Literature

Last night I finished a good book. East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a novel that is not unknown by name, and I know it made it on not a few high school reading lists. I never had the assignment to read this book until our book group selected it recently. Unfortunately, I didn't read the book before we met for the discussion, but about 1/10 of the way into the book, and especially after further discussion, I was intrigued and impressed. Despite knowing all the plot twists and the outcomes, I was still vastly moved by the book.

Themes of good vs. evil, predestination/fate vs. free will, parental responsibilities and roles, sibling relationships, and importance of family are some of the major point of the book. But there was also a beauty in the subtleties, the language, the descriptions of the author's childhood stomping grounds. It is a book of substance, one that makes you think, and one that, once you close that last page, you feel like a better person who has learned something about humanity and life and God.

If you haven't read it, go read it.

"Timshel!"