Steinbeck was one of the few authors assigned in high school that I actually enjoyed. I always meant to read more books by him, but I got distracted by other things.
A few year ago, I saw the movie “East of Eden”, and really enjoyed it, so I’ve been meaning to read the book for some time now. I had a hard time finding a decent copy, but when I saw it in the Oita library I grabbed it.
Because I had already seen the movie, I was a little worried that I would get bored with the book, but actually it turns out the movie only deals with a small portion of the actual story. The book actually traces three generations of two different families: the Trasks and the Hamiltons. In this way the book is actually a much more epic story. It reminded me of Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks".
The Hamilton family is John Steinbeck’s actual maternal family, and so Steinbeck writes himself into the book, including what I’m assuming are real autobiographical details mixed in with his fictional story. This is an interesting literary technique, and some of the most interesting parts of the book are those dealing with Steinbeck’s life, such as the time he recalls with great regret about how he and his sister took part in the harassment of a German immigrant during the first World War.
As the title indicates, and as anyone who’s seen the movie knows, this story is a modern retelling of the Garden of Eden story. I’ve heard that this book has been criticized for lack of subtlety, and this is really true. The characters themselves even comment on the Garden of Eden and the Genesis story, so that there’s never any doubt as to where the story is going. In this regard those who have seen the movie, and already know how the story will end, are at no more disadvantage than those approaching the story for the first time. At times I felt things were a little heavy handed, but on the other hand it’s kind of refreshing for an author to be like: “look, I’m not going to be coy with you and make you guess at the symbolism. This is the story I want to tell. It’s all out in the open for you.”
Useless Wikipedia Fact
The September 25, 2005 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper reported that Tillman held views which were critical of the Iraq war and did not support President Bush's re-election. According to Tillman's mother, a friend of Tillman had arranged a meeting with Noam Chomsky, to take place after his return from Afghanistan. The article also reported that Tillman urged a soldier in his platoon to vote for John Kerry in the 2004 U.S. Presidential election.
Link of the Day
CIA Spy Speaks Out: No WMDs in Iraq Was Not an 'Intelligence Failure'
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