Steinbeck is a masterful writer. His prose is clear and precise and yet conveys meaning. His characters are alive and well-rounded, he has an excellent ear for dialogue.
I stopped visiting my local bookstore because the owner said she had never read Steinbeck. Their shelves were stocked full of 'romantasy,' and not one Steinbeck book.
California's fertile Salinas Valley is home to two families whose destinies are fruitfully, and fatally, intertwined. Over the generations, between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of the First World War, the Trasks and the Hamiltons will helplessly replay the fall of Adam and Eve and the murderous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
East of Eden was considered by Steinbeck to be his magnum opus, and its epic scope and memorable characters, exploring universal themes of love and identity, ensure it remains one of America's most enduring novels. This edition features a stunning new cover by renowned…
A masterful post-apocalyptic novel set in California. It is almost a cosy-dystopia, following the life of one man and his gathering tribe. The prose is excellent and the dramas of family life are well documented.
I can't believe this book was published in 1949: it feels more like the late '60s or early '70s.
In this profound ecological fable, a mysterious plague has destroyed the vast majority of the human race. Isherwood Williams, one of the few survivors, returns from a wilderness field trip to discover that civilization has vanished during his absence.
Eventually he returns to San Francisco and encounters a female survivor who becomes his wife. Around them and their children a small community develops, living like their pioneer ancestors, but rebuilding civilization is beyond their resources, and gradually they return to a simpler way of life.
A poignant novel about finding a new normal after the upheaval of a global crisis.
A sublime book by Steinbeck's teacher at Stanford. I made a tonne of notes and will use this as a reference for my work this year. Not one for beginners.
She writes like a stern schoolmistress and there is no nonsense in her lessons. I'm going to re-read it asap.
1986 The Writer trade paperback, reprint. Edith R. Mirrielees (Stanford Reminiscences of the First Seventy Years at Stanford University). Notes from an experienced writer -- including examples from the author's own work as well as the work of students -- highlight an easily accessible beginner's guide to the art of story writing.
Since the war—a conflict between England and the Continentals (Europe)—Cornwall is now known as Kernow and is no longer part of England. Lena and Alek’s parents moved to Kernow before the border closed, and Lena, particularly, is desperate to reunite with them. However, she is stuck illustrating propaganda posters for the government, and Alek has been press-ganged into the army.
With Lena becoming increasingly uncomfortable with her role in assisting a despotic regime and Alek's military life, where obeying orders from your superiors is the only thing that matters, the siblings' inevitable drifting apart looks set. They become entangled with the Resistance and a fifth columnist while trying to take control of their own destinies.
