East of Eden

[lebby64]

hey!! I was wondering if someone could give me a lil advice on East of Eden..

I had previously been told that it would be good to have some sort of biblical backround before starting the book. I wanted to know how much is nessessary and will I be lost if I don't read some backround info first....

Thx!!!!

[slipperyyoke]

If you know about the story of Adam and Eve and their sons Cain and Abel, you'll be good to go. If not the story is contained within the Book of Genesis in the Bible. It's not that long so it wouldn't take you long to read or reread the story so you are fully caught up and prepared.

[lebby64]

ok, thxx...

[country doctor]

the doc's gonna use this thread to opine on 'east of eden' after finishing it up last nite...

***SPOILER ALERT***

steinbeck's reaching for something monumental here and in the end it turns out to be a noble failure, but a failure nonetheless...just a very weak second half of a book that starts out w/ so much promise...

very good narrative through faye's murder ...early charles, adam and cathy resonate...especially cathy out east...

samuel hamilton is fleshed out quite well...

the doc particularily appreciated the descriptive nature of 'the golden state' in the early 1900's...just a magical part of the country and steinbeck does a good job throughout the book of describing the region and the interrelationships w/ the seasons...it's not hard to imagine the beauty of the land that adam purchases and the richness of the soil...

unfortunately this story fails to deliver the goods w/ the story of the twins and the second half of the book in general in the doc's eyes...

why should the reader care about these characters? steinbeck never is able to bring them to life enough for the reader to really care how it all turns out for them...the one character who dominated the early portions of the book w/ her behavior is allowed to fade away...'kate' and her demise leaves the doc expecting more...

aron dead? didn't move the doc...

in conclusion this book confirms the evolutionary truism that most 'artists' produce their greatest work before they're 30 years old...

steinbeck thinks this is his greatest work? the doc disagrees...

'grapes of wrath' was better...'cannery row' was also a good read...

'travels w/ charley' was a solid book that he created late in life...but it wasn't fiction...

'winter of our discontent' wasn't very good...

steinbeck seems a writer that is best read in high school...and the doc's listed three books that are better than 'east of eden'...

in his attempt to hit one last one out of the park, unfortunately steinbeck strikes out...no shame in failure though...you can't fail if you don't try...and some failures are worth reading just to compare w/ the writer's other works...this one falls in that category...

[dfloyd]

I have read Steinbeck extensively, and 'east of eden' is his best novel, IMO.
It is much deeper than Grapes of Wrath or In Dubious Battle, both of which are novels of social reform. Also, you can't compare the much shorter comedies of Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row to Eden.

You wont need much biblical info to read the book. You might want to read the plot outline on Wikipedia.

I realize what I am writing is only an opinion also, but Eden is Steinbeck's longest and deepest novel, and all Steinbeck lovers should read it.

[country doctor]

dfloyd what grabbed you about the novel? the doc thought it started out very good and enjoyed the first half of the book immensely...and the salinas valley of california circa 1900 must have been a great place to live, but cal and aron just weren't as interesting a continuation for the doc...

it's like he ran out of steam w/ his work here...early charles and adam were compelling characters...cal and aron? didn't move the meter...

[rufustfirefly]

I have to go with "the doc" on this one. I enjoyed other Steinbeck writings . This book was a let down. I also was shocked at how grim it was in tone. It started out well and held some promise before really going south in the second half of the story. Grapes of wrath, Of mice and men, - both superior works IMO. I would go one step further, I am mystified that this book is praised as one of his better efforts.