A transcendental progression of a multi generational saga in this book !
Just Beautiful !
Once again Mr. Steinbeck !..You filled me with your aroma !
I wish to say so much about this book, but I need some time.

"I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers.I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer- and what trees and seasons smelled like- how people looked and walked and smelled even. The memory of odors is very rich."

5.5+ stars... I won't talk about the specifics of the book bc I'm afraid to ruin it for ppl wanting to read it. I can go into details and quote it all night long but it wouldn't do it any justice. This is a genius that wrote this wonderful story. All the chapters flowed together nicely and the characters were evil vs good. Steinbeck writes about flawed ppl, war, the Bible, families, cancer, sex, politics and it just never gets boring or daunting. It's one of those books that will always stay with me and I'll compare it to other books and wonder why others can't write with this Awe. It is definitely one of the best 600 pages that I have enjoyed & leaves me wondering what else can possibly be this good.... I have to still absorb the story but wanted to get my thoughts out there before I couldn't at all...

One word: Remarkable.

Observations (note, I am deliberately avoiding the word ‘criticism’):
At times, the biblical analogies of Cain and Abel, good vs. evil were weighty, but Steinbeck peels away the layers of society in such an engrossing way that nothing can blemish the craft of his storytelling and character development.

Highlight: Steinbeck created a chilling, complex but, to me, fascinating female character who is unrivalled. Are there hints of misogyny? Maybe. Or just another biblical pretext to show the stark contrast between good and evil?

Regret: This should have been a Goodreads buddy read!
I needed to discuss, debate, marvel, rant, curse, question, clarify, talk, talk and talk about this novel.

Action: Looking forward to checking out more reviews (including the not-so-favourable ones for balance) and will seek out the film of the same name that features James Dean.

“In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved.”

I have many favorite books--special and personal ones that seem made for me that I adore. But I have never read anything as worthy as this novel. It is everything you could ever want. It makes a writer want to give up and declare, “You know, I thought I had something to say, but here, just read this.”

East of Eden is a masterpiece of storytelling. The theme is … well, it’s life, in all of its beauty and tragedy. It’s about what gives life meaning. It’s about family and inheritance. It’s about individuality and free choice. It’s about why we need to be courageous, and just how difficult a task that is.

The Hamilton and the Trask families--they couldn’t be more different, but both are so real and at the same time larger than life. They’re full of magic and terror and humanity. This rarely happens, but I have to say I loved every single one of the characters (yes, even the devil-woman). Samuel of course, and Lee and Adam, but I won’t forget the Sheriff or Dessie or Mr. Fenchel either.

It’s hard to think of anything comparable to this novel. Maybe War and Peace, but Steinbeck’s terrain is closer to home for me--both geographically and culturally. I grew up near enough to the Salinas area to know what he means about the hills and the wild mustard and the wind break of eucalyptus trees. My parents each separately left their Midwest farming families to move out to California, so I understand that dream, and how it gets into the DNA of a family.

“What I set down about him will be the result of memory plus what I know to be true plus conjecture built on the combination. Who knows whether it will be correct?”

All the Hamilton names are real--Steinbeck’s mother was Olive and her father was Samuel. I heard that he started this book as a letter to his two boys when they were young. He was separated from them, and wanted to tell them about family. Then he grew it into a universal family story. The voice in this book is a fatherly voice, and I sunk into it right away, feeling like I was sitting at the knee of my own father. There is a wonderful, warm feeling to the storytelling that I never wanted to end.

It did end, but rather than being sad, I find myself inspired. I honestly could not ask for anything more from a book.

“At such a time it seems natural and good to me to ask myself these questions. What do I believe in? What must I fight for and what must I fight against?”

2024 update: Read it again - it's somehow better than I'd remembered.

A magic book, an everything book, both like and unlike everything else Steinbeck wrote. I can never quite manage to stop reading it - the naming scene and the ending are about as good as writing can get.

“There's more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.”

از رمان شرق بهشت چی بنویسم؟از کجا شروع کنم؟!
رمان شرق بهشت منو زیر و رو کرد و چقدر تحت تاثیراین رمان قرار گرفتم. قلم اشتاین بک زیبا، گیرا واز همون صفحات اولش روح منو تسخیرکرد که باعث شد سخته بتونم ازش دل بکنم

باید بگم چقدر پشیمونم این رمان سالها پیش که میرفتم کتابفروشی همیشه جلوی چشام بود ومن تاالان ازش غافل بودم و اصلا هم بخودم زحمت ندادم خلاصشو بخونم. پس اگه نخوندین اشتباه منو نکنین وبدون تعلل سراغش برین مطمئنم ناامیدتون نمیکنه:))

اشتاین بک قطعا یک شاهکار خلق کرده،عاشق شیوه ی روایت رمان شدم،مثل این میمونه نویسنده دست شما را میگیره و به دوردست ها میبره و شمارا با دو نسل از خانواده ی هامیلتون و خانوادهٔ تراسک آشنا می کنه. کم کم کارکترها را گسترش می یابد هر کارکتری که در طول رمان معرفی می شود ثاثیری بر جا می گذارد. اشتاین بک در شرق بهشت مبارزه ی بین خیر و شر را قشنگ توسط کارکترها توصیف می کند.بنظرم واقعا باید خوند این کتاب را و درک کرد.
کل این کتاب در مورد خوبی و بدیهاست. جالبه اینکه بدونیم آدم های بد چقدر میتونن در زندگیمون تاثیر بذارن؟
در تمام مدتی که وقتی می‌رسیدم به بخش های کتی با علاقه میخوندم شخصیت نفرت انگیزی داشت و چقدر واقعی با همه ی بدیهایی که کرد آخرش چی شد واقعا؟
اینم سرنوشت آدمای بد

در آینده ی نه چندان دور حتما سراغ بقیهٔ کتابهاش میرم:)))

هرگز به خوبی نخواهی رسید مگر ابتدا شیطان درون خودت را بشناسی. ما همه فرزندان قابیل هستیم.

کتاب‌هایی هستن، مثل "جنگ‌وصلح"، مثل "برادران کارامازوف" که نمی‌شه بسادگی راجع بهشون چیزی نوشت. این کتاب‌ها خیلی آروم و تدریجی ایده‌شون رو در مغز خواننده میکارن و خیلی پرحوصله به پرداختن تمامی جزئیات صحنه‌ها می‌پردازن. مثل همون خوابی که توی فیلم اینسپشن (کریستوفر نولان) لازمه هرچه بیشتر واقعی بنظر بیاد. شما با خوندن این کتاب‌ها به یک خواب عمیق فرو میری و به تدریج فراموش می‌کنی که اصلا با یک دید جدی رفتی سراغ کتاب. چنان قصه و جزئیاتش شما رو در خودش غرق می‌کنه که همه حواست به شخصیت‌ها و سرنوشت‌هاشون جلب می‌شه. تا این که به خودت میای و می‌بینی کتاب تموم شده و سرت پر از افکار درهم و برهمه. از کتاب خیلی خوشت اومده و خیلی ازش متاثر شدی ولی حتی دقیقا نمی‌تونی بگی چرا. نویسنده، اون موقع که تو افسون قصه شده بودی یک ایده‌ رو توی مغزت کاشته و حالا داره توی وجودت رشد می‌کنه. شرق بهشت هم همچین کتابیه.

داستان روایتگر دو نسل از دو خانواده هامیلتون و تراسک در منطقه‌ای به نام دره سالیناس هستش. هامیلتونی که به عنوان مهاجر از ایرلند مهاجرت می‌کنه، سایرس تراسکی که توی جنگ داخلی آمریکا زخمی می‌شه. هر کدوم خانواده‌ای و بچه‌هایی. پدرها به تدریج پیر می‌شن و می‌میرن. و در این بین هم آمریکا در حال شکل گرفتن و تبدیل شدن به یک قدرت اقتصادیه. راه‌آهن داره میاد. شهرها دارن در کنار مزرعه‌ها شکل می‌گیرن. پسرها بزرگ می‌شن و ازدواج می‌کنن. بچه‌هایی از خودشون بجا می‌ذارن. عشق. نفرت. حسادت. پستی. بخشش. عذاب وجدان. تبعیض. جنگ جهانی اول. داستان بسیار مفصله. با این همه داستانی که سایش روی کل کتاب سنگینی می‌کنه، داستان هابیل و قابیله.

کل کتاب از نظر من به دنبال اینه که تعریفی از "درستی" ارائه بده. تعریفی که البته بسیار متفاوت‌تر و پیچیده‌تر از کلیشه‌هایی هستش که تا حالا دیده بودم. اما همونطور که گفتم این تعریف صاف و پوست‌کنده به خواننده تحویل نمیشه. چیزی هست در خلال رفتار شخصیت‌ها، سرنوشت‌ها و قصه‌ها. چیزهایی هست که آدم وقتی میخونه خیلی متاثر می‌شه اما وقتی می‌خواد برای دیگران تعریف کنه رنگ و لعابش از دست می‌ره. و اینم بخاطر اینه که ظرف وجود آدم گنجایش اون رو نداره که بتونه کل فهوای کلام نویسنده رو منتقل کنه و ناگزیر لبریز می‌شه و بخشی از کلام از بین می‌ره. لازمه خودتون بخونید.

n  n    “and now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.”n  n

steinbeck’s magnum opus and the best great american novel. east of eden is a spin on the biblical tale of cain and abel that explores identity within a relationship or on its own amid a sprawling and beautiful landscape. every character in this book feels real and flawed and each has a diverse take on the human condition. his writing is beautiful, and not even one single page is a filler. one of the most perfect classics.

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n  reading journaln
day 1 [chapters 1 & 2]
fuck me. i forgot how beautiful steinbeck's narration was. the description of nature? the love and care he pours into every character? i love how he sets the scene with descriptions of the changes of the salinas valley through time, as this is going to be a family saga that lasts decades.

a quote i loved:
"she felt that people having a good time was wide open to the devil. and this was a shame, for samuel was a laughing man, but i guess samuel was wide open to the devil. his wife protected him whenever she could."

day 2 [chapters 3 & 4]
the detail to family and characterization is beautiful. i love the first allegory of cain/abel through adam and charles. also just the impact of parents & how misery manifests itself through generations.

day 3 [chapters 5 & 6]
what i love the most about east of eden, especially these initial chapters, is steinbeck's ability to describe these two families (the hamiltons and the trasks). they seem like polar opposites of each other, especially the patriarchs—samuel is generous and considers family to be the greatest wealth, while cyrus has divided his family and runs on dishonesty. his description of the two are both so subtle, yet he manages to tease out the little details that really put them against each other as foils.

i know that charles/adam are supposed to allegorize the biblical cain/abel, but steinbeck's writing causes me to actually care about charles, which is really interesting.

day 4 [chapters 7 & 8]
doing this early because i have a stupidly busy day + it's may 4th in some areas of the world so i'm technically not cheating:

chapter 6 (from yesterday's reading) and chapter 7 cut into the flesh of the theme of loneliness. while away from each other, adam and charles have both experienced the brutality of loneliness, albeit in different ways.

"and just as there are physical monsters, can there not be mental or psychic monsters born? the face and body may be perfect, but if a twisted gene or a malformed egg can produce physical monsters, may not the same process produce a malformed soul?"

cathy is also such an interesting study in 'evil', as it manifests in such a more blatant way than charles (who is also supposed to represent 'evil' i guess). while with charles, it is not difficult to get glimpses of humanness and morality, catherine seems so blatantly manipulative and seemingly has no empathy or kindness.

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n  pre-rereadn
the best thing about this book being emma and my big classics project for may 2022 is that we're rereading it and we both already know it's going to be five stars. maybe i'll force her to read anna karenina with me next month.

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n  previous long classicsn
n  march:n middlemarch
n  april:n the tenant of wildfell hall

maybe timshel will be our always

welcome to...(MAY)ST OF EDEN!!

this might sound like my month/title puns are getting worse and worse, but wait until we get to the reveal on this one.

by being excited i have definitely cursed myself into forgetting to do it.

every month, elle and i read an intimidating classic in a couple chapters a day all month long. MIDDLEMARCH MARCH was a raging success, but TENANT OF WILDAPRIL HALL sucked hard.

to heal ourselves, we're revisiting a book we know we love. we're also doing it with our book club!

constantly living the dream.

follow along on instagram or discord!!

timshel, b*tch.



DAY 1: CHAPTERS 1 & 2
hope someday to love anything as much as john steinbeck loved the land of california. anyone who gets a bit snoozy over in-depth nature descriptions, today's exposition central might be a little tough to get through, but this gets to be sooo worthwhile and scandalous!!


DAY 2: CHAPTERS 3 & 4
"She smiled at Adam, and he closed his eyes."
there is truly more characterization and relationship development in that single sentence than there is in some entire books i've read this year.

in love with the exploration of adam's absence of a mother and charles' absence of a father and who it makes each of them. steinbeck is unbelievable when it comes to characterization and to relationship dynamics, and it's never clearer than in this, his family saga masterpiece. some really compelling chats going on in the east of eden channel - i'm having so much fun with this book and you guys already!


DAY 3: CHAPTERS 5 & 6
in this year of reading i've noticed myself really enjoying unlikable characters - which is good because they are so absurdly trendy right now. loving reading this book because it's slightly different - even with characters who Should be unlikable, like charles, i care about him a lot.

i think steinbeck's writing is just that good - he can indicate powerful emotions in just a few words or one action (i'm thinking in particular of charles and the clean versus unclean house). heart destroying!


DAY 4: CHAPTERS 7 & 8
cathy...in many ways the original girlboss. steinbeck's ability to explore the full spectrum of good and evil while managing to create not only Believable and Convincing characters but also characters you care about is truly one of a kind. many classic authors are unable to write a real-seeming depiction of a person with bad intentions (think about the brontës, for example), and johnny boy is managing not only to do this but to get me invested in what happens to each and every one of them. a master.

i apologize if this is less analytical than other entries (and elle's lovely one for today). i had to read this drunk because i couldn't watch my precious basketball team lose sober.

it's what steinbeck would have wanted.


DAY 5: CHAPTERS 9 & 10
my sister and i have a saying: "men are so tender with each other." it started when one day in a bagel shop a guy behind us in line looked at another guy who came in and went, "bro, i was JUST thinking about you!" and now we notice sweet stuff like that all the time. say what you will, but men love each other a lot.

relatedly, i loved this chapter about charles and adam and their complicated love for each other. and i loved more of cathy's villain origin story, and the line "No one who is young is ever going to be old."

i hope this month of reading never ends!


DAY 6: CHAPTERS 11 & 12
strawberries really DON'T taste as good as they used to.

(best way to describe how the passing of time feels that i've read.)


DAY 7: CHAPTERS 13 & 14
it is day 10.
i am in a life slump i recently misdiagnosed as a reading slump, but now i am attempting to get myself back on this glorious biblical retelling bandwagon come, well, hell or high water.

i don't know how many ways there are to say that this is one of the great character books of all time, but i hope chapter 14 and its loving and wonderful depiction of olive is taught in creative writing classes. in the general east of eden channel we're having a fun talk about steinbeck's female characters - i find them compelling beyond reasonable expectation for a dude from old times!!


DAY 8: CHAPTERS 15 & 16
i know steinbeck isn't perfect, but i do find his attempts at subverting traditional bigoted stereotypes very compelling - blaming adam for his inability to see through cathy; creating full and complex female characters; and in these chapters, the character of lee.

these are flawed depictions, even still, and maybe i'm giving too much credit, but i appreciate the effort!!


DAY 9: CHAPTERS 17 & 18
so much to find interesting about cathy as a character, including how her role facilitates reflection on who is responsible for evil. not only is cathy not the only person expected to take accountability for her amorality - she almost isn't!

for whatever reason, we can blame adam for his blind devotion, liza for her lack of superstition, sam and lee for their self-doubt, the sheriff and deputy sheriff for their inability to recognize what's before them, all more easily than we can blame cathy for her own nature.


DAY 10: CHAPTERS 19 & 20
it's hard trying to do actual analysis for this book every day.

skipping that today because i have the kind of sinus headache that makes you empathize with the cartoon character-shaped balloons at grocery store checkout lines. just going to say cathy is crazy i could read about this wild gal forever.


DAY 11: CHAPTERS 21 & 22
it's day 15. this may seem like a disaster, but really i'm just so enjoying savoring this book!!! i can't make myself binge it.

the other book we're reading for our book club this month is conversations with friends, and while the two have almost nothing in common beyond the fact that they are part of the rare and mighty few i've five starred, there is something similar to me...perhaps just in the fact that both are as if the smartest and most interesting people you know sat and talked about the most important and fascinating topics in the world, and the best writer you could think of summarized it all.

not a bad setup. both i feel endlessly grateful for. both i could read forever.


DAY 12: CHAPTERS 23 & 24
there's something almost insulting about the death of a character. my favorite characters are like family members i can return to every time i open their book - a story that kills them ruins the perfection of that illusion. if the hamiltons of reality can't live forever, the hamiltons of fiction at least should.

anyway, here finally we have the pun reveal: TIMSHEL, BABY! thou mayest. in other words - MAYST OF EDEN.

tearing up and it's not even at my own joke.


DAY 13: CHAPTERS 25 & 26
don't mind me, just in a state of mourning.

fortunately i have approximately 89 other excellent characters to get me through.


DAY 14: CHAPTERS 27 & 28
doubling up today because of my most insane hobby: putting 6 or 7 books on my currently reading and reading them chapter by chapter, one at a time.

it is bliss for the focus-challenged nerd in your life.

it's odd - as i read this book i have this sense of foreboding, not only for having read it before, and not only because of that déjà vu knowledge that a retelling provides, but because there's this shakiness to everything in this story. fundamentally east of eden is about the tenacity of people and the precariousness of life.

anyway. even as i know what's to come, on so many levels and for so many reasons, i'm illogically crossing my fingers for the best for all of them.


DAY 15: CHAPTERS 29 & 30
the most wonderful part of this book (if you'll forgive that i've probably called a hundred parts the most wonderful) is the complexity and realism of the characters. none truly good, none truly evil.

sometimes you want to shake cal, and a lesser writer would let you hate him, but goddamn instead in chapter 30 he breaks your f*ckin' heart.


DAY 16: CHAPTERS 31 & 32
i love dessie and tom so much it hurts my heart.

what mental illness is it when you would literally trade your own happiness if made up fictional characters from 70 years ago could have a happy life?


DAY 17: CHAPTERS 33 & 34
possibly the only character i dislike in this entire book, which includes one of the most enduring depictions of pure evil in fiction, is will.

i can't bear a capitalist, and i adore tom. f*ck you, will. let the man have his acorns.

anyway, i'm crying again.


DAY 18: CHAPTERS 35 & 36
i think it'd be tempting to say that steinbeck is depicting a person of color who craves servitude, and there is evidence of that. but more so i don't think steinbeck sees lee as a servant, and in turn, adam and cal and aron don't either. they're a family. lee doesn't return saying starting a bookstore was too hard - he comes back because he was lonely.

obviously there's nuance to this and its own kind of problematic-ness, but it's nice to see the nice things.


DAY 19: CHAPTERS 37 & 38
i don't find adam to be a very compelling character, so it's odd to read two greats (cal and lee) discussing how he's the best man they know.

i'm like, out of this all star lineup?!


DAY 20: CHAPTERS 39 & 40
oh, i love sweet cal. to have a sibling you love can be such a complicated thing.


DAY 21: CHAPTERS 41 & 42
god damn it. steinbeck won't let me dislike even one character. coming out swinging making me like will goddamn hamilton too.

there are dozens of characters in this book, and every single one of them is a person. i mean, every single one has a history that made them who they are, has weaknesses that came from somewhere and dreams and disappointments. how do you even do that?

this book is miraculous.


DAY 22: CHAPTERS 43 & 44
i haven't met a man in my entire dating life (and i'll be honest with you, it's extensive), with a full awareness of the way in which men can create their idea of a woman and then cast it on to a real human, and call that falling in love.

but i just read john steinbeck do it.


DAY 23: CHAPTERS 45 & 46
i can suspend my disbelief as well as the next fiction reader, but kate getting taken down by some random dumb petty criminal man is not something i can get behind in terms of realism.


DAY 24: CHAPTERS 47 & 48
these short chapters are killing me. i'm used to 35 pages of this a day and now i'm having to catch up in order to get there. dire straits.

this also made me look up the etymology of the word "cupcake" - dates back to 1828! who knew. i just thought it was goofy to picture steinbeck at a pastel micro-bakery.


DAY 25: CHAPTERS 49 & 50
poor aron. poor cal. poor lee.

at least kate's still got it. in her way.

things'll get worse before they get better! (and by get better i mean they won't, really, and the book will end, and i miss the hamiltons.)


DAY 26: CHAPTERS 51 & 52
i do love dear abra. it's nice to know steinbeck was so capable of writing full female characters - he sure didn't in of mice and men. but then he hardly had the time, really.


DAY 27: CHAPTERS 53 & 54
the penultimate day. i'm going to miss this book so much it's embarrassing.

another theme i love in this book is an extension of the broader topic of good and evil - the idea of personal responsibility, and whether it's your right as a human being to be a truly good or truly evil person. adam and aron, who are sinless to the point of self-motivation, are marked by the sins of adam's father and of cathy. cal, despite his best efforts to be bad, is continually drawn toward good.

and then there's the cal and aron of it all.

what was really so bad about cal's and charles' gifts to their fathers? and was what cal did to aron really worse than his response to it? did cal kill aron, or did aron kill himself? or was it less personal than even that?

a real thinker. i'm not reading the last chapter today. i can't do it.


DAY 28: CHAPTER 55
all i can do to finish this, tear up a bit, reread the timshel passages, and stare at the wall for a while.


OVERALL
this is one of the greatest:
- retellings
- family dramas
- generational novels
- testaments to the power of the character
- books to build your life around
of all time.
i loved revisiting it very much.
rating: 5

steinbeck said that everything he wrote prior to this book was just practice.

which means everything i have read prior to this book was also practice, familiarising myself with stories about humanity, until i could fully appreciate just how perfectly this encapsulates human nature and everything that comes with it.

the good. the evil. the freedom of choice. the resulting consequences. the loneliness. the beauty.

there are so many inspired nuggets of wisdom nestled into this deeply intimate story (just go have a look at the quotes section) that i cant help but agree with a friend when he claimed this book is “life changing.”

PS - i havent seen the film, but i have heard the musical score and its absolutely perfect. makes me tear up at just how much it suits the story. take a listen here.

↠ 4.5 stars