East of Eden (Oprah's Book Club)
by John Steinbeck
List Price:
Our Price: $15.39
You Save: $14.61 (49%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.70 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: John SteinbeckEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-06
ISBN: 0670033049
Number of pages: 601
Publisher: Viking
Book Reviews of East of Eden (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: A Classic With a Few Flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
I was beyond excited to be reading this book. I had never read Steinbeck before, and I was itching to start. Well, let me say, it was a difficult thing to do. Steinbeck's style is interesting. He's not so much verbose as he is long-winded. You won't find the abundance of adjectives that characterize Fitzgerald's works, but you're going to find a lot of sentences. As such, the story moves at a plodding pace. Now, considering that the story also spans roughly three generations, well... It makes for quite a long read.
But if you can get over the pacing and the style, it makes for a very good read. There's no apparent plot in this book; it simply follows the the life of a family over the years. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it gives the story a lack of direction at times. More or less, the story exists not in and of itself, but rather as a vehicle for the theme: choice. Some might call it good vs. evil, but that's not it at all. It's rather the choice between the two, or to be somewhere in between. There are a lot of religious allusions made in this book, and they might go over the heads of some.
Characters here are interesting to say the least. At the surface, some are unequivocally evil, others pure as snow. And yet, at the end of the book, you're left wondering if that was so. There's an illusion of flatness with many of the characters, especially Adam and Cathy, when in fact each one is incredibly deep. The other characters are all interesting, realistic in the most part, and people you can deeply feel for.
Overall, the book is deserving of being called a classic, if only for it's deep theme. Everything else is really peripheral to that it seems, though not lacking. Steinbeck's style might put some off, but if you can overcome it, then a great ride awaits.
Classics Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Classics Books
Native sonby Richard Wright
Perennial Library; Published: 1987; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Native Son: And How Bigger Was Bornby Richard Wright
Perennial; Published: 1993-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.84
Raphael and the Noble Taskby Catherine Salton
Harper; Published: 2000-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
Island (Perennial Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith
Harper; Published: 2001-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.77
Price in other shops:
The Great Divorce CDby C. S. Lewis
HarperAudio; Published: 2003-11-25; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $12.65
Price in other shops:
Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1979-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
This Side of Paradiseby Fitzgerald
Scribner Paper Fiction; Published: 1988-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Black Coffee (Poirot)by Agatha Christie
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-12-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $68.32
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1960s)by Joan Didion
Flamingo; Published: 2001-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.25
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Have a Little Faith: A True Storyby Mitch Albom
Hyperion; Published: 2009-09-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.48
Price in other shops:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Valuesby Robert M. Pirsig
William Morrow; Published: 1974-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops:
Physical Examination & Health Assessment, 5e (Jarvis, Physical Examination & Health Assessment)by Carolyn Jarvis PhD APN CNP
Saunders; Published: 2007-10-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.06
Price in other shops:
Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)by Christopher Paolini
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2005-08-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.85
Price in other shops:
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Scribner Classics)by Ernest Hemingway
Scribner; Published: 1996-06-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.00
Price in other shops:
A Pocket Guide to Public Speakingby Dan O'Hair, Hannah Rubenstein, Rob Stewart
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2009-11-03; Spiral-bound; Book
Best price: $21.49
The Great Gatsby (Scribner Classics)by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scribner; Published: 1996-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.39
Price in other shops:
East of Edenby John Steinbeck
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.42
Price in other shops:
The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Editionby Stephen King
Doubleday; Published: 1990-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.97
Price in other shops:
The Sun Also Rises (Scribner Classics)by Ernest Hemingway
Scribner; Published: 1996-06-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.81
Price in other shops: