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Title: John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath (Barron's Book Notes) by John Steinbeck, George Ehrenhaft ISBN: 0-8120-3413-9 Publisher: Barron's Educational Series Pub. Date: 01 October, 1984 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $3.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.31 (456 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Even if you've seen the movie--read the book!
Comment: I watch the movie whenever it is on TV, its one of my favorites from that era. This past spring, I decided to read the book, something I rarely do if I've already seen the movie. I can understand now why the movie, compared to the book, tried to put a more promising spin on the Joad's (and many Americans) situation at the time. After all, the future for the working class and the country as a whole,was very much in doubt circa 1930's America. I recently saw a documentary on the making of the movie and it mentioned how the famous speech from Ma Joad towards the end of the film,about how they are the -"little people" and how there's many more of them and they just keep a-coming and things will eventually work out- this dialogue was actually added by Daryl Zanuck to end the movie with some hope. The book offers none of that hope...I was shocked at just how unforgiving and relentless the book is in its outlook of despair and misery for the Joads and others like them. The final chapters truly are some of the most desperate and hopeless depictions of the American Dream gone bad that I have ever read. You can really appreciate the progress we have made over the past 60 years in assuring that the country doesn't undergo anything close to "The Great Depression" again(so far)...Even if you've seen this movie first, the book is well worth reading and is dramtically different in its scope and mood..Definitely one of the best of the 20th century.
Rating: 4
Summary: Amazing but needs a little closure.
Comment: This book is probably the most influential book that I've ever read. It has truly opened my eyes to a different time to help me appreciate the life that I have, now. The story follows the Joad family; they are heading West, to California, after being kicked off of the land that they farmed and were sharecroppers on. The Joads have heard that California is fruitful, rich, and beautiful. What they don't know is that 300,000 people just like them are also heading West to the "green pastures". Along the road, they battle death, hunger, and fatigue. When they get to California, they battle poverty, crooked authorities, and hunger. The family struggles to find work and find a decent place to camp. The story has varying chapters. One chapter is a generalization of what is happening at each stage of the migrants' journies. These chapters use vivid descriptions, metaphors, and history to create a picture for the reader. The other chapters are specific to the Joad family with plenty of personal adventures and dialogue. With each new chapter comes more intrigue, hardache, and adversities. Excellent, emotional portrayal of this devastating time period. I would have liked if there was a little more closure at the end. The book is long as it is, but I was left wondering about some of the characters. I guess it's just one of those cravings, same with movies, when you never want it to end. Steinbeck has opened up a world, to me, that is begging to be delved into and researched. I can't wait to learn more about what I read.
This book has really made me think about my life and the gratitude that I owe to everyone in my life. It's excellent to find that feeling of true thankfulness.
Rating: 5
Summary: Two Books in One - Does Not Disappoint, Still Good
Comment: I usually prefer non-fiction such as biographies, history and so on but a few months ago I came across an Amazon.com "Listmania" list for the top 10 American works of fiction. I had read a few of the books, but not all so I decided to buy all those that I had not read. These include the present book, and some that I have now read and posted reviews including Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and On the Road by Jack Kerouac. All of the books have been interesting reads and not what I had expected - lots of surprises.
When I bought the present book I did not realize that this book is actually two books in one. There is a 44 page introduction (what I call the first book) by the Steinbeck scholar Robert DeMott. His introduction is much longer than I had anticipated. This is in fact a mini-biography that describes Steinbeck's state of mind prior to and during the writing of the book. Also DeMott describes Steinbeck's life leading up to the book and what happens after the success of Grapes of Wrath. In addition, DeMott has "suggestions for further reading". So I would recommend the present book.
It is hard for me to rate the Grapes of Wrath since it has become something of a classic with about 15 million copies or more in print. The rating is a bit subjective, but I would say 5 stars, even if it was not famous. The book is a "reality fiction", i.e.: pure fiction but like many other fiction writers it is based on real events that are accurately described and has a few characters based on friends of the author. Steinbeck received both praise and criticism for the book. Many thought he had exaggerated the problems of the migrant workers. But as explained by DeMott if anything Steinbeck who had first hand working experiences with the migrant worker has slightly moderated the descriptions of the hardships faced by the migrants as presented in the book, and in no fashion did he exaggerate their problems.
This is a very interesting book and I would highly recommend buying and reading. It seems that the world has not changed that much since 1939. We still have migrant workers working under bad conditions although they are no longer from Oklahoma. They have been replaced by illegal aliens from Mexico, eager for the jobs. We still have some corporations and politicians trying to deny the reality of the hardships and issuing counter propaganda. We have perhaps even more problems today such as global warming, also denied by some. So the world has not changed that much in 65 years - and the book is still of interest and perhaps even timely?
I did learn two things, i.e.: read more books by Steinbeck and read a biography on the man.
Jack in Toronto
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Title: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck ISBN: 0140177396 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1993 List Price(USD): $8.00 |
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Title: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger ISBN: 0316769487 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 01 May, 1991 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ISBN: 0684801523 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ISBN: 0446310786 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 11 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: East of Eden (Oprah's Book Club) by John Steinbeck ISBN: 0142004235 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 18 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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