Classic Re-Reads

Decided to start the summer with a couple of classics I keep telling myself I will go back to - and I finally did!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith stands up well. Maybe it helps that it was not set in the present day when it was originally published in the early 1940s. There were some parts I'd forgotten, but a lot of details stuck by me. I noticed that (small spoiler alert!) after Johnny dies that the book becomes much more upbeat and positive. As much as Francie looks back on her father with affection, perhaps he is a better father as a ghost than as an physical presence. Reading it as an adult, the loss of innocence at each stage of the book sort of takes your breath away. It makes me hesitant to recommend it to younger teens. I am not sure how old I was when I first read it, perhaps high school age. I suppose some of the details went over my head a bit then.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck was a book I read when I was about 18 in the space of about 2 days. I had forgotten plenty of details of the book, but what stayed with me was the character of Lee, the family's Chinese servant. A bit of an enigma, he is the center, soul, and conscience of the Trask family. He was just as interesting and puzzling as I recalled. I had not really remembered the Samuel Hamilton character, nor had I realized that he was based on Steinbeck's real-life grandfather. I need to watch the movie again - also one of my all-time favorite movies. It leaves out some of my favorite parts and characters in the book, but it's such a sprawling story that there's no way Kazan could have included more than a tiny slice in his film. The movie only covers portions of the last 20% or so of the book. I am quite sure that there is plenty of biblical symbolism and other elements that have passed by me even on this re-read, but it was still well worth it. It reminds me in a way of Cutting for Stone, which also involves a good brother/bad brother element that spreads over many years and generations, with people moving from their home lands to a new place.