The Book of Eden is a collection of scriptures written by Jose Barrance in his spare time.
Summary[]
In the book, Jose tells the story of Sage, a friend of his, who travelled to a lost island known as Memia in search of a place in which people who followed his newly-found religion, Sageism, could pilgrimage to. He finds Eden Rock, depicted as a sacred mound of hope and glory to the almighty Sage. The book then talks about how the earliest human settlers on the island such as King Pomeroy (now Emperor Pomeroy) found prosperity and love in Sage's embrace at the peak of the rock.
The novel also contains an afterword by Craig, another Meme Lord known to Sage. In it, he states that Jose's recount of the legends of Eden Rock were 'beautiful, almost orgasmic', and ends with a heartfelt statement, saying he had been given HP Sauce from a milk bottle whilst on a pilgrimage to Eden Rock with his family.
Controversy[]
The book caused a great deal of controversy amongst Sageists, calling the book 'a cash grab amidst the success of Sage's newly formed religion', and noting that Barrance and Sage seemed to have a bitter hatred for each other at the time the book was published. It was also criticised for it's crude presentation, most notably in the design of the book, which many noted was nothing more than a cheap secret diary from Poundland with 'The Book of Eden' poorly scribbled onto the front cover.
Criticism was also drawn at the fact that Eden Rock was heavily exaggerated in the book, and that it was simply a place of beauty that people could visit in order to show Sage that they would follow in his footsteps, not 'a sacred mound of hope and glory to the almighty Sage' which many Sageists believed was some sort of offensive remark towards Sage and the religion as a whole.
Another source of controversy was the illustrations. Many deemed them unacceptable, due to the fact that they were simply stick figures, and that Sage 'would never approve of such crude artwork', and the fact that Jose had included an irrelevant afterword from someone who admitted in the very same afterword that they were not Sageist and were writing it to inform people of their love for 'Daddy's Sauce'.
Bollywood Adaptation[]
On October 3rd 2016, the film adaptation of the book, titled 'The Film of Eden', directed by Anurag Kashyap and starring Aamir Khan as Jose Barrence and Ganesh Acharya as Sage was released in Spicy-Memia. It opened at number one in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, The UK and The US, and has grossed over £300 million since it's release. Kashyap stated that he had read the book and that it was 'beautifully written and deserving of a film adaptation', and was immediately given the green-light.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 23%, with the critical consensus reading 'While it is marginally better than it's book equivalent, The Film of Eden smothers a potentially powerful story in a horrific whirlwind of awful special effects and terrible acting'. Sageists also criticised the film due to it's depiction of Sage being played by an Indian actor rather than a more accurate British actor.
Following the critical failure of the film, Kashyap chose not to return to direct the film's sequel, 'The Film of HP Sauce', with director Mani Ratnam taking his place. The film's sequel was a critical and financial success.