Journal of a Novel

Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters | John Steinbeck

pick

I loved peeking into Steinbeck‘s personal diary(never revised or meant for publication)to learn what was going on in his head while writing East of Eden! This book is pure candy for anyone who read #EOE or wants a private glimpse into the author‘s creative process. Steinbeck kept his manuscript in the wooden box(above)that he hand carved with the Hebrew letters for the word “timshel.” Can‘t wait for our #buddyread discussion tomorrow!
@Cinfhen

catebutler Oh! This sounds excellent! I loved EOE, so I‘d love to learn more about the backstory. 5y

Cinfhen I thought the tidbits you shared really added an extra layer of insight to our discussions!! Thank you 🤓👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5y

batsy Yes, thanks for sharing bits from the book as you read! 5y

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MemoirsForMe @catebutler There is definitely some juicy trivia about EOE. Plus intriguing details about his writing and personal life. 👍🏻 5y

MemoirsForMe @Cinfhen Thanks for inspiring me to read it. Your buddy read got me hooked on Steinbeck. Next up is his son‘s book. 🤔 5y

MemoirsForMe @batsy And thank you for all your insights! 🤗🤗🤗 5y

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MemoirsForMe

Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters | John Steinbeck

#EOE trivia: Steinbeck wrote EOE-after a bitter divorce-for his 2 sons who went to live with their mother. He wanted to teach them the “greatest story of all: of good & evil, strength & weakness, love & hate, beauty & ugliness.” “How neither can exist without the other and how creativeness is born from them.” He also wanted his sons to learn the quality of their heritage and get to know their family so these stories wouldn‘t be forgotten. 👇🏻

MemoirsForMe Steinbeck pictured here with his sons Thom and John IV during the summer of 1951. Both sons became authors and journalists. (Photo from his bio: The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, writer) 6y

MemoirsForMe @Cinfhen Lots of juicy background details in these EOE letters! 6y

Cinfhen So cool!!! Thanks for sharing!!! I feel like I should tag the whole gang ~ here we go @batsy @erzascarletbookgasm @rubyslippersreads @DebinHawaii @peaknit @Susannah @Blaire @Kalalalatja @sisilia @KathyWheeler @Reviewsbylola @emilyhaldi @Caterina @mrp27 @staci.reads @Marina_h 6y

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mrp27 Thanks for the tag @Cinfhen I'm totally fascinated! 6y

mrp27 Thanks for sharing @UwannaPublishme sheds new light to the book. 6y

DebinHawaii So interesting! Thank you for the info @UwannaPublishme & for the tag @Cinfhen 🤗 6y

Marina_h Thanks for sharing @UwannaPublishme and the tag @Cinfhen . Great background knowledge... I definitely see some of the bitter divorce shinning through in this story and what he's trying to teach his sons 6y

Kalalalatja So interesting! 6y

sisilia Fascinating 6y

Blaire Thanks for the tag @cinfhen. @uwannapublishme fascinating background to keep in mind while reading. 6y

MemoirsForMe @Cinfhen Thx for tagging everyone! These letters are very raw and revealing since JS is writing them to his editor. I‘m trying to catch up on his journal so I can read it simultaneously with the book. Will keep you posted when he gets to Cathy. 😳 6y

batsy That is fascinating and thanks for sharing and for the tag @Cinfhen ! The bitter undertones of a failed marriage kind of haunt the novel. Interesting also because I felt there was a certain section in Part 2 that felt very didactic about the Bible and the nature of good and evil so it makes sense that he was writing it for his sons. 6y

emilyhaldi So interesting 🤓 6y

erzascarletbookgasm Thanks for sharing, very interesting. Thanks for the tag @Cinfhen 6y

Cinfhen I agree with all of you!! This brings a new level of interest to the story but now I know this narrator is FAR from objective @Marina_h @DebinHawaii @mrp27 @Kalalalatja @sisilia @Blaire @batsy @emilyhaldi @erzascarletbookgasm 6y

rubyslippersreads @Cinfhen @UwannaPublishme This sounds fascinating! A great complement to the novel. Can I read them concurrently, or are there spoilers in the letters? 6y

MemoirsForMe @rubyslippersreads @Cinfhen I‘d highly recommend it, especially if you want to get into Steinbeck‘s head, learn about his quirks, home life, writing habits and inside thoughts on these characters. He wrote this diary of notes to his editor as a warm-up before his daily writing of the novel. I‘m reading it concurrently and so far, no spoilers. I‘m loving it! 6y

Cinfhen Really good insight!! Is Cathy meant to be the ex wife ??? 6y

MemoirsForMe @Cinfhen In his bio, 2nd ex-wife told JS she hadn‘t loved him for years and had been unfaithful to him for years. He said: “She killed my love for her with little cruelties.” Cathy could be a compilation of people JS knew, but I‘d say some traits of the ex are definitely in there! 6y

MemoirsForMe @rubyslippersreads @Cinfhen Uh-oh. I‘ve been reading more of the Journal this morning and there ARE spoilers. 😩 He‘s jumping around a bit and it seems the first draft was edited and rewritten quite a bit. Still fascinating material! 6y

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Blueberry

Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters | John Steinbeck

I didn't know that for two of his novels John Steinbeck wrote a side-by-side epistolary journal to his friend/editor of his writing process and progress.
#lastbookof2017

MiyakoBunny ❤️❤️❤️ 7y

DivineDiana That is an amazing fact! 7y

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ReadingEnvy

Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters | John Steinbeck

pick

Fascinating almost daily writing before and after his work on the novel that would become East of Eden. Probably only interesting to writers or readers of EoE but I pulled out a bunch of things for our upcoming discussion! #readingenvyreadalong

Bookchipmunk So cool! I'm bummed I can't make it and Hope you have a great discussion! 8y

ReadingEnvy @Bookchipmunk we will miss you! 8y

StacksNShelves Need to read this! 8y

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readinginthedark I saw one of these for Grapes of Wrath the other day, too! Very cool! 7y

andrew61 This was just mentioned on another podcast - sounds great jenny. 7y

ReadingEnvy @andrew61 wow who else is talking about this?! 7y

andrew61 @ReadingEnvy it was on 'what should I read next?'- kept wanting to shout "but did you join the readalong.." 7y

ReadingEnvy @andrew61 oh man! I'm like eight episodes behind on that show 7y

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ReadingEnvy

Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters | John Steinbeck

"...It will be two books - the story of my country and the story of me."
#readingenvyreadalong

intothehallofbooks I sooo hate that I missed your readalong! John Steinbeck is my all time favorite. 8y

ReadingEnvy @intothehallofbooks we won't discuss until Thursday! 8y

saresmoore Oh! Want to read this! 8y

ReadingEnvy @saresmoore I'm thinking I can incorporate some of it into our discussion. He writes to his editor before he writes EoE every day, to get his words going, and there's a lot here about his intentions. 8y

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