A River Divided

The story is divided into two parts. In the first part, the protagonists are Evelyn, a geneticist and amateur archaeologist whose passion leads her to a groundbreaking discovery in Jerusalem that she decides to keep a secret, and her best friend and ex-lover Michael who is an obstetrician. Evelyn staying “faithful” to the science she knows, manages to give birth to her first son, Christopher, but due to concerns over her health delivering a second baby, she and Michael decide to have the second baby delivered by a surrogate in Argentina.

In the second part, Evelyn’s children become the story itself. Christopher is the first child to be born. He grows up with Evelyn and Michael as his parents in Sydney. He graduates from a prestigious Australian university and becomes an economist working for TerraDename, a powerful company specializing in environmentally friendly constructions. He’s sent to Brazil in order to meet with the organization responsible for not allowing the construction of a “green” electric dam in the Amazon, negotiate, and reach a compromise that will satisfy both sides.

On the other hand, the second boy, Jose was abducted and raised by his surrogate mother in Latin America. He meets a neuroscientist and environmental activist called Alberto who introduces him to the environmental destruction caused by humans. When Alberto disappears, Jose takes over his place as the head of the environmental group Todo por Tierra which later evolved into Resistencia Pacifica, an organization aiming to network with people concerned about the Amazon Rainforest.

Throughout a series of events, the two boys meet and the moment they lay their eyes on each other, it’s like they take a look in the mirror. The boys are identical twins, their genetic material is 100% the same. Evelyn’s mitochondrial DNA from outside the nucleus of her egg is her only maternal contribution. Since they are exactly the same, they should also think and act the same.

Here comes nature versus nurture or more accurately nature via nurture. Both genes and the environment are essential for all behaviors. The environment has an influence on which genes are expressed that is which genes become active in brain neurons. They may be genetically identical and wish the same future for Earth but they express it through different words and actions.

George Paxinos, known as the world’s brain cartographer, claims that in evolutionary terms, we have a Stone Age brain. The scale of humanity’s interference with climate change is enormous. In order to save planet Earth from total destruction, people need to address climate change head-on and the way to do it is to change the way they comprehend and behave. That gigantic modification exceeds our brain’s capacities so far.

Mr. Paxinos delivers a masterfully written novel like no other I have read. Science, religion, ethics, faith, morality, freedom, and love comprise the “heart” of a story that captivates and at the same time challenges readers to question not only their knowledge but also their beliefs.