East of Eden

“A moving, crying pageant with wilderness strengths.” —Carl Sandburg

“A fantasia of history and myth.” —New York Times Book Review

“A novel planned on the grandest possible scale…One of those occasions when a writer has aimed high and then summoned every ounce of energy, talent, seriousness, and passion of which he was capable…It is an entirely interesting and impressive book.” — New York Herald Tribune

“One of [Steinbeck’s] greatest novels, a saga about the meaning of life that encompasses the best and worst of what it means to be human.” —BookReporter.com

Richard Poe’s performance of EAST OF EDEN, John Steinbeck’s allegory of Cain and Abel, is a masterpiece. Although not the critical success of some of Steinbeck’s other works, this is a title that every audiobook aficionado should experience. The novel is about characters, and about “character,” which Poe clearly understands. He reads as though inhabiting the psyches of the two generations of Trask men around whom the story revolves: Charles and Adam, and Caleb and Aron. Where Poe truly excels, however, is with his portrayals of other key figures, in particular, Lee, the Trasks’ loyal servant, friend, and confidante, and Cathy Ames, whom Adam marries, only to be betrayed in more than biblical ways. The book is long but moves at a surprisingly brisk pace for such a dense yet thoroughly accessible work. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award; 2004 Audie Award Winner —AudioFile