East of Eden
East of EdenJohn Steinbeck
Want to read
 Buy on Amazon

East of Eden (1952)

John Steinbeck

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

Steinbeck considered East of Eden to be his masterpiece. In his journal, Journal of a Novel (often read as a companion to the novel) he notes that “this is the book I have always wanted and have worked and prayed to be able to write Set primarily in the Salinas Valley in the early twentieth century, the novel traces three generations of two families – the Trasks and the Hamiltons – as they grapple with the ever-present forces of good and evil. From this plot emerged some of Steinbeck’s most fascinating characters – many of whom are modeled after people in his own life. Part allegory, part autobiography, and part epic, East of Eden was an ambitious project from the start – a gift to Steinbeck’s sons that was meant to teach them about identity, grief, and what it means to be human. Tinged with biblical echoes of the fall of Adam and Eve and the rivalry of Cain and Abel, this sprawling saga has captivated audiences everywhere for generations. It is through the popularization of East of Eden that the Salinas Valley was truly transformed into “the valley of the world”; a place where everyone is able to find a piece of themselves in the golden, rolling hills.

ISBN:
9798574421673
Length:
602 pages

Genres: historical fiction, literary fiction, classics

Lists: …

Similar books

1 of 6
  • Open book

    Stoner

    John Williams

    1965 · 278 pages · 6 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    William Stoner is born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to the state university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar’s life, so different from the hardscrabble existence he has known. And yet as the years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments: marriage into a “proper” family estranges him from his parents; his career is stymied; his wife and daughter turn coldly away from him; a transforming experience of new love ends under threat of scandal. Driven ever deeper within himself, Stoner rediscovers the stoic silence of his forebears and confronts an essential solitude. John Williams’s luminous and deeply moving novel is a work of quiet perfection. William Stoner emerges from it not only as an archetypal American, but as an unlikely existential hero, standing, like a figure in a painting by Edward Hopper, in stark relief against an unforgiving world.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also classics and historical fiction
    54%
    On 5+ of the same lists
    45%
    Similar descriptions
    1%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Open book

    The Bluest Eye

    Toni Morrison

    1970 · 190 pages · 7 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    Each night Pecola prayed for blue eyes. In her eleven years, no one had ever noticed Pecola. But with blue eyes, she thought, everything would be different. She would be so pretty that her parents would stop fighting. Her father would stop drinking. Her brother would stop running away. If only she could be beautiful. If only people would look at her. When someone finally did, it was her father, drunk. He raped her. Soon she would bear his child...

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also classics and historical fiction
    58%
    On 5+ of the same lists
    36%
    Similar descriptions
    6%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Open book

    The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

    Mark Twain

    1817 · 263 pages · 2 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    Mark Twain created the memorable characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn drawing from the experiences of boys he grew up with in Missouri. Set by the Mississippi River in the 1840's, it follows these boys as they get into predicament after predicament. Tom's classic whitewashing of the fence has become part of American legend, and the book paints a nostalgic picture of life in the middle of the nineteenth century. Tom runs away from home to an island in the river, chases Injun Joe and his treasure, and even gets trapped in a cave for days with Becky Thatcher. The book is one of Twain's most beloved stories.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also classics and historical fiction
    45%
    On 5+ of the same lists
    45%
    Jack Edwards loved both
    10%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Open book

    Sula

    Toni Morrison

    1973 · 174 pages · 2 reviews

    Others: Positive

    Two girls who grow up to become women. Two friends who become something worse than enemies. In this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison tells the story of Nel Wright and Sula Peace, who meet as children in the small town of Medallion, Ohio. Their devotion is fierce enough to withstand bullies and the burden of a dreadful secret. It endures even after Nel has grown up to be a pillar of the black community and Sula has become a pariah. But their friendship ends in an unforgivable betrayal—or does it end? Terrifying, comic, ribald and tragic, Sula is a work that overflows with life.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also classics and historical fiction
    58%
    On 5+ of the same lists
    32%
    Jack Edwards loved both
    10%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Open book

    Middlesex

    Jeffrey Eugenides

    2002 · 537 pages · 3 reviews

    Others: Leaning positive

    A unique coming of age story. While the main character in this novel is dealing with gender identity issues the main focus of this brilliantly written story is the confusion we all face as we grow into the person we were meant to be. The reader finds himself identifying with the main character's experiences. This is a brilliantly written story. The prose is honest in a way that few authors dare to write. Every word, every action, every thought, is symbolic of the common human experience.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also classics and historical fiction
    54%
    On 5+ of the same lists
    40%
    Similar descriptions
    6%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Open book

    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

    1848 · 469 pages · 12 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    Louisa May Alcotts classic novel, set during the Civil War, has always captivated even the most reluctant readers. Little girls, especially, love following the adventures of the four March sisters--Meg, Beth, Amy, and most of all, the tomboy Jo--as they experience the joys and disappointments, tragedies and triumphs, of growing up. This simpler version captures all the charm and warmth of the original.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    On 5+ of the same lists
    57%
    Also classics and historical fiction
    26%
    2 creators loved both
    17%
    Personalize your recommendations

Reviews9

Jack Edwards
Loved it

I think that my personal contribution to this discourse is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. To me, that is the closest we have to the great American novel. I truly think it's one of the best books ever written in general, and I recommend it so thoroughly.

Review 1 of 2
Red Fury Books
Loved it

East of Eden is one of those books again, it's the great American novel that I think everybody should read at least everybody in America should read, but it's a fine work of literature and one of the finest books I've ever read.

Review 1 of 2
TheBookchemist
Loved it

a novel that feels very much like steinbeck was going all out he was trying to wrap his every thought about the nature of his home country about the nature of the human spirit of good and evil into one single story