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East of Eden
 

East of Eden (Oprah's Book Club)

by John Steinbeck

This sprawling and often brutal novel, set in the rich farmlands of California's Salinas Valley, 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. "A strange and original work of art."--New York Times Book Review. (Literature/Classics) (read review)

Top tags: fiction,  classic,  literature,  steinbeck,  american literature (all tags)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

4 of 4 members found this review helpful.
Tinky
  • Rated 4 stars

“You're wrong if you think you know the story if you've seen the James Dean film, which omits two-thirds of the novel. I much prefer "East of Eden" to "The Grapes of Wrath." Steinbeck manages to create some complex characters that hold the interest and even, in the case of Cathy Trask, mesmerize and appall. The biblical undertones resonate with me, and this tale of the Trask family, somehow cursed and aspiring to redemption, seems to me an American saga that succeeds in a way many family...”

Tinky’s full review »
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Community:
  • Rated 4.467898 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4.5 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • mossflower

    mossflower said:

    “This is a must read. They are not an easy read and Steinbeck provokes thought, debate on the best of man and the worst. Grapes of Wrath is one of my all time favourites as it tells the true story of poor, farming, white Americans in a time of turmoil. Their relationship with each other and their coloured workers. persevere, it is worth it.”

    posted Saturday, June 21 2008 ( | view 1 reply )
  • lawrence D

    lawrence d said:

    “How can i get to read this this book?”

    posted Friday, June 20 2008
  • Dr. J. G.

    dr. j. g. said:

    “It is one of the most profound books one can find outside what considered religious texts, and one of the best of the writer. Perhaps it is not easy to film - at any rate the film based on Grapes of Wrath is just as impressive, just as profound, and portrayal by Henry Fonda is great in the Indian (not just American) sense of the word (Indian is not native American - that latter should be changed to real American); but East of Eden is much better read, and more than once. it needs reading when one has time to mull over, even if it is only the time one spends commuting, or even better during vacation.”

    posted Friday, June 20 2008
  • Neuwirth

    neuwirth said:

    “In this magnificent book John S. says again: "A man is nasty, a man is amiable and I love them all".”

    posted Monday, March 31 2008
  • Neda H

    neda h said:

    “ MEHDI KASHANI [mehdi.kashani@gmail.com] wrote:

    ] Dorood
    ]
    ]
    ]
    ] ORIGIN OF MAN
    ]
    ] A little girl asked her mother: How did the human
    ] race get here?
    ] The mother answered : God made Adam and Eve and
    ] they had children and so was all mankind made.
    ]
    ] Two days later she asks her father the same
    ] question.
    ] The father answered : Many years ago there were
    ] monkeys who came down out of the trees. They
    ] started to walk on their back legs, made tools and
    ] fire and eventually turned into mankind.
    ]
    ] The confused girl returns to her mother and says :
    ] Momma, why is it that you told me that the human
    ] race was created by God and Papa says they came
    ] from monkeys.
    ]
    ] The mother answers : Well dear, it is very simple.
    ] I told you about the origin of my side of the
    ] family while your father told you about his side.
    ]
    ] To really comprehend this joke you should have read the following book!
    ]
    ]
    ]
    http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Darwinism-Waiting-Gate-Eden/dp/0615153569/ref=sr_1_1/104-4150273-9590305?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192868971&sr=8-1
    ”

    posted Friday, March 28 2008
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