Reviews tagging 'Grief'

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

15 reviews

jkamler's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Abandonment, Genocide, Xenophobia, Murder, Violence, War, Grief, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

hesticht's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Gun violence, and Murder

emilymean's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

deeply moving. contrary to what a lot of reviews (especially at its time of release) seem to say, I found this to be a very nuanced character study with a complex  approach to moral philosophy. belongs in the canon of great american novels  

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Abortion, Grief, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Medical content, Racism, Child abuse, and Racial slurs

josiew's review against another edition

inspiring reflective sad 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Addiction

asiminam's review against another edition

reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Grief, and Death

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

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Trafficking, Racial slurs, Murder, Grief, Rape, Violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide and Animal cruelty

codecat's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Grief, and Racial slurs

Minor: War, Rape, and Suicide

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…

---

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.

---

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

jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts