Friday 18 October 2013

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck is my husband's favourite author, but he's not really an author I've ever had a burning desire to read.  I picked up Of Mice and Men as a teenager and liked it well enough, but I never fancied his longer works, Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden.  But the Classics Club is fabulous for making me actually read books that I think will be worthwhile, so I added three Steinbecks to my list.  East of Eden is the first of these I have tried.

A saga of the Hamilton and Trask families living in the Salinas valley in the early twentieth century, East of Eden follows the same two families over several generations as they seem destined to re-enact the tales from Genesis.  Generations of brothers bicker over who their father loves more, there's much sibling rivalry and the sin of Eve features heavily.  The story features many characters but focuses on three main protagonists; Samuel Hamilton, a patriach of the community, Adam Trask, an idealist and his son, Cal Trask, who seems destined to take Cain's role but struggles against it.

East of Eden is a really hard book to write a plot summary for.  Although a lot happens in the course of the novel, it is basically a 600+ page study of the good and evil in human nature.  And I loved it.  I found it to be quite slow starting and the sparse, straight-forward style that Steinbeck uses took a bit of getting used to, but as soon as Cathy appeared I was hooked.   Had I not been working, I would have flown right through this book in a matter of days as there was something about it that was utterly gripping.  I think it might have been the realism and the unadorned way that Steinbeck writes about life.

What I got out of East of Eden is that life is hard, and that everyone has a bit of good and evil in them.  Steinbeck plays around with creating purely good (Aron) and bad (Cathy) characters and retelling the biblical story straightforwardly but Cal is by far the most complex and interesting character.  He's desperate for his father's love but senses (correctly) that his father prefers the idealistic and sensitive Aron over him.  This twists him up inside and makes him bitter and it seems that Cal is set on the path of evil.  But Steinbeck makes him more complex than that; we see Cal fighting against his more negative impulses and the choices that he makes every day about what kind of person he wants to be.  And I could really relate to that as this is what life is like; we all have the potential to do good or bad things and when it comes down to it, we all get to choose the kind of person that we want to be.

Although the writing style did take a bit of getting used to (particularly for someone who loves Victorian classics), I did end up enjoying it.  Steinbeck writes very simply and the only emotions you get are the ones that you can infer from the way the characters respond to events.  The characterisation is the best part of the novel; the only character that didn't feel completely realistic was Cathy, and she was just so much fun to read about and added so much to the plot that it didn't matter at all that she was all bad.

East of Eden was a book that grew on me as I read it.  It's completely different from the classics I usually choose and I wasn't sure that I liked it at first.  But the more I read it, the more I got caught up in it and I closed the final page very much impressed and absolutely determined to seek out more Steinbeck in the near future.

Source: Borrowed my husband's copy
First Published: 1952
Edition Read: Penguin Classics, 2000
Score: 4.5 out of 5


Classics Club: Book 17/72
My full list is here.

18 comments:

  1. Since uni, I have kind of soft spot for some American writers and Steinbeck is one of them, I have very good (if a bit vague) memories from The Grapes of Wrath. I was curious what you think of East of Eden because I am planning to read it next year.

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    1. I never had to read any American writers for school, but I am enjoying discovering them for myself. I'll be reading Grapes of Wrath, for sure.

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  2. this is my favorite book by Steinbeck

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    1. I've only read 2, but it is my favourite of his so far.

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  3. I haven't read this book yet, but I've been meaning to...for a few years. (Oops. I really need to start working on my To-Read list.) I've always admired the way Steinbeck writes, even if his stories are a little bit sad or downright depressing. But you've inspired me. I'm moving this book up to the top of the list. :)

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    1. Don't worry, there's books I've been meaning to read for a decade or more sitting on my shelves. I will get to them.....one day.
      This book is worth moving up the list though, it's excellent :)

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  4. I love Steinbeck so so so much (like, he's definitely one of my favourite authors. He's probably my favourite author of, like, high repute and nobel prize winnage and whatnot) so I'm so happy you liked thiiiiiiis! It's probably my favourite of all his books, it's probably the best of all his books, and yeah, just amazing. Also, fun fact: The older I get, the more I like East of Eden and the less I like The Grapes of Wrath (which is still, you know, amazing.)

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    1. Although I loved this book I don't think his writing style fits enough with me for him to ever become a favourite author, but my husband would most certainly agree with you! I can't wait to read Grapes of Wrath so I can compare it with this one and see which I prefer.

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  5. I love Steinbeck and East of Eden is an all-time favorite... so glad you enjoyed it, too!

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  6. I read Of Mice and Men back in school too but haven't thought about reading Steinbeck's other works. I've mainly be focusing on reading more British classics. Reading your thoughts though sounds like I should definitely consider reading more Steinbeck too.

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    1. There's just so many classics I want to get to and not enough reading time. I've been reading a lot of American classics these past few years, come to think of it, and I'm very much enjoying them.

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  7. I love the Classics Club for pushing me to read stuff like this too :) I was not expecting to really like East of Eden, but like you, I was completely gripped. I had planned on making myself read at least two chapters a day until I was finished, but I ended up finishing it within a week, I think. I took SO many notes while I read it. Cathy was such a crazy character, which made her really fun to read about because her madness was like a car wreck you just couldn't take your eyes off of. And Lee! Lee was such a fantastic character. Glad you liked this one :)

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    1. I wasn't expecting to like it either, and perhaps I was being a bit stubborn about getting to it as I know my husband loved it so much! Cathy was such fun, wouldn't want to meet her in real life but in a book she's fabulous :)

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  8. I have a Steinbeck on my list too (Grapes of Wrath, maybe) but I've always felt a little 'blah' about him. I've never read anything by him and haven't ever felt like I have to but it seems I may be missing out. Perhaps I'll get to The Grapes sooner rather than later. So pleased you enjoyed it :)

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    1. Ooh, we should read Grapes of Wrath together at some point :)

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  9. I'm currently reading this one for the first time. Really glad to hear you enjoyed it. :)

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