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I'm in the middle of this book, having never read it when I was younger. Frankly, I find it difficult to read and there are times when I can't believe it was written by the same author who wrote East of Eden. I've been told by many people that this is a favorite of theirs. Maybe I'm missing something....
I'm in the middle of this book, having never read it when I was younger. Frankly, I find it difficult to read and there are times when I can't believe it was written by the same author who wrote East of Eden. I've been told by many people that this is a favorite of theirs. Maybe I'm missing something....
Read it twice.
Then see the movie.
I think that you'll change your mind.
Grapes of Wrath is a fantastic book, but one I think needs to be read slowly.
Now I don't feel as bad since it's taken me over a month to finish 230 pages. Over the weekend I got to the part where the Joads finally make it to California. I didn't realize how depressed I'd get reading it...the family is so unfairly taken advantage of. In the foreward it stated that Steinbeck did a huge amount of research on migrant workers before and during the period that he wrote it.
It's such a remarkably different book than East of Eden. It's most likely a tribute to what an amazing writer Steinbeck was.
Now I don't feel as bad since it's taken me over a month to finish 230 pages. Over the weekend I got to the part where the Joads finally make it to California. I didn't realize how depressed I'd get reading it...the family is so unfairly taken advantage of. In the foreward it stated that Steinbeck did a huge amount of research on migrant workers before and during the period that he wrote it.
It's such a remarkably different book than East of Eden. It's most likely a tribute to what an amazing writer Steinbeck was.
Grapes of Wrath is one of my favourite books, and the movie was pretty good too. Steinbeck was an absolutely amazing author. GofW really moved me because my parents both were raised during the Great Depression in a rural farm area, and it is really something to hear them talk about people begging for work, before they would even accept a meal or a place to sleep. They both remember lots of young men riding the rails.
Read it once, don't recall the details of it like I would any other book. I normally have a photographic memory when it comes to stories I read. Not with this one.
One of the best books ever written in my opinion. Steinback's language simply flows with effortless ease and his deft touch is never IMO quite as potent and poignant as in this masterpiece of his. His grasp of social issues and social history coupled with his deep personal anger and distaste at the situation make this book a real classic in my eyes.
He humanises a situation most of us simply see as a part of a remote historical world and it is still just as relevant now as it was when he put pen to paper. A true literary giant because of his deep humanity .
I find none of his writings wether his journalistic endeavours like "America and Americans" , the journals of his journey to Russia or even "Travels with Charley" nor his novels have aged at all. He manages to condense the human experience and distil it onto its very essence with the potency of his writing. He allows us little windows into the souls of people and give them a resonant and rich voice. I love him for that. He brings us together.
...It's such a remarkably different book than East of Eden. It's most likely a tribute to what an amazing writer Steinbeck was.
I agree with you, and it does seem to me that he is not nearly as appreciated nowadays as he should be.
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