Two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, replay the Cain-and-Abel story across generations in California's Salinas Valley, as brothers compete for a father's love and a monstrous mother haunts the next generation.
Books mentioned in East of Eden (5)
Inferno by Dante Alighieri: “He had no idea where he had got his picture of academic life— perhaps from the Doré illustrations of Dante's Inferno with its massed and radiant angels.”
The Winning of Barbara Worth by Harold Bell Wright: “He sat up in bed and read seven chapters of The Winning of Barbara Worth, and when it was daylight he went down to the silent kitchen and made a pot of coffee.”
Principles of Psychology by William James: “It's called The Principles of Psychology and it's by an Eastern man named William James.”
Book of Common Prayer: “And on the floor were two books, the hymnal and the Book of Common Prayer, one on top of the other.”
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: ““What’s that book you’re hiding?” “Here, I’m not hiding it.” “Oh! Alice in Wonderland. You’re too big for that.” Cathy said, “I can get to be so little you can’t even see me.””