Journal of a Novel (Penguin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

John Steinbeck (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0141186348 | ISBN-13: 978-0141186344 | Publication Date: July 5, 2001

This collection of letters forms a fascinating day-by-day account of Steinbeck's writing of "East of Eden", his longest and most ambitious novel. The letters, ranging over many subjects - textual discussion, trial flights of workmanship, family matters - provide an illuminating perspective on Steinbeck, the creative genius, and a private glimpse of Steinbeck, the man.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. His complete works are available in Penguin Modern Classics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (July 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141186348
• ISBN-13: 978-0141186344
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,788,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Steinbeck (1902-1968), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, achieved popular success in 1935 when he published Tortilla Flat. He went on to write more than twenty-five novels, including The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, March 7, 2001

By 

C. Ebeling "ctlpareader" (PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (Paperback)

Steinbeck wrote the lengthy EAST OF EDEN saga straight through, from January to the first of November, in 1951. Every weekday, he sharpened his beloved pencils, sat down and warmed up, writing in the form of a letter to his friend and publisher, Pascal Covici. The letters he entered on the left side of the manuscript book Covici hand given him; on the right side, after clearing his mind and setting out the days' goals, he'd write his story, averaging about 1,500 words a day. JOURNAL OF A NOVEL collects those daily addresses to Covici, to whom EAST OF EDEN is dedicated.

On the one hand, JOURNAL OF A NOVEL is instructive in how to use journaling to order one's demons, to focus and forge ahead. More important, it brings the reader right up to the man, and Steinbeck is a fascinating person to know. At age 48 when he produced this, he is twice divorced, happily remarried a third time, engaged in fatherhood and transplanted to New York. He is a whittler, a tinkerer, an inventor. His credo is, why pay someone to do something badly that he can do just as badly himself. He maintains an active family, professional and social life that he chattily reports and offers some prescient observations on the Marshall Plan and MacArthur. He is not without his depressive cycles, but at this point in his life he is more understanding of them and never lets them interfere with his work. His resolve is extraordinary.

It is especially rich to read this following WORKING DAYS, the journal he kept as he wrote THE GRAPES OF WRATH. You get a sense of personal growth and a fuller sense of the middle of the 20th century through his eyes.

Highly recommended.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not revealing, September 19, 2001

By 

Kenneth Blum (Orrville, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (Paperback)

I am a major John Steinbeck fan, and rate Mr. Steinbeck as the finest writer in American history. However, I am lukewarm about "Journal of a Novel," Steinbeck's daily account of the trials of writing his most difficult work, East of Eden, from January through October, 1951.

I was hoping that the journal, addressed to his good friend and editor Pascal Covici, would reveal much about Steinbeck the writer and the man.

However, there is very little of the former except repeated brief accounts of the self-doubt and ups and downs a writer endures while creating a long and complex piece of literature. There are only hints of the technical or mental processes involved his writing.

And the same applies to autobiographical information about this period of his life. There is a lot of the trivia of daily life without the real depth of observation and feeling that is shown in other books of his letters.

He was a master at letter writing, and to find and know the real John Steinbeck, I strongly suggest "Steinbeck: A Life in Letters" edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Writer at Work, August 3, 2000

By 

Samuel W. Harnish, Jr. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (Paperback)

The things that writers do to get to the point where they can write good fiction are almost as interesting as the novels they create.

If you have ever wondered what the dedication in East of Eden means (or what Steinbeck originally called the book) this is the place to find it. Peek into the relationship between a great writer and his publisher. Marvel as he discusses the problems that come up from day to day during the process of writing (including finding the right kind of pencil).

This book provides a unique insight into what it must be like to live with genius.