Who wrote east of eden, and what is the entire book about?

John Steinbeck wrote the novel "East of Eden" in 1952.

Explanation:

The novel "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck is about two brothers who are opposites in their personality. This novel parallels the biblical story of Cain and Abel in the Garden of Eden. Just like a father's conflict for his two sons in the Bible, so also Adam is in conflict over his two sons Caleb and Aron in the novel. The novel is also an allegory of a father's favoritism of one son over the other.

In the story, Adam has two sons Aron and Caleb with his wife Cathy, though it is unknown whether he is really the father of the twins. Cathy had seduced Charles, the brother of Adam on the night of their wedding and had gotten pregnant soon after. Then she abandoned her family to live her life as a prostitute and eventually a madame of a brothel.

The two sons have contrasting personalities. Aron is virtuous and dutiful while Caleb is wild and rebellious. They are the parallels of the two sons of Adam in the Bible - Cain and Abel. Caleb tried to make his father proud of him by making lots of money that Adam had lost in his business plan. But instead of appreciating it, Adam rebuked him saying that he only wished he (Caleb) has the same zeal and sincerity that his brother Aron has. In his anger, he took his brother to his mother's place ans showed him her real identity. Filled with shock and shame of his mother, Aron joined the military and died in the war. Caleb got into a relationship with his brother's idealized girlfriend and asked her to run away with him. she refused and instead urged him to return home. On his return, Adam forgives Caleb, as requested by Lee, their family cook. The story ends with a dying Adam forgiving Caleb, giving him the freedom to chose to either break the cycle or conquer sin.