Reviews with content warning for Violence - East of Eden

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

69 reviews

kmhst25's review against another edition

Misogynistic garbage dressed up as philosophy. I forced myself to finish all 600 pages of this trash so I could come here and tell you not to. The takeaway is supposed to be that all men contain good and evil. We are apparently supposed to take the men part literally, since it excludes the female antagonist of the novel, who is the male epitomy of female evil in the most comically stupid and over-the-top manner.

Conveniently, almost all of the evil committed by men in the book is committed against women, including (trigger warning: rape)

a woman being gang-raped to death while giving birth.

But hey, the book says, don't hate those men! They loved that baby! This book is the moral equivalent of saying that all prisons should be abolished, and responding "Who cares?!" when someone asks "But what about all the serial killers and rapists?" This is a book by a man for men who can only perceive the world as a male place; it lacks any humanity.

Content Warnings

zworlund's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bookerbride's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

junglejelly's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wanting a challenge and a classic, I picked up Steinbeck's East of Eden and got both.

The writing style is so easy to read and follow which helps with the slow pace of the novel.

The characters are the best part of the novel, I became very emotionally invested in them whether it was happiness or anger. These sets of families will not leave me for a long time.

Content Warnings

clemrain's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A story paced with characters, and yet none of them are neglected. The careful, slow developments of plot beside characters is rewarding from part to part. I felt like I was listening to a family member trace back a fascinating part of the family history. Or just town gossip told by a stranger.

The first three parts of the story were strong and I was eager to continue reading them. The fourth part is slow and, in my opinion, didn’t pay off well at a first glance. It’s because I just wanted to know the ending, and as it approached it just wasn’t what I wanted. However, I think in this book, that’s sort of the point.

The one major flaw of the story is

Cathy’s suicide. Just doesn’t line up with her character. She had too much ambition and plan. I’m not sure why the pressures and her son’s outburst could’ve led her to that.

The depth of the novel is fun to sit on and think about. I don’t see a strong agenda in the writing. Just a few different perspectives. At the end of the day, no matter what we believe we’re all just gonna die. Good point.

Maybe some takes in this books might be sour to some. Like comparing the church to brothels. But nothing felt too outrageous to me.

I’m not sure why every female character had to have her chest detailed so much. Nevertheless, those female characters are strong and complicated. And I enjoyed their writing. None of the female characters were too alike which sometimes is a huge problem in classics.

The biblical analogies are really strong. And I enjoyed the conversations characters had regarding them.

Overall, a long read but an accessible one.

Content Warnings

jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

mamatoca's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Very difficult to read the ugliness in the first 2/3 of the book. But it is worth it to persevere. This book is about free will, that is, our ability to do good or to do evil. It is about the evil that we see in the world - what we create ourselves and that which we see befall others/that which we see others create. Steinbeck does not offer a simple explanation for this mystery, but ultimately he does offer a hopeful outlook, and one that rings true to me.

Content Warnings

stormblessedt's review against another edition

4.5

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A novel that moved me deeply and engrossed me completely. This will stay with me for a long time, and I will probably revisit it after many years to see if I missed anything or if my perspective on parts of it or the whole changes. Would have given it a full 5 stars if not for some minor quibbles on how it meanders at times.

Content Warnings

mmccombs's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

This book is just breath taking from the very first page. I first read this book when I was like 16 and it quickly became one of my favorites. I decided to reread this with a friend, now 10 years after I originally read it, and found even more depth and more to love. I remember being wowed by the characters in this story, but this time around I was blown away by the simple yet striking descriptions of setting and characters. Every person and place felt real in a way I can’t say I’ve felt about any other book I’ve felt recently. Their psychology and motivations and actions were clearly linked, and the way each character interacted with another led to even deeper mediations on what it means to be human. I will say I was like “alright, I don’t think I need to learn more about this random Hamilton family member” and wished we spent more time with Cathy/Kate near the end. And also, very much jarred by racial slurs and stereotypes (esp about Natice American women), a good warning going into this if you’re thinking of starting it. On the whole though, Steinbeck has a way of painting something so subtly that you can’t tell he’s doing something stunning until you step back and see the entire picture. A timeless classic that I think I will continue to reread, getting something new out of it as I get older. Thou mayest!!

Content Warnings

tdap1899's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book destroyed my mind, but in the best way possible. Its lessons are lovely and continue to still be applicable to the modern day. One of the biggest surprises about this book was just how modern it felt. When Steinbeck said this was his magnum opus he was not joking.

Content Warnings

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