If you have a little more time to read this summer and are interested in an epic classic that was written years ago but feels current in so many ways, I think you will love East of Eden. I read it in 2006 on a trip to Europe and I fought through the first 250 pages with its much too long descriptions of land and valleys, but after page 250, I was completely captivated and found myself wanting to sneak back into my book as soon as we were done sightseeing. The way Stienbeck draws his characters is literary genius and the way he weaves his stories make it a masterpiece.
If you are thinking about reading it…commit to it and get to page 300…if you can make it there, I promise you won’t turn back.
*At times can be a difficult read. Not squeaky clean, but I do not remember it being especially offensive
Goodreads.com summary: Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity; the inexplicability of love; and the murderous consequences of love’s absence.
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