What is East of Eden by John Steinback about?
East of Eden, in my opinion, contains several stories that interweave throughout the book, but the main story is a loose allegory on the story of Caine and Abel with a dash of the story of the Garden of Eden. The main character tries to set up his own Eden with his pregnant bride in Salinas after enduring a hard and unhappy life. His wife, it turns out, is not quite the Eve he imagines her to be, and their twin sons grow up to inact a similar struggle as Caine and Abel. This book is very well written, though quite hefty, and it contains some excellent insight into human nature and destiny, as well as the battle between good and evil on an internal level. I’ve read it several times for pleasure and even though I know what’s going to happen at each turn, there are still parts so well written they move me to tears or cause me to gasp in shock. Just make sure you stick it out past the first couple of chapters. They are rather descriptive and don’t quite hook you. It’s slow going but the me
