From the Bookshelf of Reading the Chunksters…

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

Start date: October 2, 2011

Finish date: December 17, 2011

Discussion leader: Loretta

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Jul 17, 2024 Greg rated it really liked it

Shelves: 20th-century, memoir, social-comment

There's a lot to love here: epic characters, Biblical stories, atmospheres, etc. I found the first half absolutely gripping (5 stars, Steinbeck's best writing, imo) but the last half whimpered out a bit (3 stars). YES, true, just like how the world will end, but that doesn't mean it works in a novel. My understanding is the the author edited out about 100, 000 words and it seems he did it all from the final chapters. A must-read anyway! ...more

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Apr 16, 2023 staticspacelover rated it it was amazing

My god!!!!!

I was never a huge fan of Steinbeck’s style of writing— a lot of his stories always felt too dragged and inconsistently paced. However, this was the first novel of his where I dove in without expecting much, only what I had heard: a retelling of the Book of Genesis, a modernized allegory of Cain and Abel. God, was I pleasantly surprised. This book is mind-blowing, it is written so that anyone who reads it can take a piece of it with them. To call it an adaptation would be blasphemous! ...more

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Sep 11, 2024 Nathan B rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a book I put off for years, and I’m so glad I finally read it. One of the greatest books I’ve read, by far. I’ll be thinking of this story for a long time.

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