East of Eden by John Steinbeck
This write up could have gone so many ways. I could sit here and pontificate about the duality of man, and how Steinbeck's novel is one of the best examples of how that concept is expressed in literature. I could also mention how e.e. cummings' poetry is a direct influence on East of Eden. Or I could bring a modern twist on East of Eden by drawing connections between its themes and the modern comic book hero, because the modern comic book hero is dual in nature. He is in constant flux between good and evil. But, I'm not, because that's boring, this isn't English class, and I'm not a professor. What I am going to do is simply ask people to read it. East of Eden is one of those novels that leaves the reader breathless. The book is a master work by a master author. It's prose is completely accessible, Steinbeck doesn't talk past his audience, and it's one of the best American novels ever written.
Classics have a bad reputation. Books like East of Eden usually end up in a dimly lit corner of a bookstore where the only customers are students and professors. This needs to change. I challenge my dear readers to pick up a classic novel. I also will give an out, if the book becomes dull in the first 50 pages, it's okay to abandon it. Reading should be a pleasurable experience slogging through a book isn't fun. Reading shouldn't feel like a chore. This isn't school and as far as I'm concerned no judgement shall be passed. Hell, I've been trying to read A Light in August for two months, but can't get past the first 50 pages. Faulkner and I are like oil and water. We just don't mix.
The next few weeks may be a bit slow for me because I'm studying for the GRE. My test date is December 20th, so I'm switching to light reads for the next 19 days. Right now I'm reading An Abundance of Katherines a lovely YA novel centralized around a road trip. I am creating a reading project for January, and I plan on posting about it some time this weekend. Look for that post sometime on Saturday or Sunday.
This write up could have gone so many ways. I could sit here and pontificate about the duality of man, and how Steinbeck's novel is one of the best examples of how that concept is expressed in literature. I could also mention how e.e. cummings' poetry is a direct influence on East of Eden. Or I could bring a modern twist on East of Eden by drawing connections between its themes and the modern comic book hero, because the modern comic book hero is dual in nature. He is in constant flux between good and evil. But, I'm not, because that's boring, this isn't English class, and I'm not a professor. What I am going to do is simply ask people to read it. East of Eden is one of those novels that leaves the reader breathless. The book is a master work by a master author. It's prose is completely accessible, Steinbeck doesn't talk past his audience, and it's one of the best American novels ever written.
Classics have a bad reputation. Books like East of Eden usually end up in a dimly lit corner of a bookstore where the only customers are students and professors. This needs to change. I challenge my dear readers to pick up a classic novel. I also will give an out, if the book becomes dull in the first 50 pages, it's okay to abandon it. Reading should be a pleasurable experience slogging through a book isn't fun. Reading shouldn't feel like a chore. This isn't school and as far as I'm concerned no judgement shall be passed. Hell, I've been trying to read A Light in August for two months, but can't get past the first 50 pages. Faulkner and I are like oil and water. We just don't mix.
The next few weeks may be a bit slow for me because I'm studying for the GRE. My test date is December 20th, so I'm switching to light reads for the next 19 days. Right now I'm reading An Abundance of Katherines a lovely YA novel centralized around a road trip. I am creating a reading project for January, and I plan on posting about it some time this weekend. Look for that post sometime on Saturday or Sunday.
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