John Steinbeck

A photo illustration of Florence Pugh in East of Eden.

Oscar Nominee’s New Netflix Epic Is Great—With One Exception

Florence Pugh leads a fantastic “East of Eden” that makes one puzzlingly inept move.

Nick Schager

A general view of atmosphere during MoveOn’s national Banned Bookmobile tour launch at Sandmeyer’s Bookstore on July 13, 2023, in Chicago, Illinois.

‘Color Purple’ Removed From Schools Under New Florida Law

Alice Walker’s classic is among 673 titles taken out of Orange County classrooms to comply with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ law requiring schools to remove “sexual content” from shelves.

Kate Briquelet

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Florence Pugh Will Break Bad For Netflix's ‘East of Eden’

The Steinbeck novel is best known for the 1955 film adaptation, starring James Dean and directed by Elia Kazan—a.k.a. Zoe’s grandpa.

Jordan Julian

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‘MORE INTERESTING’

Academics Push for Steinbeck’s Unpublished Werewolf Novel

“There would be a huge public interest in a totally unknown werewolf novel by one of the best-known, most read American writers of the 20th century,” said professor Gavin Jones.

Jennifer Adams

DUBIOUS BATTLE

Did Novelist John Steinbeck Spy for the CIA in Paris?

During the same summer that he wrote “The Amiable Fleas,” now published in English for the first time, the American author also appears to have been gathering intel for the Agency.

Christopher Dickey

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TIMELESS

‘Grapes of Wrath’: Disturbingly Relevant to Trump’s America

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ turns 80 today, and Nobel-prize winning novelist John Steinbeck’s tale of migrants shunned, harassed, and murdered feels horribly contemporary.

Nicolaus Mills