How Much of These Hills Is Gold

How Much of These Hills Is Gold has such a powerful and unforgettable beginning. It grabs a reader's interest and leaves them with some haunting images. The writing in these opening scenes is so vivid and strong. The bulk of the middle is comparatively dry in regards to story, through it's full of the same strong writing. The final section ties everything together nicely. I personally got really excited when I saw hints of East of Eden in the story's concluding chapters. I anticipated a parallel moment with Lucy and Sam in the brothel, but the story went in a different direction. This was probably best, since that story, the story of Cal and Aron, has already been written. (The similarity did make me wonder if this was a bit of a nod to Steinbeck, though????)