A review by carajewels
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

wow. an intergenerational epic that sometimes felt like a marathon to read until i suddenly felt i was one with the characters. i have so many feelings about the events of this book and i have no clue where to express them! the central metaphor of adam and eve, cain and abel i didn’t fully realize until the end, and i think it turns the biblical fable into something hopeful. cal is my favorite character, he is so human and leaves me hopeful for the events after the novel. i also love how steinbeck included his own life throughout the story but only briefly, once every hundred pages. i’m always a sucker for seeing generations of families growing up throughout the book, and watching adam repeat the same favoritism his father showed him as a child  killed me! 
“timshel”, thou mayest. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings