East of Eden
American novelist, 1902–1968. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1940.
East of Eden is a 1952 novel by John Steinbeck. It was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction in 1953.
In family saga
On 3 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- John Steinbeck
- First published
- 1952
- Length
- 736 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- National Book Award for Fiction shortlist, 1953
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Family saga, Religion and faith, Historical setting
Is East of Eden worth reading?
3 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian) and the National Book Award for Fiction.
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 1953) | Shortlist | See the list |
| Oprah's Book Club picks (Oprah's Book Club, 1996-) | Listed | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 16 | See the list |
Best edition of East of Eden
The edition we link to is the Penguin paperback (2017), 736 pages.
- Publisher
- Penguin (paperback, 2017)
- Pages
- 736
- ISBN
- 9780241980354
How critics, prizes and readers rate East of Eden
Readers and prize juries rate it about equally: it earned 34% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 33% on prize lists, against 0% on critics' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like East of Eden
If you liked East of Eden, try The Grapes of Wrath, White Teeth or The Corrections.
