I often find myself giving 5 stars to big books way more often than smaller ones, I think because you spend so long with the characters that you feel like you know them and when the time comes to part from them... Well, it’s hard to say the least.
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But don’t get me wrong, I didn’t love this book just because I spent a lot of time with it! I thought it was exquisitely well written - it didn’t read at all like a 720 page biblical retelling published in the 1950s, which I mean as a good thing! I was pulled in to the writing from the very start, and Steinbeck’s ear for dialogue is great! I didn’t love the instances where Lee, a Chinese immigrant, was reduced to Pidgin, but these are few and far between thankfully, as it’s revealed he uses it as a defence mechanism against those who, in turn of 20th century America, will only see and hear what they want to see and hear.
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The characters are obviously the strongest point of the novel. Samuel was a joy, Adam intriguing, Cal complex, Lee inspiring and intelligent, and Cathy... Oh man. I love a female villain and Cathy was just one of the most twisted, calculating, sheer interesting characters I’ve ever encountered and I could have read her forEVER.
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Described as a modern retelling of Cain and Abel, this book spans several generations of two families whose lives become irrevocably intertwined. It’s one of those ones that I would recommend everyone give a try at least once - it may not be for you, but you never know until you try, do you?