Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of Americas greatest writers and cultural figures. We have begun publishing his many works for the first time as blackspine Penguin Classics featuring eye-catching, newly commissioned art. This season we continue with the seven spectacular and influential books East of Eden, Cannery Row, In Dubious Battle, The Long Valley, The Moon Is Down, The Pastures of Heaven, and Tortilla Flat. Penguin Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readersand to the many who revisit them again and again.
This book is a 600 page masterpiece. This book grabbed my attention from start to finish. I read it in 1 week. It did get a little slow during the middle of the book. But I feel Steinbeck wrote that in as a plateau for such a mountain of a book. He is a true artist with every word & sentence. He draw's the scene out with a paint brush with fine brush strokes. Then when the scene is finished. He let's the great character's speak. They speak with true life meanings and lessons. I stopped reading for many years and this book is going to inspire me to keep reading for the rest of my life. But I don't think any book will live up to the masterpiece of this book. I will probally compare the rest of my readings to this book and find nothing will compare to it. I will surely read everything he has wrote and find joy in each one.
writes,
I read all the bad reviews and this is my answer to them. Why should I care about these characters? Because these characters are you and all the people in your boring insignificant life, why should we care about you?
Why is the book so long? Why is life so long? Because it is...
The essential lesson that I felt Steibeck was trying to hit home through all his meandering is that life essentially is everything, it is right, wrong, predetermined, self determined, selfish and selfless. Everything has reason and absolutely no reason at all. It makes no sense but its your job as a human to be a good person and try to go beyond the circumstances that life presents you. The only destiny you have is the one you make and he couldn't just say that because that's not how people learn. People learn by doing messed up and evil things or great good things and that's just it. Steinbeck is explaining the purpose of life in this book, maybe you should give it another go.
writes,
Simply put, this book is a masterpiece and is my all-time favorite book. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
