Old book, but a good one that I had to read for English over the Christmas break. It retells the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible, but sets it in the WWI era of the United States. It is an intriguing story and a strange mix of historical novel/memoir of John Steinbeck.
I would rate this book as PG-13 because of mature themes. The story centers around a few main characters, one of whom becomes a prostitute and later the mistress of the house she works at. Also, there are several suicides.
However, it is an excellent read. My personal favorite character is Lee, the Chinese servant of Adam, who is a philosopher trapped by racial prejudices.
I highly recommend this book, however, it is not for younger readers.
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Cal was the best because he personified one of the stronger themes of the story... I have to read this for AP lit over the summer, and I hated it until the last page. I also liked it a lot more once we did some analysis of it. It has had an influence on me ever since. ^_^ In my play, I named one of the character Catherine, and I will never think of knitting needles the same way again. There was also a section about "black water" that I loved because it was a theme I had thought of myself for a while. Steinbeck is a great writer; it just took me a while to appreciate his talent.
HAPPY!
I completely adore this book.
I like Lee too...my favorite character is probably a tie between him and Sam Hamilton, but I like Cal a lot too.