So today I’m starting East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. No, it’s not something I would have curled up to read on my own. It’s required reading for school next year, so I have to get it done at some point this summer. I honestly haven’t read more than a few pages yet but I’m already a bit apprehensive – just from reading the inside jacket. I try not to judge a book by its cover but I’ve never read Steinbeck before and I’m a bit nervous. I haven’t heard the best things about him.

When you’re not a Bible-loving person to say the least and you pick up a book that is apparently about a family reliving the story of Adam and Eve, you have to wonder exactly what you’re getting yourself in for. And I’m going to give it a chance because I don’t really have a choice but I’m intrigued already and hoping it won’t get very preachy about religion and all that good stuff.

To be perfectly honest the first couple of pages almost put me to sleep. It’s just description about where this guy lives, and he’s doing some pretty obvious foreshadowing – “I always found in myself a dread of west and a love of east” (Page 1). Really? Already? Something’s going to happen with those directions, I’m going to go ahead and make that call now.

There was something I found really interesting, however, and that’s the letter Steinbeck wrote to Pascal Covici. I looked up this guy, and apparently he was Steinbeck’s editor, and the box Steinbeck refers to is a box that he delivered the manuscript of East of Eden in.  (source)

So we’ll see how it goes… I’ll be updating later as soon as I actually get time to read more.