East of Eden cover art

East of Eden

Penguin Modern Classics

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East of Eden

By: John Steinbeck, David Wyatt - introduction
Narrated by: Simon Manyonda
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'There is only one book to a man,' Steinbeck wrote of East of Eden, his most ambitious novel. Set in the rich farmland of the Salinas Valley, California, this powerful, often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - whose generations hopelessly re-enact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity; the inexplicability of love and the murderous consequences of love's absence.

©1952 John Steinbeck (P)2022 Penguin Audio Classics Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Tear-jerking
All stars
Most relevant
Loved the narration, kept my interest throughout. Great book and the narrative makes you draw parallels in your own life with its weaving of biblical paradox’s and the human condition throughout an epic story. Excellent

Philosophy and drama

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Timeless classic, leaves a lasting impression with deep moral questions and vivid characters and story line.
The narrator is easy to listen to.

A classic must read

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What a superb life lesson. By reading twice it made so much more sense. So painful to see how our earlier generations lived by the bible and chastised themselves and even to suicide for the wrongs they perceived in their natures. This story covers many intertwined families, showing us we are simply flawed humans. I guess we all crave family love and acceptance and this can shape our behaviour right through our lives. John’s insite makes him an excellent author. Thank you for this wonderful book.

Read it twice to get the most from it. Wonderful, just wonderful……

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I first read East of Eden years ago, in the late 60's, and have re-read it a few times over the years. I consider it to be one of Steinbeck's best works.
This was my first time listening to it in audiobook format.
I found myself straining to find the same recognition and enjoyment I had experienced reading the book, but it was so difficult getting past this narrator's voice and forced accents!
Why did Simon Manyonda, a British actor, feel he had to assume an unreliable American accent to narrate this book? That unnatural accent jarred from the very beginning and it got so much worse when he attempted to voice other regional accents, eg Sam's Hamilton's Irish or another's French accented English.
But, the worst, the most insulting to the ear, were Manyonda's various female voices! Screeching or whinging or nasal, none of the female characters' voices 'worked' and some of them (eg Dessie's) were positively painful to hear.
Perhaps it would have been better if Simon Manyonda had simply narrated in his own pleasant voice (which we can hear in the credits), but we will never know, unless he tries again. He needs to improve his performance of female voices and widen his ability to produce regional accents.
As it stands, this audiobook does not do justice to John Steinbeck's great words.

Classic Steinbeck, epic story (pity about the narration)

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The book itself is beautiful but I think what really made me connect with this book is was the narrator. Simon Manyonda was a perfect choice to narrate this book. Will definitely read this again.

Loved this book! Will read again for sure.

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Everyone has already written about how great this book is and I stand with them in agreement. What I would like to pay particular attention to is the impressive narration by Simon Manyonda. Just when I thought Steinbeck’s work couldn’t get any better, Simon comes and elevates the book to new heights. The life he brings to his reading; the accents, the emphasis, the storytelling - absolutely superb. Well done, Simon.

Amazing

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This story is one of my all time favourites, however this narrator tries to do voices and accents. They shouldn't. Some of his female voices could be made more pleasant by replacing them with nails scratching a chalkboard

Awesome story but...

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The book deserves its classic status, but is more approachable than many classics. interesting treatment of nature vs nurture, with free will thrown into the mix.

The narrator starts using a flat "this is important " tone on most every sentence, but gets better over time. His character voices irritated me, especially for female characters and Lee.

A great book, deserves better narration

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Great family saga. Never heard of this book before but it was very interesting. The narrator was also very good with the different voices and accents. Never thought I could follow and finish a 26 hour audiobook but I did!

Excellent listen

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One of the best things you can do with your life. This is a novel that is hard to put down. It has some of the more memorable characters in literature, and is rich with Steinbeck’s stripped back, yet vivid prose. Strong narration too.

A Literary Achievement

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