old-fashioned notions about fidelity. For her, emotional security comes from the rock-solid assurance that you understand your partner so well — that you know him and his decisions, his motivations, his predilections, and his behaviours so completely — that he can never, ever surprise you.

“And Craig — handsome Craig, happy Craig, flirtatious Craig, faithless Craig — has never ever surprised her. Not once. Not in three years together.”

The test requires that the couple must answer seven questions, one a day over the seven days. The first question: Would you change for me? Second: Would you sacrifice for me? Third: Would you fight for me? Craig and Daisy must answer convincingly, and each is expected to be sincere.

Not only do the questions become more demanding, but seemingly spontaneous things happen to test their answers. Were these things created by the Ardens? Or are such things as the run-ins with unfriendly locals simply coincidental?

Craig learns so much he did not know about Daisy — all good. He’s even delighted with her revelation that she’s pregnant.

Sprinkled through the novel are observations such as one that is so true of the United States today; it comes from a young man called Shep who works for the Edenic Foundation. He has just told Craig and Daisy about some of the locals:

“Vandalism. Broken windows. Slashed tires. The occasional confrontation. Sadly, it’s the nature of the country we live in. So divisive. So polarized. We used to all get along. Now it’s red state, blue state, even within the same state. Anyone different is an enemy.”

More about Daisy’s past is gradually revealed, most of it surprising. It becomes evident that she is not only a fine actress but is clever at planning what she has done to get away from her past and to create a pleasant life for herself.

In some respects, The Eden Test might be compared with last year’s novel, Love Marriage, by England’s Monica Ali. Though much different in plot and character, Love Marriage examines the ways in which two contemporary young people prepare for a life together.

Some readers may feel The Eden Test becomes unnecessarily gory, or that Craig is a little too much on the dull side for a lively and lovely person like Daisy. But it is a fine read with many remarkable twists.

Dave Williamson is the Winnipeg author of 10 books, six of them novels.