brendamn's Reviews (370)

This book brings with it a horrifying perspective of the 19th century Texas landscape. Many of the places that a referenced here, as well as names, will be immediately familiar to anyone who has spent a bit of time in the state. Though it is through a lens of the bloody affairs of the Texas frontier that it is all seen through.

The sheer magnitude of death and general ugliness in this book lent towards what made it difficult for me to read in the beginning (along with getting all the various Indian tribes in context), though ended up gradually getting used to it. This book shows all that happened without hiding anything, or trying to make anything sound not as bad as it actually was. And it was also this book that made me realize how often media has done this while covering this, and I can't really blame those who did.

Regardless the book is amazing. Offers a very clear and honest view of what happened between Comanches and the people of 19th century Texas. It is a hard book to read, but incredibly worth it.

The cover of my copy emphasized East of Eden as "the book that created Cathy -- The most evil woman in fiction." Now while there is of course much more to the book than one particular character, this claim nevertheless had a subliminal effect. This claim made me acutely aware of Cathy's role in the book, and consequentially it is one of the elements I am more prepared to offer analysis on.

Regardless that the claim seems similar to how every pizza shop in a city says it has the best pizza ever I still feel I must point out that no, she is not the most evil character in fiction. Even though everything she had done was horrible, she at least towards the end showed some form of regret, or at the least a realization that she was not happy with her actions. It had a sort of humanizing effect. I am sure there are better examples out there, but in regards to what I have read myself I haven't come across a character that surpasses Nurse Ratchet from Cuckoo's Nest when it comes to evil.

Other than that, the other element of the book which really struck a chord for me was Steinbeck's interpretation of the story of Cain and Abel. Cal offering the money and what I can best describe as Aron just generally engendering pride in Adam I thought was pretty great symbolism of Cain and Abel's offerings to God. Adam's reaction and explanation for why he did not want the money is what really changed my perspective. It really hit home what was explored earlier in the book, that it wasn't that Cal who was being rejected wholesale but rather the judgment was passed on the offering itself. That the means of procuring the money was more important and more valuable than the money itself.

For the most part I thought the book was good, but not great. Though when I got to the end and all loose ends were resolved that is what really convinced me of East of Eden's greatness. The characters were vibrant, relatable, and unique. I feel like through the stories the characters tell and their observations Steinbeck did something close to breaking the fourth wall. The characters themselves discussed the same stories and themes that Steinbeck was approaching as well. For example two characters might discuss between themselves say the idea of morality, and then throughout the book Steinbeck would explore that same idea within those character's story archs.

It was an incredible book, maybe not one of my absolute favorites, but definitely one I would say made a valuable impact on me.

What Evicted shows is that without stable, dependable housing everything falls to ruin. It is an incredibly vicious cycle that those who get stuck in it almost never get out, it becomes a lifelong reality. Having evictions on your record severely limits your choices for living arrangements, and the housing choices that you are left with are dangerous or practically uninhabitable. It is not that eviction causes poverty that is key to understanding the crux of the issue, but rather how it keeps people in poverty.

The lengths that Matthew Desmond went to for this book are absolutely remarkable, his commitment and dedication to seeing this project through is honestly what I find most extraordinary. The contents of this book are almost entirely a firsthand account, though he masterfully and carefully was able to write himself out of it entirely. The stories in this book are quite painful to read, but I can not imagine how it must have been to experience first-hand.

Fast paced, fun, and easy read centered around the by now well known logic puzzle in the middle.

This book feels like It's a Wonderful Life, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and The Wizard of Oz all blended together, layered with the theory of parallel universes. It was charming and thoughtful, and provides for a lot of introspection. It does feel like a self-help book, as another reader pointed out, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The ending was super predictable, though that is alright too.