Book Review: EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil."

I remember reading only one other Steinbeck back in college (A RUSSIAN JOURNAL), and me being a distracted youth at that time, my only two take-aways were: 1) This guy sure can write, and 2) Russians drank vodka for breakfast! :)

Six days ago, I listened to a friend rave about this particular Steinbeck book and was infected with her enthusiasm. As luck would have it, my sister owned a copy already, so I started reading it immediately after our book session!

I knew I was in for a magic carpet ride when early on I encountered magical sentences like "He was born in fury and he lived in lightning." BOOM.

There are classics that make you wonder why they're in the canon when you get about to reading them, and then there are those that make you go "Oh THAT'S why!!" And this one is definitely in the latter category!

Steinbeck writes, "No story has power, nor will it last, unless we feel in ourselves that it is true and true of us." What separates this family saga from the ones that came after is that this one is the literary equivalent of slicing open one's soul with a scalpel, dissecting our most primal thoughts and feelings about fathers, mothers, and siblings. Of the evils we are too ashamed to discuss yet, if we're being honest, we harbor thoughts of in our darkest moments.

We human beings are both born cursed by circumstance yet blessed with the gift of free will, as Steinbeck shows in the novel that shows three generations of the families Trask and Hamilton, growing up in the turn of the century Salinas, California.

It's been described by others as a retelling of the book of Genesis, and while there are similarities, I feel that this is too simplistic a description. It reminds me of MOBY DICK in some places (a philosophical tract masquerading as an adventure story), especially with the mini-sermons at the start of each section... they would not seem out of place if read aloud on a pulpit.

It's about LIFE! There are parts that cut to the quick and leave you all teary, but there's also a lot of humorous banter and funny stories that give you stitches after laughing so much!

I'm actually left mildly despairing at how to encapsulate the glory that is this novel, which Steinbeck considered his masterpiece. I have not read anything like it and I doubt I ever will. It is essential reading, both hurtful and healing, but I do maintain that the most important character is the Chinese manservant and philosopher, Lee! And I'm no scholar, but I imagine that having a Chinese character in American literature in the 1950's is not common.

JUST READ IT. The world will seem a lot less crazy afterwards, and you will find yourself more understanding and forgiving.

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