Erin talks about East of Eden here in this wonderful post . She’s re-reading it “with immense satisfaction”.
The first time I read this magnificent book was when I was in high school, I think I was 15. I read it because I had seen the movie, and loved it so much I wanted to crawl into my television screen. Of course. I tried so hard to peek through that willow tree, which obscures Cal and Abra’s kiss … I wanted to sneak in the bushes to see it … I wanted to be in that ferris wheel with him … etc. etc. (Some things never change.) The movie only portrays the last section of Steinbeck’s book, that describes the latest generation, the WWI generation, and the tormented relationship of the “Cain and Abel” sons. I forgave Steinbeck for not writing the movie, exactly, (heh) and forgave him for making Cal (ahem Jimmy Dean ahem) a relatively minor character in the book. It didn’t really matter, because the book sucked me into its vastness, its majesty … There’s SO MUCH in it.
To me, the real revelation was Cathy, the mother, with the terrifying past, who became the whore-mistress. I mentioned her in this post on the Manson murders. Cathy is the vehicle for Steinbeck’s musing on evil, and the nature of sheer pure evil. She’s a terrifying construction, supremely evil yes, but still completely believable, not at all a cipher. That is why she scared me so much. She’s not just a symbol. You can tell that Steinbeck is actually getting at something here, he’s looking at a type, a type of person who really does walk the planet. There are some people who are un-redeemable. At least that’s how I remember the Cathy sections.
The second time I read East of Eden was years later. My boyfriend and I read it together. The first time around, I was really just aching for the Cal scenes – because, after all, Jimmy Dean played Cal, and I was in love with Jimmy Dean.
But the second time around, I really got the scope of the book.
It’s nothing less than encyclopedic. Reading Erin’s post has made me think I should read it again.
