East of Eden

So we have embarked on another John Steinbeck journey.....oh boy I can not wait to see what this novel will entail after the amazing adventure of the characters in The Pearl. Ok all kidding aside the first chapter was full of amazing detail that really helped me envision the Salinas River Valley.  However this pretty picture comes at a price, well for me at least. Many times while reading, I become encumbered by massive amounts of detail and so end up missing the broader messages and themes present throughout a novel. With out a solid understanding of the authors purpose I feel I miss some of the book and don't end up with the appreciation or enjoy usually gained from reading. After reading this first chapter of East of Eden , I feel that this may again become the case which makes me daunted by the book, and so less enthusiastic about reading. But that was just the first chapter and so I hope it becomes more manageable for me and once I'm done, I will have a good grasp of Steinbeck motive for the novel.