D. K. Stokes 2008-11-19

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

My daughter sent this one to me, appalled that I'd never read it. I send her Evanovich, she sends me Steinbeck. If I were an astute kind of person, that might explain some things. Good thing I'm not astute.

I've been putting off writing something about this. I think I'm a little intimidated because it's A Classic.

What the heck. The point is just to say if I liked the book and why or why not. Zillions of people have reviewed and analyzed and dissected this book, and there's really no reason for me to do that. Whew.

So, on the off chance that I'm not the only cultural illiterate out there, East of Eden is the story of the Salinas Valley of California, and about two families, the Hamiltons and the Trasks.

I had a little trouble following the connections between people at first, but it became clear later on. The Hamiltons are Steinbeck's family--in fact, he's in the second part of the story himself as a child, and my guess is they're there to make the story personal, and to contrast with the Trasks and provide a nudge to them once in a while.

Mostly, it's the story of two generations of brothers: Charles and Adam Trask, and Caleb and Aron Trask. Adam was his father's favorite, which caused a lot of problems between the brothers. He later marries and his wife gives birth to twins: Caleb and Aron, and the pattern threatens to repeat itself.

There's a bit of heavy-handed Cain and Abel imagery there, even down to the names, but the characters are so convincingly realistic that it never interfered with the story, and indeed was only apparent when I put the book down for a while. What I really enjoyed was the struggle between Caleb and Aron, trying not to repeat the pattern, and the realization that everything wasn't exactly as it seemed from the outside or on the surface.

Rocky Raccoon 2008-11-02

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Steinbeck's epic novel, `East of Eden' is a depiction of his family's history in the Salinas Valley in California. Often the backdrop of many of his novels, `...Eden' is certainly more autobiographical than most of his works. The story branches off just like a family tree, and organically the characters blossom into full life.

Beginning with Cyrus Trask during the late 1800's, we develop a Jacob and Esau rivalry between his boys Charles and Adam. Cyrus is a martinet, so overbearingly so, that Adam joins the army just to get out of his sight. Later, when he returns, the boys have become men and continue their conflict, except Cyrus has died and left a small fortune to both of them. Much of the novel focuses on the transition each one takes to acquire land and place their wealth in the right direction.

From there Adam is the central focus of the story. He falls in love with a woman named Catherine (also Cathy or Kate) who is a local prostitute. Through him she bears a pair of twins, Caleb and Aron, who are destined to be as different as Adam and Charles were. Adam truly adores Kate despite her livelihood, but the relationship turns tempestuous. While he finds it easy to forgive her transgressions, he can't seem to tame her wily nature.

The remainder of the novel follows the aspirations of Adam's family, including Kate, whose conniving ways provide a colorful backdrop as Adam attempts to keep their mother's identity a secret until they are old enough to process her place in their lives. Many subplots intertwine with Aron being an aspiring college bound preacher who falls in love with Abra, a preacher's daughter, while Caleb tries to win his father`s affection as an entrepreneur at home. As a heartwarming touch, Lee, an Asian-American housekeeper, adds much to the drama as a second surrogate parent of sorts.

Reading Steinbeck's classic is delightful. I found the 601 pages to be a trademark page-turner from one of my favorite American authors. While I'll always revere 'The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classics)' as his most powerful classic, I now understand why `East of Eden' is considered among the upper echelon of his great works. 'The Winter of Our Discontent' and `Of Mice and Men' have an emotional immediacy that are his trademark, but his expertise is no less apparent in this novel with his ability to weave such an intricate and absorbing tale from beginning to end.

As poetic prose, Steinbeck's timeless work has been reaffirmed by becoming one of Oprah's prized "Book of the Month" selections.

(On a personal note, I'd like to add that 'The Red Pony' was the only Steinbeck novel I ever read in school. Apparently my educators saw the wisdom of leaving his legacy to my free time when I could savor his novels because I wanted to--and not because I had to. I read `Of Mice and Men' during summer break during college, but I read the bulk of his famous works during the early nineties. Enjoy.)

Sarah A. 2008-09-02

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

I wasn't sure what to expect when I read East of Eden. I certainly wasn't expecting to be swept away in Steinbeck's eloquent prose or on the edge of my seat, barely able to wait for the ending and yet not really wanting the book to end. At times this was difficult to read--Steinbeck is a master of showing the depravity of humanity--and at other moments you're blown away by his understanding of the good in all of us as well. He shows us that life is about the choices that we make, and not about the blood in us. Genetics have nothing to do with what our life can become, and Steinbeck works this into the novel beautifully. This book grips you and doesn't let you go even after you finish it. It tears away at your pre-conceived notions about life--and takes your breath away with the truth of humanity and what we are capable of--both for good and for evil.

Hauntingly, painfully beautiful in places, and just plain painful to read in spots, East of Eden is truly a masterpiece. It's not always easy to read, but even when you're disturbed beyond reason at what is happening, you can't stop reading. It's hypnotizing. Definitely one of my favorite books of all time.

Jane Grimes 2008-06-11

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

John Steinbeck is recognized as a literary genius and he won the nobel prize for literature and rightly so. This book is the literary equivalent of a nuclear detonation. It is brilliant beyond belief. It makes the works of many other authors pale in comparison. If your a reader of the
great classics of 20th Century Literature then you must read this book.

John

Chuck Russell 2008-02-11

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

When I bought this book, Steinbeck could not have been further off my radar. I suppose I expected a solid, picaresque novel that was good in a musty "literature" sort of way. I could not have been more wrong. I don't think that I have ever been punched in the gut more times by a work of art. The mixture of mythology and gritty realism never felt forced, in fact it made the story even more fluid and vicious. It is a wonderfully sad, dark, violent and oddly hopeful chronical of human frailty, loyalty and weakness. It is one of the supreme achievements of the art (all forms, not just literary) of the 20th century. After I read this, I bought everything by Steinbeck that I could get my hands on and buried myself in eleven more of his works before coming up for air.