Florence Pugh stars in John Steinbeck's 'East of Eden.' What is it about? - USA Today
Seven years after playing Amy in “Little Women,” Florence Pugh is undertaking another iconic literary classic in “East of Eden.”
This year has seen a wave of fresh takes on time-tested works, including Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights.” Now it’s Zoe Kazan’s turn, adapting “East of Eden” just as her grandfather Elia Kazan did in the 1955 film that catapulted James Dean to stardom.
The new Netflix series, out now, stars Pugh as the antagonist Cathy Ames and promises to make her more than “just a monster” by centering her perspective. It also stars Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask and Mike Faist as his brother, Charles Trask.
Before you get swept up into the Salinas Valley, familiarize yourself with the source material.
“East of Eden” is a generational family saga following the Trask and Hamilton families, spanning the Civil War to post-World War I. It begins in the early 20th century as newlywed Adam Trask and his pregnant wife Cathy Ames move to the Salinas Valley in California. The novel continues to follow Cathy and Adam’s twins, Cal and Aron, as they grow up after Cathy abandons the family.
Later chapters provide a backstory for the Trask brothers and Cathy.
Steinbeck’s story draws on biblical themes, reenacting the fall of Adam and Eve and the rivalry between Cain and Abel. The Hamilton family is said to have been inspired by his own, with a young character named “John Steinbeck” appearing briefly in the novel.
John Steinbeck considered “East of Eden” his magnum opus.
The acclaimed American writer is also known for revealing the humanitarian crisis unfolding in California during the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck’s “The Harvest Gypsies” series, which appeared in the San Francisco News in October 1936, exposed the poverty, starvation, crowding and exploitation faced by migrant farmworkers. This reporting became the bones of “The Grapes of Wrath,” Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 novel.
Steinbeck's other best-known work is his novella “Of Mice and Men." He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962.
Steinbeck published many novels, nonfiction books, short story collections and novellas before his 1968 death at 66. Here are all of his books in order of publication:
“The Acts of King Arthur” was an incomplete novel published posthumously eight years after Steinbeck’s death.
Steinbeck’s publishers also released two books of personal writing after he died: “Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters” in 1969 and “Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath” in 1989.
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, covering buzzy releases, chatting with authors and diving into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.
