Weighing in at a rather hefty 600+ pages, this is obviously not going to be a book to last just an afternoon, but having been a fan of both Steinbeck's "classics" - 'Of Mice and Men' and 'The Grapes of Wrath' - I was very much looking forward to getting into this book, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Thanks to Steinbeck's supreme style of writing and his ability to set a glorious picture of the settings and characters, it doesn't take long at all to become immersed in the world of early twentieth-century America, especially that of the Salinas Valley in California where much of the story plays out. The book successfully explores the biblical themes of the book of Genesis through the lives of its characters as they pass through the great spectrum of human emotion and integrity. Perhaps the greatest success of the story is the affirmation of human life and morality, and without wanting to spoil this great book any further, it genuinely left me inspired - the word Timshel will certainly mean something after reading!