Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

13 reviews

sarahread's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Murder and Sexual content

readwthsam's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Sexual content

zworlund's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Rape, Suicide attempt, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

ventenne's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i think i’ll come back and reread east of eden at some point because of how it got me thinking, but it wasn’t something that fundamentally changed my worldview…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, War, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Racism, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Racial slurs

clemrain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Animal death

Moderate: Hate crime, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual content, War, and Xenophobia

mamatoca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Suicide

Moderate: Abortion, Cursing, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Violence

i_llumi's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

shoutout to uncarley and emma chamberlain for making me read this masterpiece.

east of eden. what a fucking book, friends

once I finished reading the last line, my hands went to my face as I stared in shock at the back cover of the book. timshel. thou mayest.

if you are somehow reading this, all I can say is: please pick up this book. it is one of the most engaging, breathtaking, thought-provoking, and human stories I have ever read. the characters begin to feel like family and you'll constantly be asking that there were more than 600 pages to spend with them. I feel like a part of my heart will forever live in the Salinas valley, looking at the willow tree and smelling Lee's ng-ka-py from the Trask ranch. books like this make reading magic to me.

some notes to self (please skip these please)

- lee. I love lee. i could read about his thoughts forever and could talk about how good of a character he is for longer. i hope him and sam hamilton are both laughing and talking about fucking meditations by marcus aurelius in heaven now. bless him. he was the true mvp of the trask household and arguably of the entire plot
- cathy/kate. she is genuinely a scary character and just SO well written it's insane. shes literally the of gaslight gatekeep girlboss and honestly, for that alone steinback deserves all the praise he gets
- CALEB TRASK. CAL. I WANT TO HUG HIM SO BAD. i want to tell him that everything is okay and that i love him god i want to hug him. i wish him nothing but hapiness
- I wanted to visit dessie's sewing place so much... it seemed like so much fun... just imagine all the jokes and funny amazing women ..... oh god..
- charles!!! an underdog who honestly deserved better :/ him and cal would get along so well,, just imagine the uncle nephew bonding,,
- anyways. I am utterly, undeniably in love with this book and i shall forever keep thinking about it

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Racism, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Violence, and War

Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

mschmidt's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and War

pigeonpersona's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is an amazing book, and I'm so glad I read it. This saga of families, couples, siblings, and the town of Salinas is an extremely well thought out journey. It felt so real, and deals with emotions that are universal. It's relatable now, nearly 70 years after its original publishing, and I'm sure it will remain relatable for audiences in years to come. When people call this Steinbeck's magnum opus, I'm tempted to agree. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Murder, and War

Minor: Xenophobia

tokagelizard's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Sexual content