East of Eden

I enjoyed this book so much, all the characters are introduced well and you never struggle keeping up with who is who. There are characters that you wish would get caught for the awful things they've done and they never do which was kind of disappointing but not enough to make me dislike this book. Towards the end of the book it felt like Steinbeck wasn't sure how to end the story so he just threw characters together who you really didn't seem to have any chemistry between each other during the book. Then at the very end there was a great conversation between the main character and his friend that just made you feel warm and fuzzy inside :)

What a cracker of a book! This was my first read on the Kindle and I have to say that it's a very good way to consume a book. Between the Kindle app on the iPhone, Kindle 3G and iPad, it was easy to read small chunks or large chunks as time permitted.

I recently read Grapes of Wrath and went straight on to East of Eden. Steinbeck is without doubt one of my favourite writers; it's just something about his knack of writing about the human spiritual condition that I can really relate to.

It's quite a grand tale in terms of the span of time it covers, but in essence it's the tale of two brothers from birth to death. The tale of how the brothers' father comes into his own is handled very well and shows that we can shape our own destiny.

I don't really know how to put into words the sense of spiritual well being that I get from Steinbeck's novels. He lived in a different time in a different place, but still I can relate to his characters so well. It's the human flaws, the inner monologues and struggles, the spiritual condition, all of those things make it seem so real. It's philosophical, that's what it is. I'm just at the right age for discovering Steinbeck's masterpieces really.

June ‘10: I just finished re-reading this book—the first time I've read it in four years—and while I loved it, I'm not sure I loved it as much as I thought I did. The elements I loved so much the first time didn't stand out to me this time around.

The theme of ‘thou mayest' will still be the strongest driving force in my overall outlook on life, though.

The plot of this book is good, I am still trying to get through it though. Easy book to put down and not pick up again.

Wow, this book was fucking great. Before this, all I'd read by Steinbeck were a few of his lesser works (The Pearl and In Dubious Battle) which made me think I didn't like Steinbeck that much. But this was genius.

Ah, East of Eden. Just beautiful. Original sin is such a fascinating concept when you think of it. We are all born in need of forgiveness, and forgiveness is the greatest gift we can give others and ourselves.

I devoured this book. I've scoured its pages for every nuance possible. I've read Steinbeck's journal written at the time of this book. I've read the criticism. The reviews. I've made it a point to read every book Steinbeck said influenced this one. I've written several essays about this novel, including a forty-page paper that went toward my creative writing thesis. My first tattoo will be the word “Timshel”. I own four copies, each for a different room. My kids were fortunate to be paired with tooth fairies named Abra, Aron, and Alice. Whenever I hit a wall in my own writing, I pick up a copy of this book, read a random page, and find inspiration.

All that to say–EAST OF EDEN IS THE GREATEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN.
(or at least I tend to think so)

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UPDATE 12/22/2017
My first tattoo will be the word “Timshel”. Check.

Read this book for school. It was long, but interesting. At least it kept my attention as a sophomore in high school.

I cannot say enough about this novel, and so I'll opt not to say much other than I get something new out of this book every time I read it. It's a novel that is entertaining – that's the way he rolls – but it also makes you think.

The title refers to the story of Cain and Abel, and the book deals with this story, as well as the themes present in the Adam and Eve tale. There is, in fact, a character named Adam, but he also represents Abel and God at other points in the story. Just as Shakespeare points out that

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.

Steinbeck says that we all relive the archetypal stories. A man can start as a favored son with a jealous brother, grow to manhood to fall in love with a woman who is no damned good, and become a father with sons who seek his approval. Some stories are a part of us, because we can't stop retelling them, because we can't stop living them.

There's also some tasty stuff about whether or not people are born evil and the nature of choice.