East of Eden

[Happyinheels]

Oh my goodness! I neeeeeed to find my people to talk about this!

Binge watched the series on Netflix today (off work poorly!).

And wow! How incredible? I’m ashamed to say it’s a classic that I’ve never read so can’t compare it to the book. Anyone read the book and watched the series? How does it compare?

I found myself broken in pieces so many times. And soooo many layers to this saga!

Come my people!!!! Talk to me!

There was no event at age 5 in the book - this is it’s power, as a modern person you are left wondering what could possibly have happened to make her so awful and you keep expecting there to be an explanation and none comes. That’s part of the power of the book and it’s a shame they had to pander to modern audiences in the show and bring in SA. I’m disappointed to read that.

That is interesting as I haven't read either but really couldn't get into Grapes of Wrath at all. Even tried the Audiobook but the accent grated too much and I have now given up.

I’m the opposite - given when Steinbeck was writing (1940s I think it was written), and the era it portrayed, I thought having a character like Cathy was amazing. I’ve not come across a depiction of a woman like that in literature of that time.

Re Caleb - I was questioning myself as to what he had done that was so terrible to make him seem like the black sheep. And when Aron confronted him on the steps about him being selfish I was confused at the irony considering Aran had not long since had the conversation with Caleb to say that he wasn’t going to go back to university despite knowing it would break his father - when he said it was his life, not his fathers.

I also loved Li and Sam and would have liked to know more about their stories.

I would also be interested to hear people’s thoughts on why Cathy left everything to Aron (Aaron??) and not to both of them…

I wondered if it was because she saw Adam in Aron and it made her feel guilt? And somehow she was trying to make up for her behaviour? And that she knew leaving the money and business to Caleb could destroy him?

Yes!!! Having discovered that on this thread I too have expressed my disappointment! It feels very much like they felt they had to give the audience a reason to feel empathy towards Cathy. It really changes Steinbeck’s version of Cathy - for whom there was no apparent reason for her behaviour except that she was simply a terrible person.
Really have to get the book!!

Me too 😊 I ploughed doggedly through the damn thing but just never got the love for it. But I can see that I am in the minority because loads of people say it's their favorite book of all time. I cannot understand why.

I really did not believe in the Cathy character either no matter everybody's saying that it was wonderful to have such an evil woman character it just felt so unrealistic to me some of the things that she did.

ploughed doggedly through the damn thing- That absolutely sums it up perfectly!
It feels like a constant unrelenting cycle of misery and melodrama.

It’s my favourite book, there’s so much in it. Loads more about the Hamiltons and all their children than in the Netflix series. More about Adam and Charles too, Charles is much nastier in the book. I think Florence Pugh is very good but I think Julia Garner (Osark) would have been fabulous as Cathy.

The James Dean film only covers the very end of the book

@NooNakedJacuzziness i haven’t read the book - how was Charles nastier?

Agree about Cathy. The weakest female character in a novel ever. She is a fantasy scapegoat for something awful in men’s own minds.

@Copyalex- Charles is very jealous of Adam being their father’s favourite. He’s violent and unpredictable and has a lot of rage. A lot is made of his gift to their father of a knife being overshadowed by Adam giving him a puppy. He both loves and hates Adam

I’ve seen it advertised and thought it looked good. Is there lots of sex in it as I hate that. I’m not a prude but I hate it when films or TV rely on sex to boost the ratings.

I enjoyed it - hard to watch in places. Read today that Kate Winslet's son plays Aron.

I e read the book and watched the tv show. Both fantastic. I do love the book. I think the tv series focused on the latter half of the book. The Hamilton were featured more heavily in the book.

cathy as a character reminds me of Villanelle in Killing Eve. Total psychopaths.

Someone asked why Caleb was portrayed as such a bad person. I’m not sure he was. He was definitely the less good of the twins and again is it a continuation of the good vs evil story. One twin takes after his dad and the other has the potential to follow in his mother’s footsteps. Could there be a genetic weakness? But then he comes back and makes better choices.

He’s also jealous as he believes Adam prefers Aron. Again a reflection of Adam’s relationship with his brother and their dad.

the ending of the book picks up on this. With Adam knowing that Caleb has been worried he’s destined to be like his mother. Hence the Timshel blessing. Adam is telling Caleb he has free will, picks his own destiny.

No. I think Aron’s reaction to her upset her. He was moral and hated the brothel, etc. so leaving him her money, knowing how the money had been earned was an act of spite/nastiness. It’s also a repeating of the themes of one parent choosing one child over another. Not only throughout the book but also in the bible God rejects Cain and blesses Abel. Here Cathy rejects Cal and blesses Aron.

I like my bad guys to have a few redeeming features I think. To have someone basically be nothing but a complete psychopath is a bit dull 😅

I loved the book as it was much richer and made Cathy much more interesting.
I also preferred the Jane Seymour/Timothy Bottoms TV series. Jane Seymour made a fantastic Cathy and the rest of the cast were superb.

I did enjoy the Netflix version but the TB series was much better.

Ah I didn’t see it as she did it to be spiteful , yes I thought it unfair. But I did think it was deeper than that.
And yes I totally understand that the theme of parental rejection plays across the 2 generations.

As for those saying about Cathy being dull etc as a psychopath - surely Steinbecks intention is to make us question whether someone be born inherently evil, with no capacity for goodness? And especially a young girl, a woman, a wife and ultimately a mother - all ‘roles’ society typically associates with beauty, goodness, kindness, maternal instinct. Etc

The series has used artistic interpretation and changed something really fundamental in my opinion (which I only found out about on this thread!) I do wonder if my feelings towards Cathy would’ve been different if that early childhood incident wasn’t in it. Whilst it wasn’t an excuse for her behaviour it did make me more understanding towards her as a damaged child.

Oh yes do, it’s excellent!

I binged it to the extent I watched it in 1.25 speed!

It was wonderful. Florence Pugh is hypnotic. Such a dark story and I was gripped. I thought it was going to be like a pride and prejudice type thing. Wow. So so wrong.

I thought it had an oddly feminist thread through it. That this was the only option for Cathy as men were only ever going to use her sexually so this was her only way to get control, and not caring was part of that. Disassociating from life. That she saw Charles as a person she could’ve loved was curious and how he manifested at the end. So tragic throughout.

I agree....she shunned Adam for his innate goodness and was drawn to the darker of the two half brothers, Charles ; maybe 'purity' revolted her by then and she gravitated to her own. it certainly appeared as if she gave herself to him passionately - and poisoned that well for Charles, forever.
Seeing Aaron in the flesh seemed to trigger the final collapse of her lucidity. Cal had protected him, with the story of the wreath which calmed his innocent fret about the burial of his mother...he lies as effortlessly as Cathy...and when Cal took him to the confrontation he shattered all Aaron's sweet childhood dreams and signed his death warrant. It is very thought provoking. "Oh what a wicked web we weave, when we first practise to deceive".

I watched the first episode and loved it but decided to download the book to my kobo so I’ll read it before continuing with the Netflix series!