Though I've read both The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, neither prepared me for this epic masterpiece. It's a rare experience for me to read something made up of wonderful prose and expert storytelling; there are many great authors who write great prose but their plots or stories are almost secondary to the way it's written (Didion, McCarthy), or great stories that focus more on the narrative structure or dramatic telling of a story than the rhythm of the words (Palahniuk, Ford Madox Ford). I read Didion for her sentences, and Palahniuk for whatever fucked up story he's going to tell me next. And I love these great authors, and I love they way they write, I honestly don't think any can hold a flame to this novel.

East of Eden tells the story of two families over a few decades, and though it is set in turn-of-the-century United States, the story is as old as time, as intrinsically human as possible, and positively mythic. It demonstrates the good and evil in everyone (some more good than evil and vice versa), the sad lot of history repeating itself (that Eden is in the title should be a clue), and the inner struggles that have plagued humans since the beginning of time.

While it would seem women take a backseat in the novel, since the main female character is nefariously evil, I still liked her character. She was smart, and I liked reading to see what she would do next.

This book has made its way into my favorites of all time. It's hard to rank my favorites, since I love them all, but with this book I know I'll read it again within the next couple of years. 600 pages has never been read so fast, let me tell you - I need to read it again to mark all my favorite parts and lines!

Highly recommend to everybody.