“…it’s awful not to be loved. It’s the worst thing in the world…It makes you mean, and violent, and cruel.”
Ta da! Dovršila sam Istočno od raja! Mislim da sam s ovom knjigom prošla sve faze, od oduševljenja i razmišljanja kako je ovo možda najbolji klasik koji sam ikad pročitala, do brojanja stranica do kraja.
Puno priča, puno likova. Neki su me potpuno osvojili, neki malo manje. Bilo je dijelova koje nisam mogla prestati čitati, ali i onih koji su me uspješno uspavljivali nekoliko dana zaredom.
Kroz cijelu knjigu pratila me jedna misao: zašto nitko od ovih ljudi nije istinski voljen? Zašto ih nitko ne zagrli? I dok mi je Adam s vremenom zaista prirastao srcu i iskreno sam ga žalila, Cathy je bez konkurencije najgori lik na koji sam naišla u književnosti. A prije samo nekoliko mjeseci bila sam uvjerena da tu titulu drži Catherine iz Orkanskih visova. Ispada da uvijek može gore. 😅
I sad dolazimo do mog #unpopularopinion trenutka.
Obožavala sam prvu polovicu knjige, a onda je za mene sve pomalo krenulo nizbrdo. Ne mogu reći da mi se ostatak nije svidio, ali jednostavno se više nisam povezivala s pričom kao u prvom dijelu. Premda se radnja razvijala, više nisam bila toliko emotivno uključena u sudbine likova i sve manje sam marila za njihove priče.
Unatoč svemu, drago mi je što sam ju pročitala. To je jedna od onih knjiga koje ostanu s tobom i nakon posljednje stranice. Možda joj se jednog dana ponovno vratim, a adaptaciju definitivno jedva čekam.
[english]
East of Eden – John Steinbeck
Ta da! I finally finished East of Eden! I think this book took me through every possible phase, from absolute admiration and thinking this might be the best classic I’ve ever read, to counting down the pages until the end.
So many stories, so many characters. Some completely won me over, while others, not so much. There were parts I simply couldn’t put down, and others that managed to lull me to sleep for several days in a row.
One thought stayed with me throughout the entire book: why is nobody in this story truly loved? Why does nobody just give these people a hug? And while Adam gradually became one of those characters I genuinely cared about and felt sorry for, Cathy is, without competition, the worst literary character I’ve ever come across. Just a few months ago, I was convinced that title belonged to Catherine from Wuthering Heights. Turns out, it can always get worse. 😅
And now for my #unpopularopinion moment.
I absolutely adored the first half of the book, and then things slowly started to go downhill for me. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the rest of it, but I just wasn’t connecting with the story the way I was in the first half. Even though the plot continued to develop, I was no longer as emotionally invested in the characters’ journeys, and I found myself caring less and less about their stories.
Despite all that, I’m glad I read it. It’s one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. Maybe I’ll revisit it someday, and I’m definitely looking forward to the adaptation.
