A review by michellereadatrix
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

5.0

I cannot say enough about this novel, and so I'll opt not to say much other than I get something new out of this book every time I read it. It's a novel that is entertaining -- that's the way he rolls -- but it also makes you think.

The title refers to the story of Cain and Abel, and the book deals with this story, as well as the themes present in the Adam and Eve tale. There is, in fact, a character named Adam, but he also represents Abel and God at other points in the story. Just as Shakespeare points out that

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.

Steinbeck says that we all relive the archetypal stories. A man can start as a favored son with a jealous brother, grow to manhood to fall in love with a woman who is no damned good, and become a father with sons who seek his approval. Some stories are a part of us, because we can't stop retelling them, because we can't stop living them.

There's also some tasty stuff about whether or not people are born evil and the nature of choice.