Oh boy, to read an American saga at a time like this is layered and emotional at times. What a work and what I would give to have everyone in the world read this and marinate on it.

At its basic level, this is a book about two families settling in early California and starting their farms. We follow them through generations and meet a bunch of characters who somehow are all interesting and all deserved a 600 page novel of their own. How does Steinbeck do that? I have no clue, but I would give an arm and a leg to read a novel about Tom or Will or Caleb after the events of this or Abra and her family,… I would stay with these characters for eternity.

On a deeper level, this is a multi-generational family saga that asks you - can you decide to be good or evil? Was it determined for you? And then by who? God? Your parents? Are some people just born straight evil and can they not help their actions? Every character, “good” or “evil” struggles with these questions. Steinbeck gives them biblical names that kind of determine the “camp” they start in and then let them run wild in the story. Adam marries Cathy, the OG evil character of this story. Was Eve evil too? And why was Cathy evil? And is Adam the perfect goodness balance to Cathy / Eve?

Throughout the novel, you can feel Steinbeck himself struggle with choice vs pre-determination and I loved seeing him explore all perspective. Cathy was just born evil, as stated she was born with “some balance wheel .. misweighted, some gear out of ratio. She was not like other people, never was from birth.” I really enjoyed reading her and that there was no “backstory” of why she is who she is. (I get a little tired of every female villain needed a tragic backstory to justify being mean).

But then you have her son Caleb, who thinks he’s born evil, just like his mother, but tries to fight against it his whole life. His journey was heartbreaking and raw and I loved seeing his ups and downs. Having his twin brother, Aron, mirror the father Adam in goodness just adds layers to this. Aron’s goodness comes with a boatload of judgment for everyone less pure as well, so is he even good?

What is even good or bad?

I highly recommend this too for anyone who has a troublesome relationship with a sibling. I do and I found it enlightening and insightful to read about the influence of parents and life on siblings, to see how dynamics between siblings shape the rest of your life. There are not many novels dealing with this topic, especially the topic of having a potential violent sibling, so I was pleasantly surprised seeing it so well thought out here. (You get two sets of brothers, so again, multiple perspectives and multiple outcomes)

As the rambling here shows, this novel packs so much. I could write a whole thesis about it, but generally I’d just say, read it!!!!!!! Don’t leave it on your bookshelf for 10 years like I did!