Book Review

[kenjari]

The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck

This was one of the best books I have ever read. Steinbeck's use of language is just breathtaking - so much of this book is so beautifully written. He's got a real gift for rhythm and flow and an especially good ear for the cadences of speech, too - passages just sing themselves right up off the page and into you. I'm actually sad that I've finished the book.
The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joads, a rural family uprooted from their Oklahoma farm by the Dust Bowl during the Depression. They make their way to California, where they have to try to support themselves as migrant workers. They face a lot of hard times, many created by the cruel greed and prejudice of the farm and business owners around them. They have to struggle to survive and to avoid knuckling under. It's a very pro-worker, pro-union book, which made it controversial when it was first published in 1939, especially since a lot of what is described in the book was still going on at that time. McCarthy even investigated Steinbeck for it (I hope the senator was properly embarassed when Steinbeck later won the Nobel Prize for Literature).
Ma Joad was my favorite character. She had such strength and sense. She is the one who ultimately ends up leading the family and holding it together. She's the one who keeps things going and takes care of people. Yes, she suffers, but despite the toll it all takes on her, she retains her soul and her sense of self. She never breaks.
This novel also struck me as being uniquely and essentially American. Not just the story, but also the language and atmosphere. Unmistakably American the same way Tom Waits is. A lot like Tom Waits, in fact. I bet he's read this book. Everybody should read this book, it's that good.

Comments

[aquafolius.livejournal.com]

Ipartly blame high school English for my dislike of this book. And the fact that my inability to pay attention is a lot more under control now. While I enjoyed the descriptive prose in between the story segments surrounding the Joads, it felt overbearing, like he trying for an E.B. White moment, the pieces clashed to me.

Character development was solid from what I recall.

Perhaps it bears another reading, but I unfortunately have never been a Steinbeck fan.

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

I love Steinbeck. "The Grapes of Wrath" is one of my absolute favorite books, and "Of Mice and Men" is damn good too. And have you seen his unfinished King Arthur?

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

You read this in high school? Wow. I think my high school would have regarded The Grapes of Wrath as a daring or at least ambitious choice. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much at 16 or 17 as I do now, though.
I thought that the descriptive prose segments related quite a bit to the story segments, usually as symbolism or metaphor. Sometimes in very subtle or oblique ways, though.
I think it does bear another reading. But maybe at a later point in life? (I really do not mean that in a condescending way at all. It's an older=different thing, not an older=wiser/better thing.)

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the King Arthur, but I've heard of it. I haven't read Of Mice and Men yet, either, but I definitely will at some point. Read The Pearl in high school, though.
I think I need to get my own copy of The Grapes of Wrath, because I'll definitely want re-read parts of it. Damn, it was good.

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

Oh, whoops, I meant to say, "The Winter of Our Discontent" was one of my favorites. :) "The Grapes of Wrath" is, to me, just really good, but it wearies my soul to read it, and so I haven't but the once.

[aquafolius.livejournal.com]

in fairness, it was an IB class, which tend to do bold things. The work was also smashed into the end of the semester with Great Gatsby and Junior IB/AP testing.

and I completely understand about the older=different thing.