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A review by moviemagus
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I spent 1,5 months with this book. In this book, with these characters. It shaped me in ways I probably don't even realize yet, but I feel different...
This was the second book I read by John Steinbeck and after I read Of Mice and Men I knew I will enjoy this one as well, but it was much more than I anticipated it and I'm really happy I read it in its original language. Of course it took me longer this way, but the language its written in is so rich, I don't think it's possible to show it in translation.
It's beautiful, has a great balance of easy flow and rich pictures and references. Steinbeck uses the oldest of stories from the Bible to analize people as we are which I find facinating. And terrifying... We still make the same mistakes as Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. We make the same mistakes God makes...
Even though it has some racial slurs and sexist remarks, I was able to jump over them, because they weren't for self-serving hatered, only because that was the language back then and although it hurt me sometimes to read them, they were part of that world and we have to handle that in place.
I'm incredibly glad I went back for this novel to that thriftstore in Prague. Haven't felt like this about a book in a long time. This will be something I'll come back to for sure. It won't be easy to get out of its world now...
This was the second book I read by John Steinbeck and after I read Of Mice and Men I knew I will enjoy this one as well, but it was much more than I anticipated it and I'm really happy I read it in its original language. Of course it took me longer this way, but the language its written in is so rich, I don't think it's possible to show it in translation.
It's beautiful, has a great balance of easy flow and rich pictures and references. Steinbeck uses the oldest of stories from the Bible to analize people as we are which I find facinating. And terrifying... We still make the same mistakes as Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. We make the same mistakes God makes...
Even though it has some racial slurs and sexist remarks, I was able to jump over them, because they weren't for self-serving hatered, only because that was the language back then and although it hurt me sometimes to read them, they were part of that world and we have to handle that in place.
I'm incredibly glad I went back for this novel to that thriftstore in Prague. Haven't felt like this about a book in a long time. This will be something I'll come back to for sure. It won't be easy to get out of its world now...