Rather than summarize the first part, let me give you a heads up. This is the first couple of paragraphs of the first chapter.
"“…And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected…And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government or corporation (the authors words) which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about."

John Steinbeck

East of Eden*

The phone rang abruptly at 2:30 in the morning. I bolted up and grabbed it. My wife was alarmed by this disturbance and sat up in a daze. She brushed the sand from her eyes and watched me answer the phone. It was my father and he had bad news. Across the hall, in his room, the baby stirred and then whimpered with the interruption of his sleep

My friend Charlie had just been killed in an automobile crash after a heavy bout with the bottle. According to the Highway Patrol he had hit a tree near our old drinking establishment. He died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Charlie and I had worked at Osgood’s—a local manufacturing company—as machinists, and life had been pretty good. We hunted together and fished every lake and stream within 300 miles of our homes. Although he was closer to my father’s age, he had become my friend at work and at play.

Our lives changed when Osgood’s closed. We were suddenly out of work and that was a miserable experience. My wife Sandy was pregnant, and having a baby while your husband is unemployed is not a prospect for happiness. We were barely surviving.........

That's the beginning of the book. Enjoy and best, Len Bertain
* Steinbeck, John East of Eden Penguin Books, 1986 p. 171