Book fans on social media are recommending John Steinbeck's 1952 family saga novel East of Eden as an addictive read that is so gripping people finish it within hours. The novel, widely regarded as Steinbeck's most ambitious work and considered by the author himself to be his magnum opus, was among the top suggestions in a Reddit thread asking for books that would "consume" a reader's time.
Readers share their reactions
In the Reddit post, one user asked for "addictive" book recommendations, saying: "What's a book you couldn't put down? Need something addictive. Looking for my next obsession. Not just a 'good book'. I mean the kind that hijacks your brain, where you're thinking about it at work and sneaking pages in when you shouldn't. Doesn't matter what genre, I just want to be consumed by it. What's the book that did that to you?"
After one person suggested East of Eden, another added: "I just finished reading this a month ago. It was so good, and it's stayed with me, I think about it all the time." Someone else said: "Reading this right now. So good!" A third declared: "Best book of all time!"
What the novel is about
East of Eden is a family saga that chronicles the lives of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven stories. The novel is believed to be based on the real-life family of Samuel Hamilton, Steinbeck's grandfather, and a young Steinbeck himself appears briefly in the book as a minor character.
The story is primarily set in the Salinas Valley in Central California between the beginning of the 20th century and the end of World War I. However, the first fourteen chapters are set in Connecticut and Massachusetts and go back as far as the American Civil War in the 1800s, serving as backstory for Adam Trask, his brother Charles, and their father Cyrus.
Other top recommendations
If East of Eden doesn't sound like the right fit, the Reddit post had over 400 comments full of other suggestions. Top recommendations included Nobody's Girl by Virginia Giuffre, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, World War Z by Max Brooks, We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.
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