It's been twenty years since I first read John Steinbeck's East of Eden, and being older naturally gives me a different perspective. Knowing that oodles has been written about this American masterpiece, I am only going to comment on the two things that stand out most in my middle-aged mind. First, Steinbeck is a dead white guy who didn't seem to think much of women. Second, I do not buy in to the simplistic notion that people are inherently good or evil. Don't get me wrong. I still enjoyed this work immensely; however, I don't anticipate reading another dead white guy classic again for awhile. What I need is a good read by a woman of another culture.
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Hey there, I too have a reading log blog, it also contains thoughts on the reading of East of Eden... I've pasted it below (www.sweetgypsymama.com/matt):
Although Of Mice and Men proved to me the power of Steinbeck’s writing, East of Eden cemented the man as one of my favourite authors. Here Steinbeck tells a complex story, the intertwining relationship of two families over several generations, while never losing site of his reoccurring themes.
Positioned as a love letter to his estranged home of the Salina’s in California he doesn’t shy away from all that is good and bad in the community, possibly it is this heartfelt honesty in storytelling that entices the reader and alienates those in which inhabit its setting. But here is the beauty of East of Eden, not only does he draw on the community in which he grew up, he weaves himself and his grandfather into the fray, all the while telling of their points of conflict with the fictional Trusks. A point of conflict rooted in the story of Cain and Able from the Book of Genesis twisted and contorted into Steinbeck’s Charles and Adam, and their offspring Caleb and Aaron. Far from being repetitious, Steinbeck finds the perfect balance in exploring the instincts of man, from murder to discrimination, friendship and love. A subversive allegory questioning religious fatalism.
Of course, there may be criticism (a plausible thread throughout much of his work) regarding his portrayal of women, however, in a perplexing manner he does present the female characters as villains (Cathy), empathetic saviours (Faye, Abra) and strict taskmasters (Liza). In each case, these characters can be seen to have questionable motives, but could hardly been seen as weak, these are strong willed characters, often dominating their male counterparts.
For my mind this really is one of the best books I have read, and it is fitting for Steinbeck to claim this to be his greatest novel.
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