East of Eden

“It simmers until the end. But months later it boils”

“The writing is beautiful, the story is beautiful, the characters are beautiful. A deeply moving and layered generational epic. No book has stayed with me like this one, only Lonesome Dove has come close! My all-time favorite, I tell everyone I love to read it.”

“a book about how human connection really work. and it is not what we do, but what we choose to be in the end.”

“I literally sobbed at the ending—so beautiful. Lee is my all-time favorite character.”

“tenner”

“I am very late to the party, unfortunately I was born in 2001 and not 1952. just kidding I would've hated it back then. I have not felt this way about a fictional book in a long time. I went into it thinking I would hate it, and now I walk away with it being in my top 5. I hope the new tv show does the book justice, but my hopes are not high.”

“It’s the greatest book ever written!!!!!”

“Thank you Louise Buckley, for being the person to finally get me to read East of Eden. This book will be etched in my mind forever. Totally cinematic and poignant. Love!”

“Thanks @Louise Buckley for the tip! As good as advertised.”

“Goat book”

“Oh how special it is to be truly understood. Steinbeck did his big one. Can’t wait to see Florence Pugh use her charm for evil in the adaptation. 10/10.”

“Best book I’ve ever read hands down.”

“This is my fav book! If you enjoy complex characters, philosophy, contemplating determinism vs freewill, this is the book for you!”

“not even halfway and feel quite endeared to this novel (I also found out thru posting this that Florence Pugh is starring in a Netflix limited series so SIGN ME UP)”

“I can't believe I've waited this long to read this. I don't know where the story is going, but the language is so strong and so beautiful, and the pages turn themselves. This edition, in particular, is a lovely thing to hold and behold.”

“This book changed my perspective. One of the best books I have ever read”

“My vote for the Greatest American Novel. Life-affirming, devastating, moving... A simply perfect work of fiction.”

“I want to tattoo some of the lines from this book on my eyelids so I can see them anytime I close my eyes”

“I just finished this and can't really articulate why I loved this book so much but I was deeply invested in the outcome from the get. It feels pretentious to say that it is the human experience in a book, but hey. The character development is so intentional. The prose is just flowery enough. The language can be problematic at time (not a reason I liked it, just a note). Dragged my feet getting to this one because I had assumptions and you know what they say.”

“not to be dramatic but i was bereft when i finished this”

“Beautiful reflection on human nature, easy to read tale of generational trauma and growth. Classic but feels modern.”

“on my mount rushmore”

“a must. This book explores themes of man’s capacity for good and evil and everything in between. Steinbeck’s writing is a retelling of the book of genesis (not religiously) but rather philosophical. Truly so much to digest; take your time with this book!”

““When a child first catches adults out -- when it first walks into his grave little head that adults do not always have divine intelligence, that their judgments are not always wise, their thinking true, their sentences just -- his world falls into panic desolation. The gods are fallen and all safety gone. And there is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall a little; they crash and shatter or sink deeply into green muck. It is a tedious job to build them up again; they never quite shine. And the child's world is never quite whole again. It is an aching kind of growing.””

“Anyone else excited for the Netflix adaptation? Re-reading before I binge”

“Timshel.”

“Rarely do I agree with a white man’s book being a classic BUT this one?! 🫰🏽”