Sunday Synopsis - East of Eden

 

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book follows the Trask family and one member of that family in particular, Adam Trask. There is a lot of lead-up to the part of the book where Adam moves from Connecticut to the Salinas Valley in California where he can start anew after facing multiple problems in his life. He and his new wife Cathy, move to California. She gives birth to twins. The boys then become dominant characters as they are quite different from each other. Many have compared them to Cain and Abel from the Bible, but it is VERY loosely connected. In California, Adam meets and befriends the Hamilton family who also have intricate relationships that demonstrate the major themes of the book.

The main theme is good versus evil. Through characters and events Steinbeck explores how man's humanity is flawed, the power of free will over fate, and redemption. The author tackles some big existential issues. The characters are not put in a mold, save one, that is purely good or purely bad. There is only one character who fits solidly in the bad guy mold.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone because it truly is worth a read. The ending is a little ambiguous, and the author did this purposely to show that redemption isn't always about others forgiving you, rather that you can find redemption for yourself.

I'm surprised I graduated college with a major in English and never had to read this book. It would make for a great literary analysis. I'm glad to try and catch up with reading classics that were not assigned to me. Just because. If you read it, I hope you like it.


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Random Tuesday

 It's been six days since we buried our mother.  I still find it hard to accept.  I'm sure that's "normal."

I typically have a lot of joy this time of year.  Christmas is such a magical season, and I love it.  We did put up a small tree, about as tall as I am.  I have purchased some gifts.  And Christmas will be fun with the young granddaughters, but this Christmas will be vastly different in my heart.

I suppose I should take comfort knowing that mom is made whole again.  No more pain.  No more tangled wires in her brain.  Her ability to speak coherently, her strength, and her memories restored (I do take comfort that she always knew who we were - we being my husband and I, my sister and her husband, and our children).  I hope she is reunited with my father who died suddenly about 20 years ago.  What I wouldn't give to see him again! I hope they are together now.

Thank you for stopping by.

Grief

 In case you stopped by for an update, a funny cartoon, or a photo, please know that I will be back next week.  I am currently planning my mom's funeral and working through our grief as a family.  Thank you for coming by!

Fun Photos

 From our recent trip to Marfa which is in Far West Texas. (Yes, there's West and Far West!)

El Presario where the cast from the Liz Taylor/Rock Hudson/James Dean movie Giant (1956) lived during filming.

Our "boutique" hotel - really a set of 10 small houses, all different.

Iconic sign and water tower

For more fun photos, visit Image-in-ing, Wordless Wednesday on Comedy Plus, and Wordless Wednesday on Blogspot.

Is it time to put the tree up?

 

Yes, Thanksgiving is in two days, but I am anxious to put my new miniature tree up this year!  Two years ago, my daughter and I went to Decorator's Warehouse in Arlington, Texas.  Huuuuge place.  Dozens of themed trees. One was a mostly pink candy-themed tree called Sweet Shoppe. I would love to have one like that, but I also love my traditional tree, so, this year I bought a 3 foot flocked tree.  I plan to decorate it (not candy themed, necessarily) with pink, light blue, and white, similar to the one I fell in love with pictured below.  I can't wait to put it up!

This will be my inspiration

So, I'm not in a hurry for Thanksgiving to be over except for that one reason.  Actually, I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite meal of the year!  Turkey, dressing (that's what we call it), cranberry jelly, rolls, gravy.  Yum!  I make dressing with cornbread.  How do you make yours, and do you say dressing or stuffing?

Funnies for today:

Don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.  Have a great week and a happy Thanksgiving!