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A review by bookbowlchallenge
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
5.0
The two words I would use to describe East of Eden, are 'Simple' and 'Cyclical', in the best way.
The story is a retelling of the Bible story of Cain and Abel. A character in East of Eden remarks, "this is the best-known story in the world because it is everybody's story". Of course not everyone will experience fratricide, but everyone in the world can relate to the pain of rejection, or the worry of not being loved, or the sting of betrayal. Indeed, these themes play out in East of Eden cyclically across generations, with different characters taking over the torch of the biblical roles.
The themes in East of Eden are simple and uncomplicated. Good vs Evil. Willpower vs Destiny. Wisdom vs Foolishness. As the story plays out in front of you, you might dread to continue because you know how it will end. Continue on, I urge! East of Eden continues to surprise and to unseat the predictable.
Due to the biblical, cyclical, and fable-like quality, don't expect massive character development. In a singular paragraph Steinbeck describes a child's personality. That description remains entirely unchanged as the character grows into an adult. They each personify the traits that Steinbeck has assigned to them, and once assigned, are fixed. The core of the story isn't in character evolution, it's in character interaction.
My one note is regarding the segments that shift into first-person. While there are implicit ties back to the main storyline (a name, a relationship hinted at, etc), I hoped for a more explicit merging, especially since Steinbeck has gone through the trouble of writing those segments at all.
Overall, I enjoyed the simple, thematic storytelling of this novel. I agree that this is a great work of literature and I do recommend it.
5/5
The story is a retelling of the Bible story of Cain and Abel. A character in East of Eden remarks, "this is the best-known story in the world because it is everybody's story". Of course not everyone will experience fratricide, but everyone in the world can relate to the pain of rejection, or the worry of not being loved, or the sting of betrayal. Indeed, these themes play out in East of Eden cyclically across generations, with different characters taking over the torch of the biblical roles.
The themes in East of Eden are simple and uncomplicated. Good vs Evil. Willpower vs Destiny. Wisdom vs Foolishness. As the story plays out in front of you, you might dread to continue because you know how it will end. Continue on, I urge! East of Eden continues to surprise and to unseat the predictable.
Due to the biblical, cyclical, and fable-like quality, don't expect massive character development. In a singular paragraph Steinbeck describes a child's personality. That description remains entirely unchanged as the character grows into an adult. They each personify the traits that Steinbeck has assigned to them, and once assigned, are fixed. The core of the story isn't in character evolution, it's in character interaction.
My one note is regarding the segments that shift into first-person. While there are implicit ties back to the main storyline (a name, a relationship hinted at, etc), I hoped for a more explicit merging, especially since Steinbeck has gone through the trouble of writing those segments at all.
Overall, I enjoyed the simple, thematic storytelling of this novel. I agree that this is a great work of literature and I do recommend it.
5/5