East of Eden

Hardcover, 601 pages

English language

Published 2002 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:
978-0-14-200065-6
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OCLC Number:
48177186

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(5 reviews)

In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

Adam Trask came to California from the East to farm and raise his family on the new rich land. But the birth of his twins, Cal and Aaron, brings his wife to the brink of madness, and Adam is left alone to raise his boys to manhood. One boy thrives nurtured by the love of all those around him; the other grows up in loneliness enveloped by a mysterious darkness.

First published in 1952, East of Eden is the work in …

42 editions

Zwischen Schuld, Freiheit und Staub – Steinbeck hat mein Herz erwischt

Jenseits von Eden ist kein Buch, das man einfach mal so liest. Es ist ein Buch, das mit einem spricht. Flüstert. Brüllt. Und manchmal schweigt – aber genau dann trifft es am tiefsten.

Ich habe es aufgeschlagen, ohne viel zu wissen, und plötzlich war ich mitten in Kalifornien. Zwei Familien, die Trask und die Hamiltons, ihre Generationen, ihre Fehler, ihre Hoffnungen. Es geht um Liebe. Um Hass. Um das Ringen mit dem eigenen Schatten.

Was mich gepackt hat, war diese einfache, große Frage: Sind wir frei, anders zu handeln als unsere Eltern? Oder sind wir verdammt, das Gleiche zu wiederholen?

Steinbeck schreibt so, dass du die Hitze auf der Haut spürst, den Staub zwischen den Zähnen hast. Seine Figuren sind nicht perfekt – aber gerade deshalb echt. Samuel Hamilton habe ich geliebt. Cathy habe ich gefürchtet. Caleb hat mir das Herz gebrochen.

Und dann dieses Wort: Timschel. „Du kannst.“ Nicht …

One of the best books I ever read

This book was recommended to me when I mentioned to a friend that I search for a page-turner with depth. And boy did this book deliver. I found it gripping and now that I completed it I'm deeply fascinated by this book and tempted to start right over. East of Eden follows the story of two families and artfully layers complex ideas of inter generational guilt, free will, relationships, and moral ambiguity in a way I rarely seen before. Yes, this book takes inspiration from the biblical story of Cain and Abel but that is merely scaffolding and provides a philosophical framework to think deeper about the questions it asks. Steinbeck writes beautiful prose that gave me quote after quote I did not want to forget. He created rich images in my mind, it felt like every word had purpose.

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