Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - East of Eden

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

12 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

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

bookerbride's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional

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

Content Warnings

clemrain's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

tdap1899's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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