East of Eden and The Grapes Of Wrath: Two classic and great American novels

by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold, published in 1929, is loosely based on the life and death of privateer Henry Morgan. It centers on Morgan's assault and sacking of Panamá Viejo, sometimes referred to as the "Cup of Gold", and on the women, brighter than the sun, who were said to be found there. In 1930, Steinbeck wrote a werewolf murder mystery, Murder at Full Moon, that has never been published because Steinbeck considered it unworthy of publication. Between 1930 and 1933, Steinbeck produced three shorter works. The Pastures of Heaven, published in 1932, consists of twelve interconnected stories about a valley near Monterey, which was discovered by a Spanish corporal while chasing runaway Indian slaves. In 1933 Steinbeck published The Red Pony, a 100-page, four-chapter story weaving in memories of Steinbeck's childhood. To a God Unknown, named after a Vedic hymn, follows the life of a homesteader and his family in California, depicting a character with a primal and pagan worship of the land he works. Although he had not achieved the status of a well-known writer, he never doubted that he would achieve greatness. Steinbeck achieved his first critical success with Tortilla Flat (1935), a novel set in post-war Monterey, California, that won the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal. It portrays the adventures of a group of classless and usually homeless young men in Monterey after World War I, just before U.S. prohibition. They are portrayed in ironic comparison to mythic knights on a quest and reject nearly all the standard mores of American society in enjoyment of a dissolute life devoted to wine, lust, camaraderie and petty theft.

Genres: Classics, Fiction

1356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 1939

About the author

John Ernst Steinbeck was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". He has been called "a giant of American letters."
During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward F. Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize–winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.
Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌳REVIEW OF EAST OF EDEN🌳

♠️PLOT

This novel is for the most part a tragedy. There is intermittent grace, often supplied by the Chinese servant Lee, but for the most part the storyline is one of constant struggle, pain, sorrow and destruction. The main female character is a daughter, wife, mother and serial killer. Cathy continues to take life and cause harm throughout the book. She has two boys whom she discards, but one of them ends up eerily like her and damages others right up to the end. For quite a while, at the beginning, I thought I was reading a crime novel or horror story. It is meant to be a multigenerational family saga, with its rare good moments, and the land, the farm, is a metaphor depicting the family’s difficult journey. But to me, having a woman in the story who Steinbeck calls a monster, always about to commit more harm or another murder, creates a tension that is never resolved (especially when it’s passed on even though the son denies it) and this ugliness dominates the novel.

♠️STYLE

Steinbeck reminds me of Melville and James Fenimore Cooper in that he likes to philosophize at length, both as the narrator and through his characters. No one on earth has dinner conversations of such philosophical depth and acumen as Steinbeck’s characters. I realize it is a literary device, and it’s interesting, but it doesn’t ring true to me. Unless it’s a debate at university, or in the faculty lounge, people don’t talk like theological or philosophical textbooks in their everyday lives.

♠️ The combination of a horrific and painful family existence due to a psychopath in the family’s midst, to which Steinbeck added as much agony as possible through financial loss, aging, and physical afflictions, only rarely alleviated by good turns in the plot, created something of a dystopian nightmare. While I acknowledge Steinbeck’s deft writing hand, I would not call this his magnum opus or his best work, turning instead to In Dubious Battle or Grapes of Wrath, so far as fiction goes. East of Eden left a bitter taste in my mouth and while the moments of life and love and redemption are there, they are not enough, in my opinion, to light much of a candle in the darkness of human existence he paints.

[Mary Churchman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I was reading East of Eden in this combined edition on Kindle, which I rarely use, i didn't know if the % read applied to both novels or just the one I was reading. So I was pleasantly surprised today when I finished! I was wondering how it could possibly go on much longer as the characters died off.

It's rather a strange and dark story, but it was engaging. I was puzzled by the narrator, who seems to be John Steinbeck himself, but I don't know how autobiographical it is. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it weren't my book grouo pick, but I would like to re-read Grapes of wrath

[Samantha Pope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Endless misery

I came to The Grapes of Wrath knowing that it would be a necessary hard read but the reality exceeded my expectations. It took so long to read because I had to give myself breaks from the never ending despair, gloom, bad luck, misery. Whenever anything good happens to the Joads or anyone else its is swiftly squashed, often in the harshest way possible. I knew any book about the Depression would be depressing but I believe Steinbeck has created a new form if utter despair. I had to read this for a course I’m tutoring but will I reread it? Hopefully not!

[Geoff Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant pair of books. I felt East of Eden was superb but The Grapes of Wrath is up another notch again. The inequalities in life experiences by accident of birth were stark when Steinbeck wrote these books and sadly stark comparisons of the imbalance are equally present in 2022. A truly epic read that has left me wanting to discover how life went on for the family members featured.

[Lanny A Netz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in what I intend to be a series of the classics that I will read. I really enjoyed both East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath. Neither one of them were what I expected, and that is a good thing.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm

I can't say I enjoyed this book. Writing is well done but perhaps monotonous. Would not have predicted the very end.

[Michelle Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! 1st chapter I almost quit due to the over dramatic landscape descriptions. However, it pick up quickly after that and I loved every minute of it.

[Sue Furey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read EAST OF EDEN only. Steinbeck is a master at character development.

[Anthony Beckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful.

[William Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic!

[Korni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part 2

[Mark Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

KINDLE EDITION EAST OF EDEN — I rate this book 4 of 5 — EXCELLENT! Read on Kindle app on iPad 30 Apr 22 - 5 Jun 22. Easy to read and understand, this gripping story spans the entire US in the late 18800s to the early 1900s, but the themes of love, hatred, sin, and redemption are just as applicable in modern times. Steinbeck offers shrewd observations about human nature in general as well as American attitudes back then, many of which have not changed!

[William Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several stories intertwined with recognizable characters.