Hi friends, I finished East of Eden exactly a year ago today and I haven’t had a book top it since.
I went back and read my Goodreads review and this paragraph sums it up perfectly: “This book has everything. Familial and romantic love, murder, envy and vengeance, heartbreak and depression, coming of age and hope for the future. It takes you through what it’s like to be human and gives you hope that you can change the fundamental things about yourself that disappoint you. It’s full of very verbose descriptions and deep life lessons. It’s long and wide and covers multiple families over generations. You get to know the inner thoughts and emotions of even the most minor characters in a very raw, vulnerable way.”
Can anyone recommend a book that at least comes close to East of Eden? Looking to get swept away. TIA!
by mackittty
3 Comments
Try one of the Susan Howatch novels- Wheel of Fortune, Penmarric or Cahelmara. The writing is not on par with Steinbeck, but there are the same themes of multi generational themes and all of the things you loved about East of Eden (another of my absolute favorites)
I really liked Great Circle in terms of a western family epic spanning the century and about siblings. Not everyone will see the connection, but for me it has somewhat the soul of EoE.
You’ll want to read Angela’s Ashes. It’s an autobiography, not fiction, but I feel like it hits a lot of the same themes.