East of Eden

[Girliefriendlikespuppies]

Anyone else binged this today?

Really enjoyed it, all of the acting is brilliant.

I need to read the book now.

I love the book so much. The Netflix adaptation is good so far. Though not as amazing as the book.

@IzzyLengcan you let me know when you’ve finished the series as I have some questions 🙈😂

We finished it yesterday. Loved it, didn't really know the story so it was all new. Cannot believe Cathy was so evil.

Absolutely incredible, story and acting, I’ve one last episode to watch.

The full rounding out of so many of the characters is so well done. It is actually noticeably stand out unusual because characters are usually more obviously good or bad characters but it is a key theme of Steinbecks story. It does make most of the characters somewhat unlikeable because he has gone to such extremes with their flaws so you can’t miss his point.

I need to read the book.

I think Cathy was evil but also the suggestion is she was deeply traumatised (sexually abused at a young age.) I think all empathy disappeared and she continued to use sex as a weapon.

Did she kill her parents?

I thought it showed generational trauma really well, from both parents. Cathy actually did the safest thing she could do by leaving her sons.

I have a couple of episodes to finish, not read the book and only the James Dean film version previously which is a much smaller part of the book. It's very good

I can’t wait to watch this, it’s my all time favourite book. I hope Cathy is as evil as she is in the novel - she’s an absolute psychopath

I have this on my watch list. I read the book over 40 years ago and couldn't put it down. Thank you for the reminder.

I stayed up til 1am this morning watching this and it's excellent. Every single actor disappeared into their character and gave an excellent performance. They deserve all the awards...

Ok, I’ve finished it. Superb acting all round.

I didn't think that Cathy was sexually abused in the book and she definitely killed her parents. She's an absolutely dreadful character. Certainly in the books. No redeeming features whatsoever.

Came across this by chance - never read the book. Wow what a great drama. Mesmerising!

@LittleJustice yes she was, when she followed the boy/man into the trees.

She also said - something bad happened to me when I was a little girl.

Did her dad sexually abuse her? Thought it was implied.

Is that in the book because I specifically remember her framing two little boys for sexual abuse but they didn't actually do it.

I have only very recently read the book and Steinbeck makes it very clear that nothing made her that way she was just born evil

Oh apparently Netflix have added a backstory for her but in the book she is just evil. It is very specific that nothing has happened to her to make her that way.

I don’t remember any implication of rape/abuse as a child in the book. Even though she said something bad had happened to her as a child she’s an unreliable liar who says stuff to make people feel,sorry for her. Early on when trying to gain the trust/love of Adam she very much wants to paint herself as a victim so he feels he has to save her.

Is anyone born evil though?

She is not sympathetically played at all even with a backstory, I winced when she said something about chucking the baby’s in a pit for all she cared. Absolutely no empathy or ability to love.

I wasn’t sure whether she’d deliberately killed her parents, she’s got quite a body count then, 3 murders and 1 attempted murder?!

Did she punish the bloke who hurt one of the other prostitutes? I wasn’t clear on what happened to him.

I got the impression she was a dominatrix and made him be a sub to her.

The Book Club podcast recently did an in depth episode on the book. Worth a listen.

Finished it this evening, thought it was terrific.

I finished it this evening and thought it was an incredible series - fantastic performances from everyone. Terrific casting.

I always got the impression she’d killed her parents on purpose.

i think Steinbeck said he’d intended for the depiction of Cathy was that she was born evil. So a true sociopath/psychopath. No feelings at all for others.

Theres meant to be a mirroring of the bible in the overall theme of the book. Just look at the title of the book. Adam is Adam. There was discussion of his twins being named Cain and Able. The Salinas valley is the garden of Eden. Is Cathy meant to be the devil? Pure evil.? She’s certainly no Eve! Unless she’s meant to be Eve who has given in to temptation and become a much darker figure? I suppose she does bring sin into Adam’s life.

I think this might be Florence Pugh’s best role. I love her in everything but never seen her in a role like this, she was magnificent. I also really liked the actor who played Lee