If the back-to-school season has you longing for the days when you could lose yourself in great literature without a hint of guilt, The Free Press Forum Book Club is exactly where you need to be.
Here’s why joining matters: books—especially great ones—are antidotes to groupthink. They push us to imagine life beyond the narrow boundaries of what we’ve been told to believe by peers, news feeds, and algorithms. They remind us that human beings, whether we like it or not, are masters of themselves.
Why the Great American Novel?
The great American novel does this better than any other, largely because the promise of America is freedom. To sustain that freedom, we need to confront its implications from time to time. That’s where John Steinbeck’s greatest novel, East of Eden, comes in. It’s exactly what all Americans need to read and discuss right now—not only because it’s a marvelous, sweeping, cross-generational story, but because it forces us to think about our own agency.
The Story of the Trask Family
East of Eden follows the Trask brothers—Adam and Charles—and later Adam’s sons, Cal and Aron. Set in the Salinas Valley, just south of San Francisco, the story unfolds between the Civil War and World War I. At its core, without giving too much away, it’s a retelling of Cain and Abel. You might recall that Cain, after murdering his brother Abel, was banished to the Land of Nod—a place we know little about, except that “nod” is Hebrew for “wandering,” and that it lies somewhere “east of Eden.”
California—and more broadly, America—was meant to be the new Eden. But, of course, it isn’t. Freedom does not inevitably lead to happiness, because human beings are weak and self-interested. Still, we celebrate our freedom even when we shy away from seriously considering its consequences.
With that in mind, Peter Savodnik invites you to plunge headlong into East of Eden. As he puts it, “It will be a great deal of fun, and we’ll learn something, and we might—just might—help in some small way to save the republic.”
How to Join the Forum Book Club
The Forum Book Club grew out of conversations among subscribers in The Free Press’s new digital forum, where readers wanted to discuss great books together. More than 800 Free Pressers have already signed up, and introductions are underway. The first reading prompts will be posted on August 30, with the full discussion schedule available online.
Pick up your copy of East of Eden, get acquainted with the Forum if you haven’t already, and meet in the Salinas Valley. Along the way, there will be ongoing Forum discussions and subscriber-led livestreams featuring Free Press writers and editors—including Peter for the final conversation.
The Free Press Forum Book Club is open to all paid subscribers. Not a paid subscriber yet? Upgrade today to participate. (Note: The Free Press earns a commission from purchases made through book links in the article.)
