Ships on the Sea: 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck

My whole life, since before I can remember, I have been a reader. The first book I read by myself was George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl, and I have the best memories of hiding under my duvet with a torch, devouring the pages of this incredible book and thinking that reading was just the most magical thing in the world.

'Ships on the Sea' refers to a quote from another of Roald Dahl's books, Matilda (which happens to be Mr. O's favourite book). The quote in full is:

'So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone'.

This post is the first in what I hope will be a series of honest reviews of the books I'm currently reading. I promise never to give too much away, but instead focus on how each book has made me feel and what, if anything, I've taken away from it. I'm always open to recommendations too, so if you think there's a book I might like, please do let me know!

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I have to be honest. Until this year, studying Of Mice and Men for GCSE English Literature had ruined John Steinbeck for me. I really disliked everything about the book - the characters, the large doses of sentimentality and  the inevitability of the story. Not even a visit to Monterey during our Californian honeymoon a couple of years ago could respark an interest in Steinbeck's work. Then, my hipster younger brother gave me a copy of East of Eden for Christmas - argh! I must admit, at first I wasn't sure, but a sense of sisterly duty made me pick this book up a couple of weeks ago and I'm now so grateful to my brother for succeeding where an old English teacher sadly failed.

In many ways, I actually love this book for many of the same reasons that I hated Of Mice and Men. The characters (of which there are many) are...intriguing. There is back story added even for characters which don't really need it, stories within stories which I really enjoyed. There are characters to love, characters to hate and characters to back, endlessly hoping that they will 'come to good'. The book and narrative are sentimental, but beautifully so, creating - in my mind at least - a full picture of the landscapes, the families documented and their loyalties and motivations. It placed me in the Salinas Valley and gave me a ringside seat. And yes, the story often seemed inevitable, but it always came back to the choices that the characters were able to make for themselves.

This is a story about good and evil, of families and the rivalries between the two. It's a story about blood ties, rejection and the choices that we all face - to do what might come easily or to do the right thing; the choices that differentiate humans from other animals. It is also a long story, really long. At times, I wondered if the end was ever going to come and how - if at all - it could all be wrapped up. But, eventually it was, and beautifully so.

Sometimes I'll read a book and know that I've learnt something without knowing exactly what. East of Eden is this sort of book, but one I absolutely loved and would recommend wholeheartedly. If you like books that are epic in the true sense of the word, books about dynasties, history and change and if you haven't already read East of Eden, then please, find yourself a copy of this book very soon.