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    In the Shadow of the Cypress: A Novel
    Unavailable
    In the Shadow of the Cypress: A Novel
    Unavailable
    In the Shadow of the Cypress: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    In the Shadow of the Cypress: A Novel

    Written by Thomas Steinbeck

    Narrated by Jeff Harding

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In 1906, the Chinese in California lived in the shadows. Their alien customs, traditions, and language hid what they valued from their neighbors . . . and left them open to scorn and prejudice. Their communities were ruled - and divided - by the necessity of survival among the many would-be masters surrounding them, by struggles between powerful tongs, and by duty to their ancestors.

    Then, in the wake of natural disaster, fate brought to light artifacts of incredible value along the Monterey coast: an ancient Chinese jade seal and a plaque inscribed in a trio of languages lost to all but scholars of antiquity. The path to the truth, however, would prove to be as tangled as the roots of the ancient cypress that had guarded these treasures for so long, for there are some secrets the Chinese were not ready to share.

    Nearly a century would pass before an unconventional young American scientist unearths evidence of this great discovery and its mysterious disappearance. He begins to assemble a new generation of explorers to resume the perilous search into the ocean's depth . . . and the shadows of history.

    This striking debut novel by a masterful writer weaves together two fascinating eras into one remarkable tale. In the Shadow of the Cypress depicts California in all its multicultural variety, with a suspense that draws the reader inexorably on until the very last word.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 6, 2010
    ISBN9781441838247
    Unavailable
    In the Shadow of the Cypress: A Novel
    Author

    Thomas Steinbeck

    Thomas Steinbeck began his career on the 1960s as a motion picture cinematographer and photojournalist in Vietnam. He serves on the board of the Board of Directors of The Stella Adler Theater and The National Steinbeck Center. He has written numerous dramatic adaptations of his father's work as well as a number of original documentaries. Thomas Steinbeck lives on the central coast of California with his wife.

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    Reviews for In the Shadow of the Cypress

    3.5/5

    34 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This recent (2010) book is the first published novel of John Steinbeck's eldest son Thom. I was expecting to perhaps find some similarity of place and voice, but otherwise had no extraordinary expectations. Having grown up on the coast of California I do enjoy reading books set there, which this one is, as were a number of John Steinbeck's. This was an interesting historical mystery book concerning artifacts that might show a very early Chinese exploration of the future California. As it turned out, I never really felt a sense of place when reading the book. I did get a sense of the times though, and some of the characters were quite colorful and vivid to me. I found the story a little dry in places, but definitely interesting all the way through. The story is told in several parts and written well. I wondered if it was based in part on a true story, but I don't believe it is. Just good historical fiction. This isn't a book I'd rave about but it was a good read.
    • 3/5
      Review refers to audio version. An historical artifact is unearthed by a storm, and the consequences of its discovery cause dissension among Chinese Americans. The tale is told from the perspective of a scientist at a marine biology lab in the early 1900's, and I kept wondering if he was modelled on Doc from John Steinbeck's books. The final section occurs in the present time, as 2 college grads try to figure out the mystery. They gross luxury portrayed seems like wish fulfillment on the part of Steinbeck, who admits in an Afterword that he himself has searched out some marine history indicating Chinese "discovered" America long before Columbus.Methodicaly (perhaps even ploddingly) told tale, somewhat reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes mystery.
    • 2/5
      For some reason, I have dragged my feet on writing this review. It's been a while, and the book wasn't incredibly memorable in the first place, so I doubt this review will have much relevance. Regardless, here it is...

      I promised myself I wouldn't mention John Steinbeck in this review. The work of Thomas Steinbeck should stand on its own; even mentioning that he is his father's son seems unnecessary and insulting to the work of Thomas. Well, I lied.

      It's hard not to think of John when Thomas' characters and situations continually remind us of his father. A marine biologist. Stanford. Just pull ten random words from a Steinbeck biography and you'll likely find one or two which apply to In the Shadow of the Cypress. And frankly, it's an unfair comparison. Nonetheless, it's what one should expect being the son of a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author (or writer since Steinbeck didn't consider himself as an "author").

      In the Shadow of the Cypress does fairly well when it comes to story. Although it is a bit slow, it carries its own as an intriguing historical mystery. Steinbeck shows that he knows his subject matter well and presents it in an interesting and unique fashion. What Steinbeck doesn't know, however, is his characters. I couldn't understand them, nor did I really want to. They were dry. What personality they did have didn't make sense--am I just stereotyping when I say I didn't find Charles Lucas' concern over a surfboard believable? Charles Lucas, PhD student and holder of one of the world's most historically significant artifacts, just wants to find "the perfect wave." Some of the best character moments happen after Lucas meets Robert Wu and the two develop a friendship which is believable and funny at times. Unfortunately, it doesn't last. Once Wu's father is brought into the picture, the relationship takes a back seat for no particular reason and the novel becomes bland once again.

      Thomas Steinbeck might do okay as an author if he is marketed to the right audience. Fans of plot-driven historical mysteries may love his books--I don't know as I am not one of those "fans". As long as he is marketed as being THE SON OF JOHN STEINBECK, however, Thomas Steinbeck will be in the shadow of his own cypress; rather, he'll live in the shadow of the Giant Sequoia that was his father.

      (On a side note, writing this review has put me in the mood to reread "To a God Unknown").
    • 4/5
      How odd-- a hidden treasure novel with no villain.In the last third of the book, I was trying to figure out why the pacing seemed so strange. The plot was moving along, the events were interesting, but it still felt like nothing was happening. I then realized that we were straightforwardly moving towards the resolution of the puzzle, and no one was trying to keep this from happening!I'm not sure that this is good or bad. It makes for a very intellectual plot, and there is no "thriller" aspect to the book. I found the early twentieth century Chinese-American politics interesting, the 21st century attempts for find a treasure lost 100 years earlier even more so. There was one other noteworthy aspect to the book, at least for me. Each of the three sections of the book had a different viewpoint character, and a very different style of writing. I was very worried as I read the first section-- the voice was extremely stuffy, with a very affected use of big words. It fit the character of the professor in the early 1900s perfectly. It just wasn't much fun to read. It wasn't difficult, just distracting. Luckily, the content kept me going.In the next section, the voice was much smoother. The story started to slow down, but not enough to be a problem.In the final section, I was interested in the main character, and the voice was readable. Even though we found out a lot about Luke, I never felt like I really knew him. I'm not sure if he was shallow, or if the portrait we had of him was.
    • 4/5
      There’s isn’t much character development in Steinbeck’s book, and nothing to really tug at your heart, but the story is intriguing and the writing is beautifully concise. Perhaps I’m overly influenced by the author’s lineage, but there is something classic about Thomas Steinbeck’s narrative voice that roots the story and pulls the reader along. I’m glad that Thomas Steinbeck has entered the writing profession, despite the inevitable pressure of being compared to his father. I look forward to his next work.
    • 4/5
      Chinese artifacts found under tree to indicate Chinese here in US earlier than thought. Book focuses on 1940 and present time.
    • 3/5
      so-so tale of ancient Chinese artifacts. I wanted to be absorbed, but I just couldn't be. It was ok, but Thomas Steinbeck needs to find his own voice.
    • 4/5
      As much as I would like to do a detailed review for this book, the phrase I keep coming up with is: “It isn’t bad”. And it probably goes without saying, that it isn’t great either. Part mystery, part cultural analysis, and part literary fiction, [In the Shadow of the Cypress] begins with events in a Chinese community in California at the beginning of the 20th century and jumps to a modern day search for information about those events. Thomas Steinbeck is the son of THE John Steinbeck, and I feel he tried a little too hard to live up to his namesake. The underlying plot was well developed and the characters were extremely well formed. Unfortunately, that “part literary fiction” aspect I mentioned gets in the way. So much time is spent on creating the poetic sense of place and emotion that it tends to interfere with a tight storyline. It caused the flow to drag at spots and I very nearly gave up several times, but then he’d get back on track and the plot was intriguing. The contemporary section was a much faster pace and did tend to stay on track a little better, but at the risk of contradicting myself, this second part sails by so fast that we somewhat crash into the ending and what could have easily filled an entire book was compressed to a dozen pages, leaving a somewhat baffling feeling as to why (or in my case, since I had the Advance Readers Copy, wondering if my copy was missing a chapter)At the risk of overreaching my review, I also feel he made an error in placing about 10 pages of the story too early on. In a sense, it outlined what the mystery will be and to a certain extent provides too much information on how that mystery will be resolved that I found myself just waiting for the other shoe to drop as I approached the end of the book. Had that point been moved to later and the book (and upon reading it, you’ll probably know which part I mean) it would have moved the entire mystery into a tight bundle. This also would have softened the ending a little and rounded it out with a little more meat.
    • 3/5
      After reading a glowing book review I was looking forward to reading In the Shadow of the Cypress by Thomas Steinbeck. The book was slow to get into, but enjoyable to read and with a great plot premise I was expecting a good story. It was okay, but ended when it should be getting started with an epilogue that tied everything up in neat 'happy ending' bows. With the exception of the first character, who is introduced writing in his journal, the other's were not believable and just did not come alive for me. I did enjoy the descriptions of Chinese culture and life in 1906 in Monterey and San Francisco, and the fishing episode was most enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS by Thomas Steinbeck was certainly an interesting read. First following an ancient discovery and then finding out how that impacts the lives of the researchers who come in contact with it, readers are taken through a whirlwind of events that leave the mind excited and energized. If there is one thing I can say about Mr. Steinbeck’s writing, it’s that he really does seem to have a way of instilling life into this book. It’s easy to get bogged down in a complicated story, especially when the passage of time is involved. IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS, however, didn’t leave me feeling exhausted as so many long and complex stories do. Instead, it’s like this story woke me up and made me want to learn more. Perhaps that was Mr. Steinbeck’s purpose; perhaps he just wanted to write a really good piece of fiction. Either way, I think he accomplished his goals.One of the aspects of the book that made it shine for me, was the development of the major players and their personalities. Dr. Charles Gilbert comes to us through his journal, his entries detailing the original discovery of ancient Chinese artifacts found on Californian soil possibly before the introduction of Spanish explorers. What could this mean for our history? The implications of this are immense and Mr. Steinbeck fully utilizes this to add tension and suspense to the story.Mr. Steinbeck develops the story in a two-part fashion. The first part focuses on the discovery of the artifacts while the second part follows Luke and Robert through the discovery of Dr. Gilbert’s journal and their research to discover the truth. Could it be true? Did the artifacts arrive before the Spanish explorers? You’ll just have to read and find out.The most addicting part of this book is the intrigue. As soon as you really get into Dr. Gilbert’s journal entries, it’s hard to remember that this is in fact fiction. Mr. Steinbeck has a great way of making the reader feel like a part of the story and this is what drew me in.
    • 3/5
      From my blog...In the Shadow of the Cypress by Thomas Steinbeck is a unique story told primarily through the journal entries of Dr. Charles H. Gilbert beginning with the China Point fire of 1906. China Point was a fishing village and will prove later in the novel to be a pivotal point of mystery and intrigue. Before that point the reader is taken back to when Dr. Gilbert first became acquainted with and hired, William "Red Billy" O'Flynn to work one day a week at Hopkins Laboratory. Dr. Gilbert finds it noteworthy that O'Flynn has been accepted into the Chinese community completely. One day O'Flynn makes an extraordinary find when helping to fell a 400-year-old Cypress. He shows these finds to Dr. Gilbert who is allowed to take rubbings of the markings to send off to Stanford for translation. These findings could indeed shake the very foundation of who first discovered North America. Around this time, O'Flynn tells Dr. Gilbert he has been offered full employment with the Southern Pacific Railroad and while he would rather not return to their employ, it is too great an opportunity to pass up. At this point the story begins to truly take off and the reader is taken on a winding path of a complex, exciting, and multi-generational plot. In the Shadow of the Cypress is an excellently written novel, a bit difficult to get into, but worth persevering, especially if one enjoys a clever story line told over a large span of time, culture, and history.