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A review by mykoyamo
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
i’m going to have to write an essay about this book i’m afraid. for now, i will say this book is well-written. the generational storyline is very good and the men characters are incredibly complex and intriguing. certain lines and themes in this book are very hard hitting.
my real issues with this book are due to the bigotry and social implications:
1) racism: from the manifest destiny attitude towards the slaughter of indigenous americans to the character who said nothing & did nothing but run a brothel and was named “the *n word*” to the chinese-american character, who while very complex and important to the story,when he first revealed he could speak english, there’s this line: “Lee looked at him and the brown eyes under their rounded upper lids seemed to open and deepen until they weren’t foreign any more, but a man’s eyes…”
2) the way women are written in this book is so starkly contrasted with the complexity of the male characters. while men are motivated by generational trauma and war and self-interest and anger and a desire to be loved and existential anxiety, the women have such personalities as likes church, suicide because of syphilis, tuberculosis, batshit insane, and good mother. i was almost willing to let this go because well, 1952, butthe character of cathy was too much for me to handle. oh she wanted to be molested at 10 years old to manipulate people??? paging satan, get one of your hell demons to check john steinbeck’s hard drive because wtf.
overall, a difficult read because of how it represents what was considered morally righteous and representative of american values at that time. the story itself became more interesting and engaging about 60% in. i wouldn’t recommend this book to most people though.
my real issues with this book are due to the bigotry and social implications:
1) racism: from the manifest destiny attitude towards the slaughter of indigenous americans to the character who said nothing & did nothing but run a brothel and was named “the *n word*” to the chinese-american character, who while very complex and important to the story,
2) the way women are written in this book is so starkly contrasted with the complexity of the male characters. while men are motivated by generational trauma and war and self-interest and anger and a desire to be loved and existential anxiety, the women have such personalities as likes church, suicide because of syphilis, tuberculosis, batshit insane, and good mother. i was almost willing to let this go because well, 1952, but
overall, a difficult read because of how it represents what was considered morally righteous and representative of american values at that time. the story itself became more interesting and engaging about 60% in. i wouldn’t recommend this book to most people though.