John Steinbeck's last significant work of fiction (1952), a huge family saga based on the book of Genesis, is set in the Salinas Valley of the author's youth. ...Show synopsisJohn Steinbeck's last significant work of fiction (1952), a huge family saga based on the book of Genesis, is set in the Salinas Valley of the author's youth. Beginning with the purchase of a parcel of rich California farmland by Samuel Hamilton, who comes from Ireland with his wife, EAST OF EDEN traces the turbulent lives of the Hamilton and Trask families from the Civil War to the end of World War I. Adam Trask marries a prostitute who bears him twin sons--the Cain and Abel figures--and their rivalry shadows the second half of the novel, culminating in tragedy. Steinbeck had hoped to revive his failing career with this epic work, but though a best-seller, EAST OF EDEN was not well received by critics. However, because of its epic sweep and dramatic story, as well as its function as a virtual history of the Salinas Valley, the book has endured as an American classic. It was made into a memorable movie in 1955, directed by Elia Kazan and starring James Dean.Hide synopsis
Description:Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust...Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket.
Description:Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust...Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. 526 p. illus. 21 cm.
Description:Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust...Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket.
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It starts out a little slow, hard to follow or to imagine where he is going but 2/3 into the book your hooked! Read it all the way through and you will have your eyes opened!
Some have a good story and know how to tell it. Some have a good story and turn it into a bad one because they don't know how to tell a story. Some are so good at telling stories that they can turn a bad story into a good one. Some don't know what a good story is, so they tell a bad story thinking it's a good one. Some have a good story and know it's a good story and know how to tell a good story and still blow the project because they identify too closely with one or more characters (incidents) and wind up emphasizing the wrong incident (character).
One hesitates to say that Steinbeck should never have written about women. 'Of Mice and Men' (and a couple of his short stories) stand in the way of that particular assertion. But I will say without hesitation that Steinbeck should not have written about Kate. I don't know who she really was, because I am not a Steinbeck scholar and I'm too curious about other things to bother myself with him. But -- reading 'East of Eden' -- it's obvious that 'Kate' beat him like a gong while he knew her and he never fully recovered from the beating. He was scarred for life before they got through with each other.
The telling of this story was altogether too much for him. He was too close to it. He tried to make it into more than it was. He lost control in the middle of the telling, lapsed into some outrageous (even ridiculous) tirades about her multitudinous sins and depraved character and made an utter ass of himself in the process. It's no wonder she was able to beat him so.
I'll give him two stars on 'East of Eden:' one because it's a stinker and the other because he tried real hard to hammer it into a decent book. Too bad Kate got the better of him once again.
I first read this book in college as a thesis project. I usually end up hating novels once I have had to disect the plot and find all the flaws. This book is flawless. I can not fathom how Steinbeck could keep everything straight to weave such an intricate story of intersecting lives and plot lines. It has numerous levels. Plainly it's a story about a man moving west to find his destiny and about human relations. Digging a little deeper it's a biblical allegory of Cain and able, elements of Adam and Eve and of course good vs evil. It also contains interesting elements of history such as the first automobile. It's also about Manifest Destiny...when America moved west believing it was their right to move west and claim the territory. In the struggle to be happy we find we always go back to the story of Eden. Thanks to Eve and her apple...No Matter How far west man moves he'll always be East Of Eden.
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