East of Eden – John Steinbeck

East of Eden by John Steinbeck is considered one of America’s great literary classics along with his other treasured book The Grapes of Wrath. According to Steinbeck’s third wife, Steinbeck considered East of Eden his magnum opus. He further claimed: “I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this.”

I think its reputation as one of the ‘greatest books of the 20th century’ is richly deserved. It’s an epic novel of 601 pages and my mind was swimming in the complex tapestry Steinbeck wove of these two families, namely the Tresks and the Hamiltons. A very well received screen adaptation was made of the book starring legendary protagonist of Rebel Without a Cause James Dean playing ‘Cal’. Upon being introduced to James Dean on the set, author John Steinbeck exclaimed, “Jesus Christ, he IS Cal!” Interestingly, the film only covers the latter part…