Lost in the Stacks: Eden Undone

The settlement of Floreana Island began as a heaven and ended a hell. Dr. Ritter, an eccentric German doctor replete with stainless steel dentures and an obsession with vegetarianism, arrived on the remote Galápagos Island in 1929 with his female companion Dore. Adherents to the teachings of Nietzsche, Dr. Ritter and Dore tended their animals and gardens in the nude and cherished their isolation.  

Their utopia was fleeting. The Wittmer family, Margret and Heinz, came to Floreana in 1932. With a sickly son in tow and a newborn on the way, they cared nothing for Dr. Ritter’s philosophy but wanted to lead a simple life in a healthful climate. Last to arrive was the self-described “sex crazy” Austrian Baroness and her two male companions Rudolf and Robert. The Baroness planned to build a luxury hotel – Hacienda Paradiso – to entice tourists to the rocky island. 

And so they were nine. Tucked into the highest reaches of the island where fresh water trickled down the cliffs, they cultivated their gardens and they cultivated their hate. This one wouldn’t share food. That one mistreated their animals. This one received too many gifts from American benefactors. That one was abusive. This one bathed in their limited fresh water supply. As the drought intensified and water and fresh food became scarce, the gossip and grievances grew and grew until finally two of the islanders disappeared. Was it murder? 

In the stranger-than-fiction category, Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler is a winner. It’s all here: an exotic yet pitiless island setting bizarre – yet real! - characters, and an intriguing mystery about the fate of the islanders.