Shelf Life

For years Steinbeck has been a favorite author of mine, but it wasn’t until recently that I read East of Eden and truly discovered his craft as a master storyteller.

East of Eden is the ultimate story of good versus evil. The majority of the story takes place in California’s Salinas valley and it chronicles the lives of two families, the Hamiltons and the Trasks. These two families live on neighboring farms and their paths cross from time to time. The Hamilton family is close knit and learns to survive on the rough terrain of the valley. The Trask family is far from close and brings us to the heart of the struggle between good and evil. Adam and Charles Trask are two brothers who find it difficult to get along due to the jealousy Charles has of Adam. (The relationship between the two brothers echoes the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible.) In the midst of the turbulent relationship between these brothers, we meet one of Steinbeck’s most colorful characters, Cathy Ames. Cathy literally crawls into the story severely beaten and left for dead by her former boyfriend. Though she comes into the story as a victim of abuse, Cathy soon proves to be an evil temptress and manipulator. She is married to Adam Trask and brings nothing but trouble to the Trask family from the moment she marries him, sleeps with his brother, gives birth to twin boys, Aaron and Caleb, and becomes a prostitute. From here the story of the Trask family continues on as Aaron and Caleb grow up unaware of their mother, the very successful Madam. The struggle between good and evil also continues to rage throughout this novel as the Trask brothers deal with love, jealousy and acceptance.

By Miss Yates