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Title: A ludicrous pot-boiler
Review: "East of Eden" appeals to the unthinking reader like few so-called "classics" out there. The characters are either very, very bad or very, very good; everyone talks portentiously; readers are given to understand that Steinbeck means to teach us Important Lessons. But there's really nothing to be learned from Steinbeck's black-and-white world; his novel has no connection to reality as we know it. "East of Eden" belongs in the "must to avoid" category; do yourself a favor and, if you insist on having a basic understanding of this book, wait until your children are reading it in high school and get yourself the Cliff Notes. I promise you won't miss a thing.
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