This novel is really four stories in one: 1) the story of Cain and Abel, of good versus evil; 2) the true story of the Hamilton family, Steinbeck's grandparents and aunts and uncles, written as a family legacy and love story to Steinbeck's sons; 3) the fictitious story of the Trask family, the normal neighborly family; and 4) the story of the growth of a new America in the decades surrounding the turn of the century in 1900.

This novel takes on some of the quintessential challenges of human existence, and maps them out through the lives of very real and almost tangible characters. Themes of good vs. evil and truth vs. lies come up again and again as the story unfolds, and the characters themselves guide the readers, without teaching or preaching, to learn to identify the good and truth in others, while accepting and accommodating the evil and lies.

Of all the delightfully compelling characters, my favorites are Sam Hamilton and Lee. Samuel Hamilton is, as Steinbeck tells us, "one of the rare people who can separate your observation from your preconception [and] see what is, where most people see what they expect" (p. 163). Sam Hamilton represents cognition, patience, and careful decision-making. Though he's not the most educated, he's often one of the wisest. Lee represents the religious didactic: he is the character most like a rabbi, and in some ways antithetical to Christians even as he teaches about the Bible (New Testament and Old). He is also most like a mother to Adam's sons, even though he had no mother of his own.

Any review or discussion I try to write seems to do poor justice to this hugely successful novel, so I will simply add that it was my very good pleasure to read this book, and I hope to turn to it again and again as I grow older. There is something in it for everyone, at every age.

Not a typical Steinbeck but captivating. Steinbeck takes you on a journey of a set of twins as different as Cain and Abel. You ponder what makes one good and one evil as you become drawn into two families. ( )

Some have a good story and know how to tell it. Some have a good story and turn it into a bad one because the don't know how to tell a story. Some are so good at telling stories that they can turn a bad story into a good one. Some don't know what a good story is, so they tell a bad story thinking it's a good one. Some have a good story and know it's a good story and know how to tell a good story and still blow the project because they identify too closely with one or more characters (incidents) and wind up emphasizing the wrong incident (character).

One hesitates to say that Steinbeck should never have written about women. 'Of Mice and Men' (and a couple of his short stories) stand in the way of that particular assertion. But I will say without hesitation that Steinbeck should not have written about Kate. I don't know who she really was, because I am not a Steinbeck scholar and I'm too curious about other things to bother myself with him. But -- reading 'East of Eden' -- it's obvious that 'Kate' beat him like a gong while he knew her and he never fully recovered from the beating. He was scarred for life before they got through with each other.

The telling of this story was altogether too much for him. He was too close to it. He tried to make it into more than it was. He lost control in the middle of the telling, lapsed into some outrageous (even ridiculous) tirades about her multitudinous sins and depraved character and made an utter ass of himself in the process. It's no wonder she was able to beat him so. ( )

I'm a big Steinbeck fan because of the pictures he paints of America in the earlier parts of the 20th century. East of Eden was a little harder to follow because of his way of "jumping" between characters, but when I got the rhythm of it I enjoyed the story a lot. ( )

Fantastic!: 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.