East of Eden
by John Steinbeck
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Book Reviews of East of Eden
Book Review: At best a bland recounting of Cain and Abel
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is by no means a good representation of Steinbeck's ability to write. He uses the most overplayed theme in literature of good vs. evil. The seemingly obvious plot and significance of motifs (or lack there of) lend to a pretty weak recounting of his family history with the infamous Cain and Abel tale woven into the plot. Much of the book is spent in narrative form, and when the simple and stolid characters do get a chance to talk, their words are tasteless and lack energy or fervor. The plot didn't seem to move anywhere as I was repeatedly caught hoping for the book to end (it drags on for 602 pages). In addition, Steinbeck attempts to use old fashioned cliches and metaphors, and fails miserably. It is obvious that he tries to incorporate deep significance to certain aspects of the book and fails miserably. For example, he uses this metaphor several times: "she must have had a pelvic arch of a whalebone, for she had big children one after the other." Maybe it's just me, but that's not very inspirational. Lastly, Steinbeck crushes all chance for the reader to think for him/herself (even though there wasn't much thinking to do about this book anyway). He reveals all the symbolic, deep thinking, significant ideas through his character dialogue and by outright statement of them. At the beginning of Book IV, he expressly states the main theme of the novel to the reader, ruining all chance for the reader to think beyond the level of a first grader. Overall, I was not very impressed with the level of writing in East of Eden. Maybe this is because I had such high hopes for Steinbeck material. Nonetheless, many people happen to like this novel. It could be better (much better).Book Review: Don't be intimidated by the length of this book....
Summary: 5 Stars
I was at first reluctant to read such a long novel. I did not want to read it but my fellow students encouraged me so. However, they gave me no certain reason as to why I should. Naturally, I was driven by the sheer curiosity to read it.Now, having read the novel, I must encourage others to read it. The story unwinds in the Salinas Valley with the Hamiltons living peacefully. The gazing mountains and river valleys depict the scene. On the other hand, there is the Trask family led by Cyrus. Therefore, this novel is an interplay between two separate plots. Samuel Hamilton, an immigrant, leads a busy and honest life. However, Cyrus resorts to dishonesty and earns a gracious amount of money. The main plot revolves around the Trask Family for even the title, East of Eden reflects the generations of the Trasks.
Cyrus Trask has two sons by the name of Charles and Adam. It is as if Charles is inherently evil and Adam, good. They draw comparisons to the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Furthermore, Adam bores and names two twin sons in Caleb and Aron with the knowledge of the story of Cain and Abel. Therefore, Caleb suffers as he is forced to be inherently bad. However, Caleb's life changes when Lee, the family mentor, discovers the true meaning of Timshel- `Thou mayest.' This Hebrew meaning breaks the misconceptions of the past in that people are predetermined to triumph over evil or not. The bitter irony in this is that Caleb actually is blessed by Adam even after a rueful past and chooses to start anew, a new life.
I strongly suggest you reading this novel even if you were intimidated by the length of it!
Book Review: The ultimate Steinbeck
Summary: 5 Stars
Steinbeck can go either way. "The Pearl" was a disgusting waste of time and paper, "Of Mice and Men" a fabulous, emotional read, and "Grapes of Wrath" a fascinating book that totally engaged the reader. Where does "East of Eden" fit on the Steinbeck-o-meter? At the top.
Many readers don't like "East of Eden" because of its length, its higher level of rambling, and just the overall overload. Then again, this is part of the book. "East of Eden" IS long. Steinbeck DOES ramble quite often here. But then there's the story, the emotion (and occasionally lack of), and the way hundreds of pages flew by that just bring this book up so high.
"East of Eden" starts out with very difference characters than it ends with, and over time we notice the subtle shift. Granted, most of the book revolves around the same few characters, but they're so interesting and have so much personality that it fits well.
There are many biblical themes here (Eden, for starters), but it's not exactly the whole story. Mostly, this is almost like a retelling of classic, ancient stories. There's the tale of brother versus brother, a devil (also known as the deceiving woman), and the miracle. But overall, Eden is an incredible read, a wonderful book, and written in an excellent way. Steinbeck has come a long way since "The Pearl".
This is the ultimate Steinbeck. It's the heaviest, the most intense, and probably (in my opinion) the best. There is so much to it, and it's such a rewarding feeling to read it.
An excellent book for any reader! I definitely urge you to read it.
Book Review: TIMSHEL
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the realization earlier in the year that I missed out on reading a lot of great books while at school. I can't remember the exact reason why I picked up this book but had read that it was John Steinbeck's greatest personal accomplishment. I also saw that it was part of the Oprah's Book Club. [...] all of her books but was curious on why she picked it. I had tried to read Grapes of Wrath several years before but never got through it. I just finished the book this morning and can see why it has such an impact on American Literature.
The story begins with the description of the surrounding areas of the Salinas Valley in California and then moves east to start the saga of a young family in Connecticut. It follows the story of a father motivated by the military and the rearing of his two sons. The Sons grow to learn that there father was not what they expected and they have different ideas on how to live their lives. Mixed with the stories of the brothers are the tales of the Wright family. We watch the brothers grow up, move apart and one becomes a father to two more boys and the problems that faced the preceding family are recycled and repeated.
As you can tell from the title biblical themes run through the story. Steinbeck takes the story of Cain and Abel and applies it to an American family plagued by sacrifices and the struggles between good and evil. The thought that history and human nature does not predestine us as good or bad seems to be the prevailing thought in this book. There is choice inside of us that we can use to make decisions.
Book Review: Not my favorite by Steinbeck...but 'thou mayest' disagree!
Summary: 2 Stars
After several distractions, and more than two months, I finally reached the end of Steinbeck's so-called 'epic'. Apparently, I should have watched the movie instead.
There's not a lot to add to previous reviews. The story is long, unfocused, long, rambling, long, cliched, long, tiresome, long, repetitious, and not short.
The scope of the story is simply too large, and there are too many characters who ultimately add nothing to the drama. The 'modern day Cain and Abel' angle is worn into the ground long before the story even turns its attention to Cal and Aron. The previous generation(Charles and Adam) make perhaps the dullest pair of charcters ever put together in any work of fiction, and the long, incresingly frequent digressions to catch up on the Hamiltons, the progress of American history and its impact on Salinas, and the state of the prostitution industry, serve to slow this book to a glacial pace.
The Chinese housekeeper, Lee, is perhaps the only saving grace in the second half of the book, although the final scene involving he, Cal, and Adam redeems some, if not all of the novel's shortcomings.
Generally, 'East of Eden' disappoints, because it asks readers to make a long-term emotional investment in a largely lifeless and dull saga, populated (with only a few exceptions) by cardboard characters.
In my view, Steinbeck was at his best with more compact novels or short stories. 'Eden' might have worked better if Steinbeck had followed the more loosely-formatted framework of 'Cannery Row', rather than weighing down this story with so much verbiage.