East of Eden - December CC Book Club Selection

[Mary13]

I pulled this from another website (okay, fine, it was Oprah):

As Jackson J. Benson writes in his definitive biography The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer: “[East of Eden] is a book that seems to grip the reader in a special way…Several of those aspects that had aroused the most criticism became, in an odd twist, the very that many readers found the most engaging: the intrusions of the first-person perspective, directly or indirectly, which told the author’s family history; the character of Cathy (which, no matter how unbelievable, is unforgettable); and the blarney-philosophy of the Chinese houseboy, Lee, which has become the particular target of academic criticism.”

I thought the observation was particularly interesting because our discussion so far has covered those three topics. I guess we are typical members of the Steinbeck-reading human race.

Jackson J. Benson appear to be throwin’ a little shade there with his comment about Lee, but it doesn’t diminish my affection or respect for the character. There’s nothing my ancestors loved more than a good, healthy dose of blarney-philosophy.