East of Eden (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) (original 1952; edição 1992)

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It really speaks to the human condition, about good and evil. I enjoyed the references to Genesis in the book. I have an interest in religious studies so it was wonderful to think, this is like X from Genesis, and then have the author drop an almost word-for-word quote in.

I think my favorite character out of all of them is Lee, and I was fascinated by the inclusion of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations as something Lee was highly interested in. It's actually on my short list for books to read this year.

I feel like this could be one of the few books I read more than once. ( )

Now I understand why Steinbeck's literature has endured. East of Eden is allegory, philosophy, psychology, American history, and a great story—and I may have missed a few things. It's set in Connecticut and the Salinas Valley. I've lived in both, and Steinbeck's painterly descriptions of these environments kept me interested until I got swept up in the story.

Steinbeck placed his big reveal of the allegorical underpinning of his story right at the halfway point. And when he did, I was as excited as the main characters. His characters are bigger than life, yet complex and masterfully drawn. I'm gushing.

East of Eden was banned for language and morality. It has a religious subtext and may have been too avant garde for its time.

I found the gorgeous Penguin Steinbeck Centennial Edition at the Goodwill store. It was printed in the USA and set in Janson.

Around the year in 52 books challenge notes:
#10. A book that is between 400-600 pages. It's 601 pages actually, but the text starts on page 3, so I think it fits. ( )

An incredible story. Samuel Hamilton, Cathy Ames, and Caleb Trask might be three of my favorite and most interesting characters I've ever read about. The biblical motifs were extremely well done, and had a profound effect on me, even being as non-religious as I am. The philosophical questions this book brought up were amazing and it dealt with deep topics in a very interesting and digestible way. Topics such as what it means to be human and innate evil vs good, free will, and original sin as presented in The Book of Genesis with the story of Cain and Abel. ( )

I'd like to believe in a version where Lee and Sam Hamilton elope and wander the world. ( )

Entre la guerra de secesión y la primera guerra mundial, dos familias viven a lo largo de tres generaciones en el lejano valle de Salinas. Tras acompañar a la familia Hamilton en su épico asentamiento en California, el lector penetra en el sofocante mundo de los Trask, en el que Adam, un hombre de costumbres estrictas y severas, intenta educar en el recto camino a sus hijos Aron y Cal, tras ser abandonado por su mujer, a quien nadie en la familia se atreve a nombrar. Aron es trabajador, obediente y cumplidor. Cal, inquieto y siempre insatisfecho, no soporta el peso del silencio en torno a su madre, cuyo carácter indomable cree él —y secretamente también Adam— que ha heredado; así pues, ya es inevitable la lucha soterrada por el reconocimiento del padre, cuyo rechazo hacia Cal conduce a éste a la más provocadora rebeldía. Un día, Cal se siente extrañamente atraído por la misteriosa Cathy Adams, que regenta el burdel más célebre de la región. A partir de ese instante, la maldición caerá sobre Cal, condenado irremisiblemente a permanecer al este de un elusivo Edén...