Oprah loves this book so much she resuscitated her Book Club for it. Carl Sandburg called it “A moving, crying pageant with wilderness strengths.”

We hope to love it just as much.

In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and, according to Amazon, it  indeed does have the “primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. The masterpiece of Steinbeck’s later years, East of Eden is a work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love’s absence.”

East of Eden made it into the movies when Elia Kazan filmed his version of the last two hundred pages in 1955 with James Dean playing Cal.  Contracts have been signed for a new film version, this time as a two-part movie of the whole novel starring Jennifer Lawrence.  I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for it though—Jennifer Lawrence is obligated to do two more “Hunger Games” films first.

I snagged a few clips from YouTube I thought were interesting (sorry about the commercials). It’s quite apparent Elia Kazan felt free to take, um, liberties with the book.

Here’s the trailer:

This scene with Cal and Adam will seem familiar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOgkwzoYxac

But this scene between Cal and Abra makes a familiar point in an unfamiliar way:

And what seems to be the conclusion of the film is far more Kazan than Steinbeck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fXmDNp7ZeM