Comments (49)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 49 items
Dec 02, 2023jasnadzinic rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A classic!
Oct 31, 2023ShantelleL rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. It’s a lengthy read, but I don’t think that it feels like it at all. Steinbeck’s characters and scenes are written so well that it feels like you are stepping into the Salinas Valley.…
Feb 06, 2023pacl_teens rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
""East of Eden" by John Steinbeck is an epic novel that will transport you to the Salinas Valley and immerse you in the lives of the Trask and Hamilton families. The story is rich with themes of identity, redemption, and the ongoing battle…
May 14, 2022
This is a Steinbeck Book written after "Grapes of Wrath". The Setting is in central California around the turn of the century. The turn of the century is the 19th, into the 20th. It is basically about two families, the Hamiltons and the…
Dec 03, 2021jamieleong rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
One word, wow. First time reading a classic book, and I’m in awe. The three generation that we follow through in this book, and the true meaning of “timshel”.
Oct 15, 2021MonicaYRLiu rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
East of Eden is one of my favorite books. It focuses on two different families in Salinas Valley, California—the Trask and the Hamilton. Adam Trask grows up in a farm with his brother Charles and his sinful father Cyrus, who forcefully…
May 21, 2021SusyHendrix rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I'm not that big into Steinbeck, but this is one of the best and most rewarding novels I have ever read. I felt as though I really got to know the people within the pages and the biblical level scale of the drama was so engrossing.
Apr 06, 2021tubbyprotege88 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
East of Eden has everything- sex, violence, betrayal- within a truly transporting turn of the century California setting, and all with an epic scope. It’s never boring and I was truly blown away by how much I enjoyed it.
Sep 09, 2020Sean_Exon rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
East of Eden is a fictional novel about the Hamilton and Trask families in central California in the Salinas Valley. Steinbeck used some of his family members as characters in this book. Samuel Hamilton, patriarch of the Hamilton family…
Jul 02, 2020kathylock rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I like the way Steinbeck writes. His development of the characters is good. I really liked the saga of the families.
Jun 23, 2020jazminefinuliar04 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
East of Eden, written by renowned author John Steinbeck revolves around the lives of three generations of two interwoven families, better known as the Trasks and the Hamiltons. The Trasks, which consist of Cyrus and Alice and their two…
May 13, 2020TEENREVIEWCREW rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
East of Eden is a novel by John Steinbeck, who is a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Touching upon complex themes such as the everlasting cycle of sin, the twisting roots of parent-children relationships, and the capacity of a…
Feb 06, 2020tgosche rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Interesting likeable book. Steinbeck descriptions of scenery and the time period flow with color and life. Two or three dry spots but we'll worth the read.
Jan 28, 2020BeckyR21 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Not the greatest book ever written.. perhaps my expectations were too high because of all the glowing reviews. Long and wordy. Slow. So many of the characters had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, perhaps well developed, but not endearing…
Dec 01, 2019
Oprah top ten (probably 2000-2010 list??) Books That Made a Difference to Oprah For someone who describes herself as "inspired, challenged, and sustained" by books, it was almost impossible for Oprah to stay within our limit of 10. Here…
Sep 01, 2019
Wait for Steph
Aug 31, 2019smatte rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
No writer epitomizes America in all of its pain, glory, tragedy, contradiction, and diversity quite like John Steinbeck, and East of Eden may accomplish this summation of Americana more than any of his other work. To be sure, the novel is…
Jul 29, 2019jmli rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I usually don't enjoy these kinds of books, but East of Eden's ideas were pretty good. The ending is particularly stunning and probably one of the best conclusions I've read this year.
Dec 14, 2018FreshEyre rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I try to read a couple edifying books/capital-L Literature every year. East of Eden rates highly, so I went for it. I vaguely remember reading Steinbeck in school, but must have been thinking of another author because I was expecting a…
Mar 14, 2018SPPL_Betsy rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
John Steinbeck sets this family saga in California’s Salinas Valley, the same region his mother’s family settled after leaving Ireland. In fact, the Hamilton family portrayed in East of Eden is based on Steinbeck’s maternal side of the…
Aug 16, 2017travelerinspace rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A rather long book, but by far my favorite Steinbeck novel. Very descriptive detailing of the families in the story across three generations.
Aug 14, 2017Andrew Kyle Bacon rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
(very slight spoilers contained herein) Each summer I try to undertake a somewhat rigorous (rigorous for me anyway), reading program which culminates in reading an epic tome of one sort or another. Last summer my tome was Dostoyevsky's…
Jul 18, 2017
East of Eden is one of my favourite books of all time. It is perhaps Steinbeck’s greatest novel. The characters in the novel are developed in such a manner that it feels personal. The story is a multigenerational tale that follows the…
Jun 05, 2017clairemars rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I had been putting off reading this book, since I had previously abandoned reading Grapes of Wrath because of the slow, dry style of writing in the beginning; however, East of Eden was captivating from the first few chapters. The story…
Nov 27, 2016melanith rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This was a long book and I finished it!! Yay! It was a good book but slow at times. It was a decent read. A classic and I am happy I got through it. Not an adventurous or intriguing book but a good saga. If you want a good classic it…