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Book Review
Apr. 12th, 2006 08:19 pmThe 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.
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.
