East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck himself said.” It has everything in it I have been able to learn about my craft or profession in all these years.” East Of Edenis one of my favorite American novels because there are so many layers and conflicts which are brilliantly woven into a believable and memorable story. With parallels throughout to the Book of Genesis story of Cain and Abel, Steinbeck writes a story of love, depravity, struggle for acceptance, and guilt, among its other varied themes. Its characters are rich and the writing, superb. I have visited the Salinas Valley and the haunts of Monterey and am a devotee of this writer, one of America’s finest, proven through time.