East of Eden by John Steinbeck

East of Eden
Author : John Steinbeck
Published January 1, 1952
601 pages

For many, when you mention the name of author John Steinbeck the first thought is of his novel East of Eden. Widely viewed as being his best work, it’s easy to see how why.

As I’ve worked through this little Steinbeck journey, starting with The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon Is Down, Cannery Row, and now East of Eden, with only Of Mice and Men to follow, it feels like each of these books has led to the epic tale that unfolds in East of Eden.

Each of the previous novels feels like they are all leading to Steinbeck’s mastery of the form, a collecting of skills if you will, that allow him to finally spill the story out onto the page.

It’s truly a literary masterpiece.

But does that mean it’s enjoyable?

East of Eden is told in four parts – the first introducing us to a wide cast of characters farming in the Salinas Valley region of California with Samuel Hamilton and his family as well as with a young Adam and Charles Trask as they are raised in a difficult home setting back east.

As the story unfolds we meet the books primary “villian” , Catherine, as a child as well. From there we move to other characters including Adam and Cathy’s children Aron and Cal, who become the main focus of the story from about the halfway point on.

The story starts to feel early on like the Bible or the Iliad in that it starts listing of characters one after the other. Breaking down familial relationships and ties that seem to all lead nowhere, including a relationship that includes a child by the name of John Steinbeck, and frankly it makes things feel a bit tedious at first.

But if you stick with it and stay patient, you’ll find this book does something beautiful.

It takes us on a journey through a lifetime – a lifetime that is full of adventure, learning, heartbreak and loss, grief, love, and so much more.

We are given amazing advice on creativity, on philosophy, and on life in general all THROUGH the eyes and voices of the characters. Especially those of Sam Hamilton, Lee, and Adam Trask.

At the beginning it feels like it’s a tale that is vast and broad in scope, it’s “epic” in feel. As the story marches ever forward, however, we see Steinbeck slowly strip away character after character, plot-line after plot-line, until by the end it is laser focused on only Adam Trask and his relationship with his remaining family.

Make no mistake, as with most of Steinbeck’s work and especially these longer novels, they are a SLOW burn. As I already mentioned, East of Eden is an examination of all aspects of the human condition. The emotions of love, new life, death. We see murder, war, poverty, violence, melancholy and outright depression. There is money won, lost, earned, and stolen. And with typical Steinbeck flair, most of the time the characters just accept the lot that life has given them and go about making the best of it. However, East of Eden does show us many times how these character struggle internally as well – not content to just accept what life has given them – which is a slight change from the norm for Steinbeck.

If there is one theme you can pull away from this book, it’s that of everything being so cyclical. Generation after generation, life seems to be stuck in a loop. The names and faces change, but the events find a way to repeat. But we are asked to consider if it’s all just fated, is it destiny, or are WE the ones keeping ourselves contained in this repeating loop?

It’s a heavy read, not just because of the length but because of the subject matter.

There were MANY times I considered just putting it down and giving up. Not that it wasn’t enjoyable, because frankly it was. But because it was very dense, it gives you a LOT to think about, and it’s SO slow paced that I just wanted it to be done.

I’m so glad that I stuck with it though.

The ending, while not a typical ‘The End’ moment we’d get from other books, was truly spectacular and impactful. Even though Steinbeck always gives us a story that feels like it’s more of a snapshot of a moment in time versus a complete ‘beginning/middle/end’ story, this book certainly leaves you feeling like while the future is still unknown THIS story has reached it’s jumping off point. And it’s a great place to leave these characters.

As I’ve said through this entire Steinbeck journey, these books are a slow, slow grind to finish.

But as slow as it is, East of Eden was truly beautiful. While I know that the final book in my Steinbeck journey will be enjoyable(as I’ve read Of Mice and Men more than once and enjoy it), East of Eden is by far the most infuriating, frustratingly slow, and truly wonderful books I’ve read on this Steinbeck journey.

It’s impactful, thought provoking, jam packed full of all sorts of practical life advice if you pay attention as you read(especially on the creativity and philosophy side of things), and it left me fully understanding of why it’s viewed as Steinbeck’s crowning achievement.

As such – East of Eden by John Steinbeck gets a 4 out of 5 stars

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