This past month, I finished reading John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” concluding the three books of his that I’ve always wanted to read. I started, like many others, with “Of Mice and Men,” and it was a perfect introduction to Steinbeck’s work. Second, I read “The Grapes of Wrath,” which had profound themes of perseverance, sacrifice, and the dangers of corporate greed. It was fascinating to dive into Steinbeck’s views on capitalism and to focus more on the collective “we” when facing adversity (and merely calling the Dust Bowl adversity is an understatement). His portrayal of Ma Joad and of how she was the strength that held the family together was beautiful. The raw imagery Steinbeck used in the novel was an artistic way to convey his strong left-leaning political views and his empathy for working-class Americans of the time. As much as I appreciated “The Grapes of Wrath,” it felt more like a period piece than a compelling story that sank its hooks in me and refused to let me put it down.
With the conclusion of The Grapes of Wrath, I jumped 14 years later into Steinbeck’s career with East of Eden. I have to agree with Steinbeck that East of Eden is his magnum opus. Seeing the evolution of his writing and viewpoints from “Of Mice and Men” to “The Grapes of Wrath” and, finally, “East of Eden” was a treat. I knew the book was special after chapter three, which is also my favorite chapter in any novel I’ve ever read. Every character jumped off the page; the prose was extraordinary, and the retelling of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel was done masterfully. I look forward to returning to Steinbeck’s work at a later stage in my life and analyzing his books from an older, more mature perspective. Timshel! (What an ending!)
Until that day comes, I plan to continue my study of classical writing and authors. As an introduction to Ernest Hemingway, I have started reading “A Farewell to Arms.” I picked up this book on vacation in San Diego at a small bookstore in La Jolla, and as soon as I walked in, I was told I had to surrender my phone. The older gentleman, whom I assume was the owner, made it a policy that his store should be a “detox” zone from social media and electronics. I’m not sure if this is a common policy in bookstores throughout the world, but I admit I enjoyed it. It wasn’t a big store, but the variety of literature and tall, dark brown wooden shelves somehow made the space massive. I easily could have gotten lost between those three rows of books and might not have been found unless I came out myself. I asked the owner what a good start for Hemingway was, and he cupped his chin for all of two seconds before raising a finger in the air, asking me to follow him, and presented to me the book I currently have beside me. The owner told me that some of Hemingway’s best work was his short stories, so I am excited to dive into those after “A Farewell to Arms.”
This feels like a good spot to speak a little bit about what I’ve been working on. I recently wrote a short story called “Abby Buchanan.” It is about a little girl who deals with the devil. For this story, I hired a professional editor to look it over and give me some feedback on what was working and what he believed needed some work. Instead of sharing this short story on my blog, I decided to try my hand at getting it published in a literary magazine. There is much I can say about this project, but I am hopeful for the work to speak for itself in a future publication. As hopeful and optimistic as I am in accomplishing this, there is always that unshakable feeling, “Am I good enough?” This self-doubt is common among writers and everyone dreaming of sharing their creative work with the world, but when feelings like these arise, it’s important to remember why you started this journey in the first place.
These last six months have been somewhat productive but not as much as they probably could have been. For the first time since I’ve started this blog, I did not meet the deadline to post (I partly blame my growing chess addiction). And as we approach the release of Rockstar’s newest game (must I really give further details for you to know which video game I’m talking about?) I imagine my list of distractions will grow and affect my time for writing and reading. It seems the older I get, the quicker the year goes by. I’m not sure how we are already in July, but here we are. I remain optimistic about the remaining six months of this year and look forward to getting to the books on my TBR list.
TBR:
1. Beloved by Toni Morrison
2. Lonesome Dove by Larry Mcurty
3. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
4. The Damned by Joris-Karl Huysmans
See ya next month!
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