https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/17/arts/television/east-of-eden-florence-pugh-cathy.html
I watched the Netflix series before reading the book or seeing the above review in the New York Times. First, I was surprised that a writer who had written the drab Grapes of Wrath, had written such a juicy novel, but amused. Good for Steinbeck. I greatly enjoyed the series which definitely interprets the book in a modern light. And thankfully so. One thing that didn't surprise me is that Steinbeck, a man and obviously one of his time, wrote the female character as a bad seed, a witch, a devil, period. Ms. Kazan offers a different view, one much more nuanced as well as realistic. How typical for a male writer to write a female character that way--an evil force men can't resist. The misogyny, the shifting of blame, the feigned helplessness of men before an attractive sexy woman is so unsurprising and one dimensional. Goes to show you even a great writer can be a sexist pig, wait, many have been. One would expect better, at least better characterization, from an artist.
