Read years ago, this review is now being made available for Goodreads.

Was it the 5 stars that gave away my feelings? This novel follows the destinies of two families - the Trasks and Hamiltons - whose generations sound hopelessly biblical.

Steinbeck is a visual writer. I am a visual learner. Already we have a connection.

Setting is important to a Steinbeck novel. This setting is the first thing we experience in this novel. The way he describes the Salinas Valley of the time, makes it sound like Paradise. I find myself enchanted. Even though I am a beach girl, through and through, his descriptions of the valley are mesmerizing.

This is truly a human story. Steinbeck shares...

"We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil."

Cain and Abel. The re-telling of that bible story. But he also creates characters that resonate with us. One actually based on his own grandfather - the character of Samuel Hamilton (his grandfather actually being born in Salinas).

Mostly this is truly a literary story because it is so good.

It is thrilling and suspenseful, funny and heartbreaking.

It is full of great characters that you care for and sometimes fear for them, as well. You can see what horrible things are awaiting them, and want to warn them, because you are so invested in their well-being. Sometimes you might even recognize yourself in their strengths...and weaknesses.

When you are this close to a book - you know, this one is the one that stays with you. And when you close the pages at the end, you can't help but notice... this book, it is still with you.

What do we call this book - East of Eden? A masterpiece. Am I wrong?

This book left me flabbergasted. I genuinely don't know how to feel about it. I could've given it any rating between 2 and 5 stars. Truly no thoughts, head empty. And that makes me mad. Because reading these 600 pages was such a chore. And now after I'm done, I have almost nothing to say? I genuinely think I'm too young or too inexperienced to properly get this book, to take in all of its nuances. Even reading secondary literature of this book is overwhelming.

I mean, I somewhat enjoyed it ... I definitely appreciated it. It made me laugh (Steinbeck is surprisingly funny), it made me gasp (audibly, multiple times, the plot twists in this book are unhinged!) and it tore at my heartstrings. But all in all, it's a book that feels "too big" for me. I don't know what to do with it. I feel like the first half is much stronger than the second half. It really started to drag towards the end, and then, all of a sudden, everything happened at once and major characters started to drop dead like flies. And I was like WHAT IS HAPPENING? All in all, I liked the dynamic of Adam, Charles and Cathy more than the one of Aron, Cal and Abra. I know that the two generations mirror each other but the new generation didn't bring the same juice, if you ask me.

Also, I cannot be the only one who was reminded of Wuthering Heights when reading this book, right??? The parallels are uncanny. Not just the two-fold structure of the two generations who mirror each other. Also the characters and their personalities. Cathy Ames was serving Catherine Earnshaw realness 9/10 times. Cal was giving Hareton. (Also who would've thought that Cal would be the last man standing in the Trask family? That ending had me gooped and gagged.) And Abra was giving Cathy Linton. It's craaazy! Both are stories of revenge, full of lust, sex and desire. And everyone loves a good villain. Emily and John have perfected the art of writing them, especially female ones. Miss Cathy had me gooped and gagged. I will never forgive John by forcing suicide upon her (her ending is so fucking UNSATISFYING and feels so out of character???) but I guess he couldn't let my girly win.

n  “You know, Lee, I think of my life as a kind of music, not always good music but still having form and melody. And my life has not been a full orchestra for a long time now. A single note only—and that note unchanging sorrow.”n

Spanning the period between the American Civil War and the end of World War I, East of Eden highlights the conflicts of two generations of brothers, the first being the kind, gentle Adam Trask and his wild brother Charles. Adam eventually marries Cathy Ames, an evil, manipulative, and beautiful prostitute; she betrays him, joining Charles' bed on the very night of their wedding day. (When I tell you I screamed during that reveal.) Later, after giving birth to twin boys, she shoots Adam and leaves him to return to her former profession. In the shadow of this heritage Adam raises their sons, the fair-haired, winning, yet intractable Aron and the dark, clever Caleb. This second generation of brothers vie for their father's approval. Eventually, in bitterness Caleb reveals the truth about their mother to Aron, who then joins the army and is killed in France.

Steinbeck's epic of good and evil, set against the blueprint of the biblical Cain and Abel narrative, begins as both Adam and Charles vie for their father's recognition and love. In the Trask household, people have always rejected, offended, hated, avenged and, above all, lied. The evil was perpetuated. This should surprise no one, since "we are all descended from Cain", as Steinbeck helpfully points out. And yet Steinbeck is a moralist through and through, firmly believing that man, despite all predispositions, can of his own free will decide against evil and for good.

Like a shibboleth, a code, the Hebrew word "Timshel" (= "Thou mayest...") therefore appears in central passages of the text, which is largely set in the Salinas Valley in California. When Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962, he said in his acceptance speech, not without pathos: "I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man, has no dedication nor any membership in literature." It is of this perfectibility that he writes in East of Eden. What makes us humans special is that we can make choices, we are able to make decision. Our free will separates us. It's a burden and a gift.

Many of the novel's characters have perfected the art of pretending, the art of acting. Either to protect themselves, like the Chinese-American Lee, who is more philosopher and life counsellor than cook and servant to Adam Trask. (Lee hides his high education from the racist white society, because he knows that his life will be easier if he plays into their prejudices, thus he pretends to be simple-minded and incapable of speaking English without a Chinese accent.) Or to achieve their own goals. Adam's wife Cathy Ames is a master at this, using her charm to manipulate people from an early age. And so, at first glance, she seems to be the incarnation of the devil in angel's clothing, who, with a smile on her face, finds it easy first to cuckold the love-blind Adam and then to leave him and become a brothel owner, by driving the previous owner insane and killing her, mind you. Which is why the second wise man in the novel besides Lee, the farmer Sam Hamilton, never tires of imploring Adam to "take a closer look", to finally see Cathy for who she truly is under her mask.

The women in East Eden are much stronger than the men. They want to be independent, whatever the cost. Cathy effortlessly changes from slyly sweet to hatefully cold. An even more modern female character is Abra, girlfriend first of Aron, then of Cal. In contrast to Cathy, who as a child has already rescued herself from her deficient existence into a fairy-tale wonderland, this is soon no longer enough for Abra. As one of the few in Steinbeck's cosmos, she does not delude herself and can therefore say she is free.

Cathy and Lee are by far the most interesting characters in this novel. Cathy, especially, is super fascinating since female characters like her are rare in classic literature. What I like about her being the "villain" (the "bitch", if you may) is how nuanced Steinbeck develops her character throughout the book. It's clear that from an early age she learned that grown men will sexualise her and there's nothing she can do to prevent it, she can make her "sex appeal" work in her favor or succumb to it: "She was afraid. She needed protection and money. Adam could give her both. And she could control him—she knew that. She did not want to be married, but for the time being it was a refuge." It makes sense that she manipulates Adam into marrying her. It's the only thing a woman in her position could do.

And Steinbeck doesn't go down the easy "Cathy = villain / Adam = victim"-route. Instead, he shows us time and time again, that Adam is at fault as well. He idealised Cathy, makes her into a non-person. He infantilises her, he objectifies her. He doesn't listen to her:

n  Cathy spoke very quietly. “Adam, I didn't want to come here. I am not going to stay here. As soon as I can I will go away.”
“Oh, nonsense.” He laughed. “You’re like a child away from home for the first time. […] So don’t say silly things like that.”
“It’s not a silly thing.”
“Don’t talk about it, dear. Everything will change after the baby is born. You’ll see. You’ll see.”n

Cathy cannot make herself heard. Adam only sees what he wants to see. And so when she tells him that she will leave him after giving birth to their sons (something which he forced her to do, forbidding the abortion), he doesn't believe her. It is only when his refusal to listen to her drives her to harsh actions, aka shooting Adam to get away from him, that he realises what she's just said. More often than not I felt angry on behalf of Cathy. "I've built the image in my mind of Cathy, sitting quietly waiting for her pregnancy to be over, living on a farm she did not like, with a man she did not love." Women like her don't have many choices, and it's commendable how she carves them out for herself.

The problem of the idealised woman is something we also find in the second generation. Aron idealises his childhood sweetheart Abra. But unlike Cathy, Abra is able to free herself of Aron's gaze early on. She tells Cal: "He doesn't think about me. He's made someone up, and it's like he put my skin on her. I'm not like that—not like the made-up one." She knows that what she and Aron have isn't real, because to him, she doesn't even exist, she's a non-person, someone he made up in his own made, his own personal wish fulfilment. Abra frees herself from Aron, breaking up with him, lifting the burden of his expectations and dreams off her shoulders. And so when she finally finds her joy with Cal, Lee rightfully notes: "And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good." And besties, I damn near cried at that quote. Because it's so goddamn true. Free from Adam's expectations, she can finally be herself, just a simple person, not the perfect woman. She can finally breathe and be free.

So, as you can see, Steinbeck's saga is also one of overlooking and looking away. It is a symbolic story of the human soul. We only see what we want to see. And it's superbly written. There are quotes for days in this book that truly make me weep, e.g. "And there is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall a little; they crash and shatter or sink deeply into green muck." or "We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil."

What I especially appreciate is Steinbeck's ability to give such depth to his characters within such few words. When Lee asks Adam whether he likes his life, Adam answers: "Of course not." And it makes so much sense. Because why would a man like Adam Trask like his life. It's totally pieces. And when he has a new business idea, Steinbeck writes: "
And as is usually true of a man of one idea, he became obsessed." Like, damn, bestie, are you sure you're an author and not a psychology major? Man had me shaking in my boots.

But that's not to say that East of Eden is without flaws. As much as I commend Steinbeck for his (to me) surprising strong anti-racist stance when it comes to the character of Lee, and the interesting feminist implications that characters such as Cathy and Abra offer, he is still giving "white man write book" more often than not, dropping the n-word in all its different forms, literally having a female character, a prostitute, being called "The N***er", and referring to the genocide against indigenous people as "not nice work but, given the pattern of the country’s development, it had to be done." In general, I found the unchallenged attitudes that the characters/narrator holds towards indigenous folks hard to endure: "And that was the long Salinas Valley. Its history was like that of the rest of the state. First there were Indians, an inferior breed without energy, inventiveness, or culture, a people that lived on grubs and grasshoppers and shellfish, too lazy to hunt or fish. They ate what they could pick up and planted nothing. They pounded bitter acorns for flour. Even their warfare was a weary pantomime." Totally unacceptable and should be called out more in modern reviews!

Overall, I am happy that I read East of Eden. It's a novel I will definitely come back to later in life. I'm quite satisfied that I managed to write down some of my thoughts and ideas in this review. I still feel like I didn't get to the bottom of this novel but I might have come a little bit closer through writing this review.

So FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Realistic ~ Page-Turner ~ Entertaining ~ Tear-Jerker ~ Wonderful Characters ~ Original ~ Haunting ~Great World Building - Favorite Classics

This was my 3rd time to read this book. The first time was in high school and I was amazed by it then. I then read it again in college when I wrote a paper on John Steinbeck's characters. Again I was amazed by it. Now years later I wanted to read it again. I still come up with the same thing -- this book is amazing. Some of the best characters overall in literature can be found in this pages. You loved them, you hated them, you wept with them, and at times some of frustrated you or scared you. There is so much packed into the pages that sometimes with me it was a little slower to digest for me at my current age so it took me longer to read now than it did in the past. But I caught things this read though that I didn't catch when I was younger. This book is definitely in my top 10 books of all time.

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."

An epic American masterpiece and no doubt Steinbeck's Magnum Opus, also his closest to being autobiographical, capturing the farmland of California's Salinas Valley to a tee, family loyalties lie at the heart of the story, fathers, sons, and legacy are deeply studied throughout, and in Cathy Ames (later known as Kate Trask) we have one of the most evil women ever committed to literature.
An ambitious and majestic work of art, and possibly the best narrative I have come across in a novel.
Will read again and again.

این مدت که تصمیم داشتم شرق بهشت رو بخونم تو ذهنم بود در حد و اندازه خوشه‌های خشم میتونم دوسش داشته باشم یا نه. و خب استاین بک تو هر کتاب بیشتر غافلگیرم میکنه :))
نویسنده تو این کتاب از وطنش گفته، از محله‌اش و آدم‌هاش. اونقدر شخصیتای قصه به دل می‌نشستند که ۸۰۰ صفحه رو یک نفس خوندم. شخصیت پردازی بی نظیر بود. از هر جنسی و دنیایی از آدم‌ها تو این قصه هست. فک کنم کمتر کسی باشه که عاشق لی و ساموئل نشه. بنظرم کل داستان رو میشه استعاره‌ای از زندگی انسان دونست. تو بخشی از کتاب به داستان هابیل و‌ قابیل اشاره شده و هرچی بیشتر پیش میره تو قسمتای مختلف این خط داستانی پر رنگ‌تر میشه.
پایان بندی منحصر به فرد بود و استعاره‌ی تبعید انسان به زمین (شرق بهشت) رو تکمیل کرد. بنظرم استاین بک استاد پایان بندی‌های فوق‌العاده است اونم دقیقا تو کتاب‌هایی که بعد از چند صد صفحه از خودت می‌پرسی قراره داستان کجا تموم بشه.
.
پ. ن: بعد از کلی بحث با بچه‌های گودریدز به این نتیجه رسیدیم که تلفظ دقیق اسم ایشون «جان ارنست استاین بک» نه اشتاین بک، استین بک و غیره :)) باشد که مترجم‌ها و ویراستارهای عزیز هم رعایت کنند.

Very easy for me to rate this book 5 stars. It is amazing. There is so much in it and it is not hard to read. It just tells it like it is and does it so well.

It is like a high priced, high quality buffet with lots of different stations. At each of those stations is a main table with an awesome featured food (thick cut prime rib, chocolate fondue fountain, Mongolian BBQ bowl, etc.). In layman's terms, there is SO MUCH awesome story here with a HUGE payoff every 50 pages or so. I am very satisfied with the story I got - full of literature!

Oh, and this book has one of the most heartless and despicable villains ever put on paper.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants to read a decent story told very well. This has solidified with me that Steinbeck is a literary genius - cannot be denied!

I finally did it. For years this book has sat on my shelf unfinished. Some time ago, probably seven or eight years, I started this book, got nearly to the end, and for whatever reason never finished it. I remember that I was enjoying it and likely just got preoccupied with college finals or something. Knowing that someday I'd want to read it, I left it on my bookcase where it's waited for me to pick it up again. I knew I'd eventually want to read it over from the beginning, which felt like a daunting task since this book is quite long and dense—especially to re-read upwards of 400 pages. However, I'm not sure why I was daunted by that prospect because after having read it I found the experience to be quite absorbing.

Steinbeck's writing is undeniably good. He's a great thinker and that's shown in his astute dialogue and descriptions. Characters come to life off the page and the lush Salinas Valley is depicted so beautifully. It's this high caliber of writing that makes this reading experience so enjoyable.

As for the story, it's likely you've heard enough about this book to know the gist. It's a sort of re-telling of Genesis 4: Cain and Abel. The title alone should make that clear, if you're familiar with the Biblical narrative. But Steinbeck goes beyond mere re-telling. It's a deeper exploration across generations and intertwining the lives of characters from two families. It's layered and complicated and quite, quite good.

All that to say, I definitely enjoyed this reading experience. And I'm so, so happy to have finally conquered this book. If anything I'm pretty eager to read more Steinbeck in the near future. The Grapes of Wrath, anyone?

I finished this last night and afterwards, I lay back on my pillow extremely satisfied just thinking about it. It's so rare that I read something that delights me from beginning to end. While there were a few turns on the journey that confused me and seemed to take the book in a different direction, his connecting all the characters, the stories and do it with profound meaning is nothing short of brilliant. And to do it through his own person history, and one of the oldest stories of the Bible only adds to his brilliance.

I'm always surprised when I love a classic. Perhaps because there are a lot that I haven't liked, or merely tolerated, but this was a joy to read. The characters are so multi-dimensional and interesting that their stories and development become almost personal. Adam, Samuel, Lee, Abra, Cal, Aron, Kate/Cathy and even Liza were real for me. Their homes were real. Their towns were real. Best of all, the consequences to their actions were real.

How do you summaraize East of Eden? It's a story about good and evil. But most of all, it's a story about choice. For me, the central part of the book was the realization made by Lee, Adam and Samuel when they were dissecting the story of Cain and Able and their offerings. In one translation, the Lord rebukes Cain's offering by saying, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."

It was while reading a different translation that Lee, a Chinese servant, noticed a difference. In it, rather than saying "thou shalt rule over him" it said "do thou rule over him" They noticed that it wasn't a promise, it was an order. Such a difference got Lee wondering what original word different translations came from.

After years of studying with Chinese philosophers and a rabbi, the consensus was that the original Hebrew word, Timshel, actually means "Thou mayest". Therefore, the bible does not order that man triumph over sin or promises that it will. It says that the way is open. For if thou mayest...that mayest not.

Brilliant! Because that's what I think! Agency is so important to Heavenly Father that he allowed 1/3 of His children to leave him permanently. Of course we have a choice over sin.

Steinbeck leaves the story briefly in Chapter 34 when he writes a short essay about the one story that exists. He says,

Humans are caught - in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too - in a net of good and evil....A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well -- or ill? In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted short cuts to love. When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influences and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world. We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.

This is what his book is about it. Man's struggle over good and evil. In a completely human story, Steinbeck captured THE story with his characters and storylines. This is a book I happily recommend to anyone and will buy for my all-time greatest books library.

This was... something.

*It made it to my best books of 2022: https://youtu.be/WmTndjsYFIc

Gold in its purest form.