John Steinbeck’s epic novel East of Eden has been adapted once again - this time in TV form – and writer Zoe Kazan has addressed changes she made from the book that “hurt her heart”.
The new series follows the Trask brothers, Adam and Charles (Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist), whose lives are drastically altered by the arrival of the mysterious Cathy, played by Florence Pugh.
However, Kazan, who had to compress the decades-spanning story into seven episodes, has said she had to omit some details, including the lion’s share of the storyline focused on the Hamiltons, an Irish-immigrant family living near the Trasks in Salinas Valley, California, who serve as the story’s moral centre.
“The incredible thing about this book is there’s much treasure in it that you couldn’t possibly put it all into seven hours,” Kazan told The Independent. “There are things I had to leave behind that hurt my heart – there’s so much of the Hamiltons’ storyline that’s not in there, and the Hamiltons are some of my favourite characters in the book.”
The Hamilton family’s patriarch, Samuel, appears in several episodes of the show, played by Ciarán Hinds. Kazan previously told Time that she wanted the series to have eight episodes, not seven.
Kazan said that she’s ultimately happy that the new series has sent sales of Steinbeck’s book soaring by 250 per cent.
“If this series sends people back to the book, wonderful. If they don’t want to watch the series, cos they love the book so much, fine. I understand what it’s like to love a book that much.”
One addition in the series absent from the 1955 film directed by Kazan’s grandfather, Elia Kazan, is the inclusion of Lee, who is considered the most vital aspect of the book. Lee is a wise servant who lives with Adam Trask and helps him raise his sons, and in the show, he’s played by Banshee actor Hoon Lee.
Recalling the casting of Lee, Kazan said: “I sent Florence his tape when it came in, and we just – both of us – it was so clear.” Pugh added: “We looked long and hard for that role, and the moment he sent in that first tape, it was like, ‘That’s him. There he is.’”
East of Eden is available to stream on Netflix from 1 October.
