Name: East of Eden
Rating: 4.517102615694165 (497 reviews)
ISBN: 9780142000656

John Steinbeck

The biblical account of Cain and Abel is echoed in the history of two generations of the Trask family in California.

East of Eden

Essence

You can boast about anything if it's all you have. Maybe the less you have, the more you are required to boast. 

Caitlin

Mazzy

I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers.

The direction of a big act will warp history, but probably all acts do the same in their degree, down to a stone stepped over in the path or a breath caught at sight of a pretty girl or a fingernail nicked in the garden soil.

nearly all men are afraid, and they don't even know what causes their fear

I think the difference between a lie and a story is that a story utilizes the trappings and appearance of truth for the interest of the listener as well as of the teller. A story has in it neither gain nor loss. But a lie is a device for profit or escape. I suppose if that definition is strictly held to, then a writer of stories is a liar -- he is financially fortunate.

"Well, a man's mind can't stay in time the way his body does."

Pramit Pal

Shrewdness is a limitation on the mind. Shrewdness tells you what you must not do because it would not be shrewd.

"Sometimes a man wants to be stupid if it let's him do a thing his cleverness forbids."

If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen. And I here make a rule — a great and lasting story is about everyone or it will not last. The strange and foreign is not interesting — only the deeply personal and familiar

Steinbeck astutely exposed the recurrent human tendency to selectively forget.

傑恩

“And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.”

“Samuel’s hands were so good and gentle that neighbors from twenty miles away would call on him to help with a birth. And he was equally good with mare, cow, or woman.”

“It was the sweetness of his tongue and the tenderness of his soul. And just as there was a cleanness about his body, so there was a cleanness in his thinking.”

“Charles felt for his brother the affection one has for helpless things, for blind puppies and new babies.”

“And as he was capable of giant joy, so did he harbor huge sorrow, so that when his dog died the world ended.”

“They had grown so apart that there was little mutual reference and no questions.” 

“Sometimes when we are little we imagine how it would be to have wings, but there is no reason to suppose it is the same feeling birds have.”

When a child first catches adults out when it first walks into his grave little head that adults do not have divine intelligence, that their judgements are not always wise, their thinking true, their sentences just — his world falls into panic desolation. The gods are fallen and all safety gone. 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. It is a tedion i to build them up again; they never quite shine. And the child's wons never quite whole again. It is an aching kind of growing.

You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstrous.

“A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief.”

I really didn't like the book's ending. I feel it was a bit rushed. I also feel like the characters weren't fleshed out enough for the time we spent with them. 

Apurva Shah

Ans Rizwan

Lee and Samuel were very phenomenal characters.

Talharim

Não é errado, por si só, mas acho um equívoco reduzir essa obra a uma repaginação do livro de Gênesis, especialmente porque é uma narrativa muito mais humanista que religiosa. O realismo do Steinbeck faz com que as lições que seus personagens aprendem e discutem sejam algo visceral, real, e não palestrinha, é lindo. Um livro sobre valorizar ao máximo o poder de escolha dos seres humanos e os seres humanos por si só.<br /><br />Dentre todos os personagens, de longe o que mais me intrigou foi a Kate. Até agora, ainda sinto que o narrador escondeu muitos detalhes cruciais da sua vida (e até comprou narrativas questionáveis) pra valorizar o seu ponto de vista. Vários dos seus momentos de maldade, especialmente os do início do livro, são contados de uma forma inconsistente, quase como se estivessem sendo inventados na hora. A belíssima forma que a história do Lee e como ele lida com o racismo me faz pensar que o Steinbeck realmente quis usar a narrativa da Kate como um espelho da misoginia americana, que em 1952 estava a todo vapor. São vários personagens tomando atitudes más o livro todo, mas as dela são as únicas que tomam contornos vilanescos, e não compreensivos, mesmo que boa parte dessas atitudes partem de um desespero por não ser permitida pensar ou agir por si mesma.<br /><br />Livro extremamente denso e que permite análises infinitas de cada um de seus trocentos arcos, merece toda a bajulação que recebe.

Adam Scharf

yusraattary

took me months to read the first half  then took me 3 days to finish the second half. lets not get started with me having over a hundrer of highlights. what a journey it really has been, reading this book!! 

sofia mae

Nykky

Na wschód od Edenu

Dalia

Took my a while to finish, but nonetheless a beautiful and perspective changing book 

Riley Lawes

volela bih da je opet procitam po prvi put

Natalija

East of Eden (Steinbeck "Essentials")

Irina

I’ve finally finished after months and months delayed!!! I’m trying to process everything, but simply put; I don’t think it looks up to the hype. I don’t get it. And no offense, I did enjoy some parts, but there were times it was painful to read through the paragraphs. Still, I read some reviews and agreed on the good points. I perhaps will write my own later (right now my thoughts are jumbled up in mess), so I will be sorting out my emotions to reach neutrality.

🏹

Not thou shalt. Not thou must. Thou mayest ~ meaning nobody is destined for darkness and nobody is automatically saved. The choice is entirely yours. Always yours.

Kaarthik sekar 

The word is Timshel. Thou mayest.

Not thou shalt. Not thou must. Thou mayest ~ meaning nobody is destined for darkness and nobody is automatically saved. The choice is entirely yours. Always yours.

California's fertile Salinas Valley is home to two families whose destinies are fruitfully, and fatally, intertwined. Over the generations, between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of the First World War, the Trasks and the Hamiltons will helplessly replay the fall of Adam and Eve and the murderous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

East of Eden was considered by Steinbeck to be his magnum opus, and its epic scope and memorable characters, exploring universal themes of love and identity, ensure it remains one of America's most enduring novels.

What do you say about a book that has had so much said about it before? 

It's very good and it's quite different to the other Steinbeck books I've read. It was hard to follow all the characters at first, I couldn't keep the Hamiltons straight in my head. 

The later part of the book, when the narrator is omniscient was easier to follow than the earlier parts where he isn't. 

A deep cutting exposé on the dual nature of man, the inherent good and evil, the choice between them. Thou mayest.

Liam Richardson

What do you say about a book that has had so much said about it before? 

It's very good and it's quite different to the other Steinbeck books I've read. It was hard to follow all the characters at first, I couldn't keep the Hamiltons straight in my head. 

The later part of the book, when the narrator is omniscient was easier to follow than the earlier parts where he isn't. 

A deep cutting exposé on the dual nature of man, the inherent good and evil, the choice between them. Thou mayest.

jules

A masterclass is a masterclass, whatever they may say.

The novel reads so incredibly contemporary and still relevant and at the same time, so, so timeless - it is what they mean in literature class when they talk about universal themes. It is not subtle about its metaphors and parallels but this is executed so well that it does not feel heavyhanded or single-minded. Rather, the novel is a variation on a theme, talking about the repeated cycle in which humans (or families) are trapped and the only way to break it.

Steinbeck's writing is also so vivid that it is the first time in decades I have thought I would love to visit America and see the places these characters inhabit. The narration is relatively straightforward but not at the expense of character complexities; rather than unpretentious, I would call it focused.

An instant favourite and an instant inspiration.

A masterclass is a masterclass, whatever they may say.

The novel reads so incredibly contemporary and still relevant and at the same time, so, so timeless - it is what they mean in literature class when they talk about universal themes. It is not subtle about its metaphors and parallels but this is executed so well that it does not feel heavyhanded or single-minded. Rather, the novel is a variation on a theme, talking about the repeated cycle in which humans (or families) are trapped and the only way to break it.

Steinbeck's writing is also so vivid that it is the first time in decades I have thought I would love to visit America and see the places these characters inhabit. The narration is relatively straightforward but not at the expense of character complexities; rather than unpretentious, I would call it focused.

An instant favourite and an instant inspiration.

ellie 💐💌⭐️

Elyse 

East of Eden (Penguin Modern Classics)

"In certainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved."

Five months of reading this absolute hollowblock. I believe Cathy's and Cal's character will stay with me for quite a while. This has cemented itself as one of my 'life books'.

"In certainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved."

Five months of reading this absolute hollowblock. I believe Cathy's and Cal's character will stay with me for quite a while. This has cemented itself as one of my 'life books'.

absolutely stunning book! you get to dive pretty deeply into each character that was important and i loved to dwelve into how their minds work and think and that’s what i really love about books - to get a glimpse of people’s way of thinking or doing but also kind of relating to certain parts and characteristics they have

micki

Beautifully written, vivid characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this. 

Steve Collins

where to even begin with this. classics are classics for a reason.

in my very few years of reading classic novels, i don't think i've ever come across one this beautifully written; not referring to its prose and the language it uses, which is stunning in it's own right, but in it's message and it's sincerity. i would've never thought a long, multigenerational novel about two farming families in a dry, dusty valley of california written three quarters of a century from now would ever feel so personal and vibrant to me. i could almost feel the summer heat, the wind, the smell of breakfast in the connecticut farm; it's like the characters were jumping out from the pages, everyone: adam, charles, will, lee, cathy, cal, aron, and the many other characters in this novel all felt so real and were so loved by me. i felt strong emotions for them and the things they went through.

at it's core, this is a novel about humanity, family, and the constant fight between good and evil. but beyond that, a tale about brotherhood, choice, and the withstanding pursuit of love and companionship above all other things. i really wish i could put down more of what i feel about this but words don't reach me right now. 

carlota

where to even begin with this. classics are classics for a reason.

in my very few years of reading classic novels, i don't think i've ever come across one this beautifully written; not referring to its prose and the language it uses, which is stunning in it's own right, but in it's message and it's sincerity. i would've never thought a long, multigenerational novel about two farming families in a dry, dusty valley of california written three quarters of a century from now would ever feel so personal and vibrant to me. i could almost feel the summer heat, the wind, the smell of breakfast in the connecticut farm; it's like the characters were jumping out from the pages, everyone: adam, charles, will, lee, cathy, cal, aron, and the many other characters in this novel all felt so real and were so loved by me. i felt strong emotions for them and the things they went through.

at it's core, this is a novel about humanity, family, and the constant fight between good and evil. but beyond that, a tale about brotherhood, choice, and the withstanding pursuit of love and companionship above all other things. i really wish i could put down more of what i feel about this but words don't reach me right now. 

East of Eden

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