East of Eden by John Steinbeck

from goodreads

4 stars

Oh November. You may be the month of leafless trees and dreary gray skies, but you are also a month of hope. Hope? you may ask. Well, yes. You see November is when American Thanksgiving is, and that means new kids movies coming out for the holiday season. Which means, perhaps if I'm lucky, I will no longer have to listen to "Let It Go" on a daily basis. Perhaps we will move onto the next greatest thing.

Now I like "Let It Go" as much as the next person, but when my 20 month old hunts the house for the ipad and then says "wet i go" over and over. Gak! I am able to convince her that Winnie the Pooh is sometimes an okay thing, but inevitably "Let It Go" is played. Luckily there are so many versions on youTube we can get some variety. But the hope remains. So, please film makers. Make something that will trump this song, for all our sakes.

Synopsis

(My own synopsis would not do this book justice so I will take the synopsis from goodreads.) Set in the rich farmland of California's Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most  memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love; and the murderous consequences of love's absence.

My Thoughts

I had no preconceived notions going into this book. I have never read Steinbeck before and didn't know anything about this book. To sum it up in one word I would have to say epic. This was a huge book. It covered a lot of years and locations.

We got to see Adam Trask from the beginning of his life to near his end. And while the the book sort of revolved around him, I wouldn't consider him to be the central character. It seemed the book was more of a cast of characters and each played his/her role in creating the society.

At times I found it a bit confusing. All these people seemed to be philosophers and understood these hidden meanings or never fully explained what they were trying to say. It got a bit frustrating during those parts and I was like, "just get on with it!"

Also, at the beginning of some of the chapters Steinbeck talks about his own family's history, this does not always line up with the current time/era that the story is in and made it a bit awkward. I was always trying to figure out how it tied in to where the story was, and quite often, it didn't.

I love the characters of Sam Hamilton and Lee. I would love to spend the afternoon with them and eat some tarts.

All in all, it was an enjoyable story. I had to read the large print version as the others were out at the library so my hands fell asleep a few times, but it was worth it. It gives you something to think about. The pictures Steinbeck is able to put in the readers mind are breathtaking.  This is one of those books that is about everything and nothing all at the same time which makes it the classic it is and will remain. It truly is timeless.