haven't been reading as much as i'd like to be reading atm, any recommendations would be cool, fiction or nonfic. on the fiction side of things, lately i've enjoyed Grapes of Wrath, The Metamorphosis, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club, but anything would be great.
on the non-fiction side, there's a ton i need to read more about, but stuff about a past or present communist state/movement would be awesome(especially China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, USSR), or alternately something like the Jakarta Method. also queer theory or literature would be great
idk if this is the right comm actually, i can repost this elsewhere if i need to
edit: thanks all!
It's very short whereas East of Eden is a grand historical epic over generations. Cannery Row is a series of connected vignettes written for soldiers to read in the trenches. It follows a group of romantics and ragamuffins in a seaside town as they get into trouble and live in love and solidarity with one another. East of Eden is about the continual reincarnation of Kane and Able through three sets of brothers as Central Valley becomes the agricultural heart of the United States.
Cannery Row is a sweet dream of the sea. East of Eden is sweat and blood over and over.
The second chapter of Cannery Row is a two page philosophical prose-poem that I love so so so much and the form of the book is a bit more free and experimental. East of Eden is much more structured and layered.
I can't tell you which to read first, but hopefully that is enough of an impression of each to decide which is more exciting to you!
East of Eden sounds really good and I'm kind of embarrassed I didn't listen to my sister's recommendation sooner lol