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A review by sookieskipper
Novels 1942–1952: The Moon Is Down / Cannery Row / The Pearl / East of Eden by Robert DeMott, John Steinbeck
3.0
I like multi-generational novels in their expansive way of dealing with multitude of their characters in an intricate way. The narrator talks about his grandfather's life and his relationship with his neighbor who goes to become his good friend and the friend's family. Its never explained how the narrator knows the littlest details about characters that no one else knows.
Steinbeck repeats common themes across generations; Adam and charlie being brothers forever at an unspoken war. Adam's children - Cal and Aaron also going through a typical sibling rivalry phase that escalates in the end. My knowledge of the Bible is minimal but I am aware of the biblical themes that Steinbeck adapts throughout the book with some characters falling into tendencies of moral righteousness in phases. Several characters carry same behavior trait though their origins maybe different. Its how the characters get separated and this separation is what drives the whole story.
The characters can be grossly divided into good and evil. Steinbeck fleshes out the characters giving their humaneness a layer of complexity which makes the readers question our own realizations about them. Cathy / Kate early on realizes a missing component in her and thus her decisions stem from that realization. Its hard to understand if she truly believed evil was the way to go because she was different or she was a sociopath as she reiterates several times to different characters, her failures to pity or empathize. The narrator offers several minute observations when her carefully structured argument becomes shaky or when she believes she is losing her ground. She makes a fascinating character study with her perfectly structured world of imperfection and flaws.
What's surprised me the most (and also disappointed, I suppose, to an extent) was that none of the primary characters tried to rise above themselves. Adam fails with an idea and gives up on it. When confronted about it, his answer is callous and lazy. The "chinaman" misses home, feels lonely and comes back. Its a recurring theme through out the book where Steinbeck steadfastly balances the triumphs and miseries, never letting one becoming greater than the other.
As far as the reading goes - the story reads on its own as the characters pull you into their world and get you integrated with their daily life. There is an ease in the narration without a judging tone in them. The movement of pace is easy and the shifts between perspectives - a neat hop.
I cannot draw parallels to Bible or pretend to understand the passages shared by some of the characters. Its impossible to take it away from the story and Steinbeck ensures that subtext remains undisturbed throughout the novel.
Steinbeck repeats common themes across generations; Adam and charlie being brothers forever at an unspoken war. Adam's children - Cal and Aaron also going through a typical sibling rivalry phase that escalates in the end. My knowledge of the Bible is minimal but I am aware of the biblical themes that Steinbeck adapts throughout the book with some characters falling into tendencies of moral righteousness in phases. Several characters carry same behavior trait though their origins maybe different. Its how the characters get separated and this separation is what drives the whole story.
The characters can be grossly divided into good and evil. Steinbeck fleshes out the characters giving their humaneness a layer of complexity which makes the readers question our own realizations about them. Cathy / Kate early on realizes a missing component in her and thus her decisions stem from that realization. Its hard to understand if she truly believed evil was the way to go because she was different or she was a sociopath as she reiterates several times to different characters, her failures to pity or empathize. The narrator offers several minute observations when her carefully structured argument becomes shaky or when she believes she is losing her ground. She makes a fascinating character study with her perfectly structured world of imperfection and flaws.
What's surprised me the most (and also disappointed, I suppose, to an extent) was that none of the primary characters tried to rise above themselves. Adam fails with an idea and gives up on it. When confronted about it, his answer is callous and lazy. The "chinaman" misses home, feels lonely and comes back. Its a recurring theme through out the book where Steinbeck steadfastly balances the triumphs and miseries, never letting one becoming greater than the other.
As far as the reading goes - the story reads on its own as the characters pull you into their world and get you integrated with their daily life. There is an ease in the narration without a judging tone in them. The movement of pace is easy and the shifts between perspectives - a neat hop.
I cannot draw parallels to Bible or pretend to understand the passages shared by some of the characters. Its impossible to take it away from the story and Steinbeck ensures that subtext remains undisturbed throughout the novel.