>>7841740
wtf is timshel. it's the name for my favorite song from I can make a mess like nobody's business. and I always wondered wtf a timshel was

>>7841740
off to the land of nod, are we, OP?

I loved the characters more than anything else. Samuel as a god figure was interesting, Lee was very well-developed. The themes might have been a little ham-fisted but it seemed like the type of book that was meant to be sappy and emotional like that, and since Steinbeck was able to do it with interesting characters and good prose I didn't really mind.

I'd say the description of country life and family make it a very comfy book. It is accessible and above all sincere, which can be good or bad depending on your tastes.

I will read your book soon my man. it's in my giant ass backlog. Hopefully you guys pick it next time I ask you which book of mine I should read next

"Timshel"

I sink into the wall,
And staring up i saw,
Im alone in all my thoughts,
Too afraid to be crazy i run,
It always finds me driving right through town,
With the windows down i fly,
Its the feeling spring has brought,
But an eye for the winter's what i got,
It always finds me...

So tonight,
When i left here,
All i said was goodbye and thats alright,
No "i'll see you later",
I've been trying my whole life,
And if its an eye for an eye why cant i get this right,
Im too slow to go fast,
Im too nervous to do that,
So i run, run away why should I...

I take my chances slow,
After all it's no one's fault,
But the pain seems to crave my life,
So ashamed of my weakness i lie,
It always finds me...

So tonight,
When i left here,
All i said was goodbye and thats alright,
No "i'll see you later",
I've been trying my whole life,
And if its an eye for an eye why cant i get this right,
Im too slow to go fast,
Im too nervous to do that,
So i run, run away why should i...
do these lyrics have anything to do with your book. I'm surprised ace enders read that book.

>>7841762
Timshel is a Hebrew word in part of a phrase God says to Cain after he kills Abel. According to East of Eden (not sure how true it is in real life), it was translated as either "thou shalt" or "thou must," i.e. either a determinist prophecy or a command for some part of Cain's destiny.
One of the characters in the novel is a Chinese immigrant who studies the story and asks some elder Chinese people what the true translation is. They all study Hebrew for a year or some shit and tell him the truest meaning of the word in that context is "thou mayest," implying that Cain actually has a choice in his destiny.
After this character explains all of this to the main family, the book ends with the father telling the protagonist, who has indirectly killed his brother and is asking his father to forgive him, "timshel" with his dying breath. It's an intentionally overt retelling of Cain and Abel that Steinbeck wrote in order to describe his home to his children and to inspire them or some shit.