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Okay, so this is the same guy who wrote Grapes of Wrath, which I've heard was extremely dry and I quote, "1,000 pages of just. . . dust." So is East of Eden also dry and boring? Or. . . does it just depend upon the tastes of the reader? I don't want to start a book and feel like I just wasted several precious moments of my life.
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Courtney Short
East of Eden is definitely not dry or boring. The characters are complex, the writing is eloquent and flows beautifully. Steinbeck's sense of time and place is unmatched. On top of all that, East of Eden is not just a story for the sake of telling a story. East of Eden is making a greater point about mankind and how we choose to live our lives. It's subtle but profound. After you finish the book, you should sit and contemplate it for awhile. It is a powerful story.
Jerry
The reader's taste is a major factor in all literature. If you prefer mysteries or action thrillers, Steinbeck may disappoint. If you appreciate development of characters with great depth you may become, as have I, a Steinbeck devotee. East of Eden is his finest work, IMHO. To investigate further without a large time investment, give Cannery Row a read.
Eric
Steinbeck's writing is poetic. If you don't respect poetry, you probably will find it boring. He uses a technique of intersecting long-winded descriptions of life during the particular period in both Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. Personally I find the writing beautiful, and there is a coherent and interesting story to follow in both as well. The message is not always clear, and it will probably leave you to think for a while about what it means to you.
Your personal experience is a part of the process of reading, so if you are younger, you may want to leave it a while until you are a parent as I think you may be able to connect with more of the experiences then. It definitely dwells on the theme of what we pass on to our children. If you read it and find the story too simple/dry/boring or the message too naïve, you probably haven't made a connection. It's not that you don't "get it", just that it doesn't make you feel connected to the story. That's OK, try another book until you find one that does.
To me it is this feeling of connection that proper literary-type books are all about. We want to feel that the author understands and has put into words something in us that we struggle to articulate ourselves. We want to find other people that feel as we do to increase the sense of connection.
Your personal experience is a part of the process of reading, so if you are younger, you may want to leave it a while until you are a parent as I think you may be able to connect with more of the experiences then. It definitely dwells on the theme of what we pass on to our children. If you read it and find the story too simple/dry/boring or the message too naïve, you probably haven't made a connection. It's not that you don't "get it", just that it doesn't make you feel connected to the story. That's OK, try another book until you find one that does.
To me it is this feeling of connection that proper literary-type books are all about. We want to feel that the author understands and has put into words something in us that we struggle to articulate ourselves. We want to find other people that feel as we do to increase the sense of connection.
Kevin
Definitely depends on the tastes of the reader. I thought Grapes of Wrath was thrilling, to be honest, because of the absolute desperation of the situations all the characters find themselves in. East of Eden may be my favorite novel. It starts very slow, but it's a deep novel, and it definitely changed my life and stayed with me. My gut tells me that it may not give you the instant gratification you may be craving though.
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