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East of Eden
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Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Author: John Steinbeck
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $11.90
You Save: $ 5.10 ( 30% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Author: John Steinbeck
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Average Customer Rating:
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East of Eden Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780142000656
ISBN: 0142000655
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 601
Publication Date: 2002-02-05
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780142000656
ISBN: 0142000655
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 601
Publication Date: 2002-02-05
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Editorial Review of East of Eden
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America’s greatest writers and cultural figures. We have begun publishing his many works for the first time as blackspine Penguin Classics featuring eye-catching, newly commissioned art. This season we continue with the seven spectacular and influential books East of Eden, Cannery Row, In Dubious Battle, The Long Valley, The Moon Is Down, The Pastures of Heaven, and Tortilla Flat. Penguin Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many who revisit them again and again.
Customer Reviews of East of Eden
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Knocked For A Loop
Review: When I bought this book, Steinbeck could not have been further off my radar. I suppose I expected a solid, picaresque novel that was good in a musty "literature" sort of way. I could not have been more wrong. I don't think that I have ever been punched in the gut more times by a work of art. The mixture of mythology and gritty realism never felt forced, in fact it made the story even more fluid and vicious. It is a wonderfully sad, dark, violent and oddly hopeful chronical of human frailty, loyalty and weakness. It is one of the supreme achievements of the art (all forms, not just literary) of the 20th century. After I read this, I bought everything by Steinbeck that I could get my hands on and buried myself in eleven more of his works before coming up for air.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Very Interesting
Review: once i got the shippment from amazon, i open the book to check it, and i start read the first page, by the time i recognise that i should contenue what i was busy with, i found that i reach to page 50, and i am still reading, very reach with variables and .... what can i say here, "Drawing With Words"
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fantastic!
Review: On first picking up East of Eden, I wondered if I would or could like such a book. After having read Steinbeck's other work, The Pearl, I thought that East of Eden might end up being a long, overly drawn-out description of some vines running along a white wall. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this masterpiece, a great retelling of two classic biblical tales. The characters, if anything else, make this a fantastic read.
Like a good 90% or more of Steinbeck works, East of Eden takes place primarily in the Salinas Valley of northern California. It details the lives of the Trask and Hamilton families, particularly of Adam and Charles Trask--the first generation, and Aron and Cal Trask--the second. Between each set of brothers stands the unequal love of a father, a darkness within a man's heart, and the recurring scar which comes to mark those who are "darker." From Adam and Charles to Aron and Cal, both sets of brothers face trials in their relationships, between the dichotomy of love and hate. This varying dynamic, polar in its nature, is touching in its realism. The depth of the characters, from their good sides to their bad, their joys and sorrows and triumphs and jealousies, make each pitiable and sympathetic in their own way. Cal, who is somewhat of a protagonist in the second half, strives to find a balance between the good he wants to see in himself and the bad he knows is there. This battle, in his soul, is easily relatable to--a young boy who wants to be loved, doesn't know who he is, and wants to be more.
Aside from the male figures, one of the other main characters, Cathy Ames, is considered the Eve of the story. While conventionally seen as a figure of pure evil, the bringer of sin into the world and upon men, I find her the most intriguing--and the most inspiring, of all. While she is depicted to commit evil after evil, senselessly drawing men into their dooms, feeling no remorse whatsoever, there lies the greatest hope in Cathy, who like Cal, seems aligned to the dark side in her nature. But for all of her evil, for every terrible act she makes, the hope of something good within her stirred more hope than any other element of the story. Cal, while inspiring in his struggles, is different from the tragically alone Cathy, whose seeming fall into the darkness draws me in more than anyone else. For her, I truly hoped some light would shed.
All in all, I am delighted to have been able to read this novel. Though it was a rather long read, and for academic purposes, it was so enthralling that it drew me in from the get-go. A good two days into it and I was possessed, unable to put it down until I had finished. I would truly have to recommend this novel to anyone who has the time to sit down and plow through 600 pages--it's well worth it.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A parallel to Genesis 4:
Review: When it comes to human's struggle against evil, John Steinbeck has it all. Through the coexistence of Cathy and Sam Hamilton, the two main opposite forces in East of Eden, Steinbeck immediately foreshadows that a moral fight would be the essence of the novel. The book centers on two brothers' struggle to please their father, who then favors one and scorns the other by accepting the gift of only one son. Sounds familiar? Yes, it is the famous story of Cain and Abel. (Reading the fourth chapter of the book of Genesis would greatly help in understanding the plot and its foreshadowing.)
One might wonder: so why base a book on such story? The answer is straight and simple: it is part of us and we tend to deny it. The story of Cain and Abel is the second story accounted in the Bible after that of the Creation, therefore making it one of the most important, original ones. Although being one of the primitive stories, the account of Cain and Abel holds numerous themes found in quotidian life. The opposing characters of Cain and Abel represent the forces of evil and good, respectively, in human nature. While Abel represents the love and innocence in our nature, Cain represents the jealousy and hatred. Abel, as described in Genesis, is a young, innocent shepherd who offered to God "the firstborn of his flock and of their fat," which demonstrates his unfailing love for his Creator (NKJV, Gen. 4.4). Because God chose Abel's gift over Cain's, the latter became jealous of his brother and a feeling of hatred started to foment inside of him, resulting in the tragic death of Abel and the unbearable punishment of Cain.
One of the highlights of this novel centers on the discussion of knowledgeable Lee about the meaning of timshel. According to the original Hebrew translation, the word means "thou mayest," a translation that illustrates a human being's ability to choose between Good and Evil. In order to make such a decision, one must first know the difference between each choice. The character of Adam evolves from an obscure, ignorant follower of Cathy's evilness and cajolery, to a potent, dependent man, able to overcome his trepidations and Cathy's temptations. Adam succeeds only after realizing Cathy's genuine persona. Adam's evolution parallels Genesis, which says, "Then the Lord God said, `Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil'" (NKJV, Gen. 3.22).
The struggle that Adam faces and finally overcomes is a reflection of humanity's ability to overcome any trepidation that it might face daily. In a sense, it gives hope to the hopeless, happiness to the sad, destination to the adventurer, goal to the living, life to all.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: amazing
Review: Amazing. Six hundred pages of amazement. This novel is a page turner and will keep you occupied. With an equal distribution of suspenseful plot and biblical allusions, John Steinbeck adds a twist to the well known Cain and Abel story, creating two generations of brothers who endure all, injury, betrayal, isolation, curiosity, faithfulness, appreciation, doubt, and deceit.
This story begins with Charles and Adam Trask who are brothers who constantly bicker for their father's attention. When Cyrus, their father, publicly favors Adam over Charles, Charles becomes consumed by his jealousy and goes so far as an attempted murder. After this incident, Charles and Adam are not the same towards each other again; however, isolation and much time apart have partially repaired this broken brotherly bond. One day Adam meets Cathy, a beautiful yet weak girl, who he nurtures and eventually marries. Cathy and Adam have twins, Cal and Aron who are representations of Cain and Abel. Similar to the process that their father went through, Cal and Aron also bicker for Adam's attention. Since Aron is liked more by others and seems to have a bright future (his incredible knowledge that will land in college), Cal wonders why he cannot be like Aron, and so he begins finding answers by searching for his runaway mother, Cathy. When Cal learns about Cathy's real character, he wonders if a part of her is within him and if it is causing all the pain and darkness he feels. He wants to find himself and discover who he really is instead of whom people think he is.
Based off of popular biblical stories, this novel is incredibly well written, yet easy enough to read without a dictionary handy. Despite its length, this novel is not drawn out and the events occur fast enough to forget about its length.
Review Summary: Knocked For A Loop
Review: When I bought this book, Steinbeck could not have been further off my radar. I suppose I expected a solid, picaresque novel that was good in a musty "literature" sort of way. I could not have been more wrong. I don't think that I have ever been punched in the gut more times by a work of art. The mixture of mythology and gritty realism never felt forced, in fact it made the story even more fluid and vicious. It is a wonderfully sad, dark, violent and oddly hopeful chronical of human frailty, loyalty and weakness. It is one of the supreme achievements of the art (all forms, not just literary) of the 20th century. After I read this, I bought everything by Steinbeck that I could get my hands on and buried myself in eleven more of his works before coming up for air.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Very Interesting
Review: once i got the shippment from amazon, i open the book to check it, and i start read the first page, by the time i recognise that i should contenue what i was busy with, i found that i reach to page 50, and i am still reading, very reach with variables and .... what can i say here, "Drawing With Words"
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fantastic!
Review: On first picking up East of Eden, I wondered if I would or could like such a book. After having read Steinbeck's other work, The Pearl, I thought that East of Eden might end up being a long, overly drawn-out description of some vines running along a white wall. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this masterpiece, a great retelling of two classic biblical tales. The characters, if anything else, make this a fantastic read.
Like a good 90% or more of Steinbeck works, East of Eden takes place primarily in the Salinas Valley of northern California. It details the lives of the Trask and Hamilton families, particularly of Adam and Charles Trask--the first generation, and Aron and Cal Trask--the second. Between each set of brothers stands the unequal love of a father, a darkness within a man's heart, and the recurring scar which comes to mark those who are "darker." From Adam and Charles to Aron and Cal, both sets of brothers face trials in their relationships, between the dichotomy of love and hate. This varying dynamic, polar in its nature, is touching in its realism. The depth of the characters, from their good sides to their bad, their joys and sorrows and triumphs and jealousies, make each pitiable and sympathetic in their own way. Cal, who is somewhat of a protagonist in the second half, strives to find a balance between the good he wants to see in himself and the bad he knows is there. This battle, in his soul, is easily relatable to--a young boy who wants to be loved, doesn't know who he is, and wants to be more.
Aside from the male figures, one of the other main characters, Cathy Ames, is considered the Eve of the story. While conventionally seen as a figure of pure evil, the bringer of sin into the world and upon men, I find her the most intriguing--and the most inspiring, of all. While she is depicted to commit evil after evil, senselessly drawing men into their dooms, feeling no remorse whatsoever, there lies the greatest hope in Cathy, who like Cal, seems aligned to the dark side in her nature. But for all of her evil, for every terrible act she makes, the hope of something good within her stirred more hope than any other element of the story. Cal, while inspiring in his struggles, is different from the tragically alone Cathy, whose seeming fall into the darkness draws me in more than anyone else. For her, I truly hoped some light would shed.
All in all, I am delighted to have been able to read this novel. Though it was a rather long read, and for academic purposes, it was so enthralling that it drew me in from the get-go. A good two days into it and I was possessed, unable to put it down until I had finished. I would truly have to recommend this novel to anyone who has the time to sit down and plow through 600 pages--it's well worth it.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A parallel to Genesis 4:
Review: When it comes to human's struggle against evil, John Steinbeck has it all. Through the coexistence of Cathy and Sam Hamilton, the two main opposite forces in East of Eden, Steinbeck immediately foreshadows that a moral fight would be the essence of the novel. The book centers on two brothers' struggle to please their father, who then favors one and scorns the other by accepting the gift of only one son. Sounds familiar? Yes, it is the famous story of Cain and Abel. (Reading the fourth chapter of the book of Genesis would greatly help in understanding the plot and its foreshadowing.)
One might wonder: so why base a book on such story? The answer is straight and simple: it is part of us and we tend to deny it. The story of Cain and Abel is the second story accounted in the Bible after that of the Creation, therefore making it one of the most important, original ones. Although being one of the primitive stories, the account of Cain and Abel holds numerous themes found in quotidian life. The opposing characters of Cain and Abel represent the forces of evil and good, respectively, in human nature. While Abel represents the love and innocence in our nature, Cain represents the jealousy and hatred. Abel, as described in Genesis, is a young, innocent shepherd who offered to God "the firstborn of his flock and of their fat," which demonstrates his unfailing love for his Creator (NKJV, Gen. 4.4). Because God chose Abel's gift over Cain's, the latter became jealous of his brother and a feeling of hatred started to foment inside of him, resulting in the tragic death of Abel and the unbearable punishment of Cain.
One of the highlights of this novel centers on the discussion of knowledgeable Lee about the meaning of timshel. According to the original Hebrew translation, the word means "thou mayest," a translation that illustrates a human being's ability to choose between Good and Evil. In order to make such a decision, one must first know the difference between each choice. The character of Adam evolves from an obscure, ignorant follower of Cathy's evilness and cajolery, to a potent, dependent man, able to overcome his trepidations and Cathy's temptations. Adam succeeds only after realizing Cathy's genuine persona. Adam's evolution parallels Genesis, which says, "Then the Lord God said, `Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil'" (NKJV, Gen. 3.22).
The struggle that Adam faces and finally overcomes is a reflection of humanity's ability to overcome any trepidation that it might face daily. In a sense, it gives hope to the hopeless, happiness to the sad, destination to the adventurer, goal to the living, life to all.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: amazing
Review: Amazing. Six hundred pages of amazement. This novel is a page turner and will keep you occupied. With an equal distribution of suspenseful plot and biblical allusions, John Steinbeck adds a twist to the well known Cain and Abel story, creating two generations of brothers who endure all, injury, betrayal, isolation, curiosity, faithfulness, appreciation, doubt, and deceit.
This story begins with Charles and Adam Trask who are brothers who constantly bicker for their father's attention. When Cyrus, their father, publicly favors Adam over Charles, Charles becomes consumed by his jealousy and goes so far as an attempted murder. After this incident, Charles and Adam are not the same towards each other again; however, isolation and much time apart have partially repaired this broken brotherly bond. One day Adam meets Cathy, a beautiful yet weak girl, who he nurtures and eventually marries. Cathy and Adam have twins, Cal and Aron who are representations of Cain and Abel. Similar to the process that their father went through, Cal and Aron also bicker for Adam's attention. Since Aron is liked more by others and seems to have a bright future (his incredible knowledge that will land in college), Cal wonders why he cannot be like Aron, and so he begins finding answers by searching for his runaway mother, Cathy. When Cal learns about Cathy's real character, he wonders if a part of her is within him and if it is causing all the pain and darkness he feels. He wants to find himself and discover who he really is instead of whom people think he is.
Based off of popular biblical stories, this novel is incredibly well written, yet easy enough to read without a dictionary handy. Despite its length, this novel is not drawn out and the events occur fast enough to forget about its length.