Book Review

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

I'd been feeling a little guilty because my classic literary interests usually lean towards European authors, so I decided to give the American authors another chance this last Christmas. I put this at the top of my to-read pile because I expected to like it the least. But I was happily wrong. It reminds me of why I decided to start reading classics to begin with.

It has a great hook - two families in California play out the stories of the Fall of Man and Cain and Abel. I'm still not sure how the fall of man works into this unless you're of the belief that it had something to do with sex. But the drama and dynamic of Cain and Abel was picked apart twice over the course of a couple of generations of characters. I really enjoyed watching the soap opera unfold throughout the lives of Charles and Adam, and Adam's sons, Caleb and Aron. Steinbeck's writing style is very absorbing. His descriptions of Salinas Valley at the turn of the 20th century are fascinating and he chose to make it partially autobiographical so he could speak to the reader as if telling them the story from personal acquaintance with the events. He is a close descendant of the Hamilton family whose patriarch is the grounding element of the story. Sam Hamilton and Adam's servant Lee provide the analysis and wisdom concerning the events of Adam's life.

I'm a little surprised that it was okay to publish it in 1952 since it tends toward the vulgar when discussing sexuality so openly and coarsely. And it appears to be a little uneven at times. I'm not certain why the devilish element of Cathy Ames Trask was followed so closely throughout the narrative. But I also don't really care because the psychology of the characters what really interested me the most. Most of them I would say are spot on. They're also extreme to the point of caricature since each character seems to be representative of a larger group of people altogether. They provide a setting for reflection and contemplation of your own personality and those of the people you know. So watching Cathy's growth, or lack thereof, was just as captivating as the close examination of the lives of the men. And it was ultimately necessary to keep her in the background as Caleb and Aron's mother and as the catalyst of so much tragedy.

It is a tragedy, seeming to build up from one sad event to another; one death to another. But it's a well written tragedy with touching moments of light and joy and humor thrown in to help balance it out. At first I thought that two suicides of characters was a little bit of an overkill but after having a week to ponder it, I've noticed that each death was a different vehicle for probing the psychological makeup of the characters and a commentary on how the death of certain types of people affect us.

Anyway I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to those seeking classic fiction to read.