Scan barcode
A review by caffeinatedbibliophile
Novels 1942–1952: The Moon Is Down / Cannery Row / The Pearl / East of Eden by Robert DeMott, John Steinbeck
4.0
This isn't a review, just my rambling thoughts immediately after finishing this book.
Finishing this book feels like An Accomplishment, if you know what I mean. I don't know what it is about Steinbeck's writing--which I love, or at least I've loved his writing in [b:The Pearl|5308|The Pearl|John Steinbeck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437234939s/5308.jpg|195832], this one, and [b:The Grapes of Wrath|18114322|The Grapes of Wrath|John Steinbeck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375670575s/18114322.jpg|2931549]--but it seems like it always takes me about a third of the book to really find a rhythm and become invested. I'm not uninterested before that point, but around there I usually go from casually reading a bit here and there to devouring the remainder as quickly as possible.
Steinbeck's writing is, in my opinion, beautifully evocative. I sometimes become frustrated with wordy writers, but his always brushes against that line without actually crossing it. I enjoy "seeing" everything, and really getting inside the characters while reading his work, even when I dislike the character. He had a way with really painting a picture of the world in which his stories are set that makes me feel like I could smell, touch, hear, and taste everything.
I feel like I shouldn't have enjoyed this or The Grapes of Wrath nearly as much as I did, because I have not generally been a fan of family sagas. Having read both of these, I'm starting to reconsider that opinion and might seek them out intentionally to see if my tastes have changed.
This is a family saga, following the Trask family, but with many other fairly major characters tangled up with them. I loved Samuel, Lee, and Caleb, I think, most of all. With Adam, I sometimes wanted to protect him, and other times I wanted to give him a good smack to the head to knock some sense into him.Thankfully other characters kind of did that for me. Kate was...well, she was interesting. She was awful and I kind of loved her for it. The parts with her fascinated and sometimes repelled me. I think she might be one of my favorite antagonists (if you can call her that) from literature. I loved that she was so independent of pretty much everyone,
a law unto herself. She didn't really need men, she didn't really need anyone. She was smart and cunning, vicious and selfish. Maybe Steinbeck was horribly misogynistic, and that's why he made her character so vile, I have no clue. I haven't looked into it, and I didn't know the man, but I thought it was a bit refreshing to read about a villainous female character who was so well developed. I'm still not sure how I feel about Aron. A bit sorry for him, maybe. I do wish Abra had a bigger part, because I was just starting to like her when the book ended. (Not that I disliked her at first, she just got more "on screen" time toward the end, so I was just beginning to get to know her.)
I think I don't enjoy books like this often because the characters start to blur together for me, and I can't keep them straight. That wasn't a problem for me with this one, though. All the characters were so distinct I only found myself a little unsure of who was who a few times with characters that were only around for a few moments.
I could babble about this for quite a while, I think, but I'll wrap up by saying that I'm glad I waited so long to read it. I think younger me, even just a couple of years younger me, wouldn't have enjoyed this as much as I did.
Finishing this book feels like An Accomplishment, if you know what I mean. I don't know what it is about Steinbeck's writing--which I love, or at least I've loved his writing in [b:The Pearl|5308|The Pearl|John Steinbeck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437234939s/5308.jpg|195832], this one, and [b:The Grapes of Wrath|18114322|The Grapes of Wrath|John Steinbeck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375670575s/18114322.jpg|2931549]--but it seems like it always takes me about a third of the book to really find a rhythm and become invested. I'm not uninterested before that point, but around there I usually go from casually reading a bit here and there to devouring the remainder as quickly as possible.
Steinbeck's writing is, in my opinion, beautifully evocative. I sometimes become frustrated with wordy writers, but his always brushes against that line without actually crossing it. I enjoy "seeing" everything, and really getting inside the characters while reading his work, even when I dislike the character. He had a way with really painting a picture of the world in which his stories are set that makes me feel like I could smell, touch, hear, and taste everything.
I feel like I shouldn't have enjoyed this or The Grapes of Wrath nearly as much as I did, because I have not generally been a fan of family sagas. Having read both of these, I'm starting to reconsider that opinion and might seek them out intentionally to see if my tastes have changed.
This is a family saga, following the Trask family, but with many other fairly major characters tangled up with them. I loved Samuel, Lee, and Caleb, I think, most of all. With Adam, I sometimes wanted to protect him, and other times I wanted to give him a good smack to the head to knock some sense into him.
a law unto herself. She didn't really need men, she didn't really need anyone. She was smart and cunning, vicious and selfish. Maybe Steinbeck was horribly misogynistic, and that's why he made her character so vile, I have no clue. I haven't looked into it, and I didn't know the man, but I thought it was a bit refreshing to read about a villainous female character who was so well developed.
I think I don't enjoy books like this often because the characters start to blur together for me, and I can't keep them straight. That wasn't a problem for me with this one, though. All the characters were so distinct I only found myself a little unsure of who was who a few times with characters that were only around for a few moments.
I could babble about this for quite a while, I think, but I'll wrap up by saying that I'm glad I waited so long to read it. I think younger me, even just a couple of years younger me, wouldn't have enjoyed this as much as I did.