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flahri's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
thewestoworks's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dale_kooyenga's review against another edition
5.0
I love Steinbeck and this book didn’t disappoint. My favorite Novel of his is East of Eden and this book has a similar setting in the California valley and a similar darkness and life inherent in certain characters.
Steinbeck is the champion of creating distinct characters that come to life. In a paragraph he can create a character and the character comes to life. For this reason he is able to have stories with multiple characters and the reader isn’t confused.
As luck would have it I had to travel through CA valleys the day after completing this book. Steinbeck’s descriptive setting of both the good times and bad times in this valley manifest themselves even today.
Steinbeck is the champion of creating distinct characters that come to life. In a paragraph he can create a character and the character comes to life. For this reason he is able to have stories with multiple characters and the reader isn’t confused.
As luck would have it I had to travel through CA valleys the day after completing this book. Steinbeck’s descriptive setting of both the good times and bad times in this valley manifest themselves even today.
stuti_is_dumb's review against another edition
4.5
love this man's writing. cried when elizabeth died. joseph is so rel and most importantly, fuck burton
shandidit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
librarypatron's review against another edition
3.0
I still love Steinbeck, but this was probably my least favorite of his books.
cadyly's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up this book because I recall really liking Steinbeck's other novels from high school. It had said that it was going to examine pagan,
Christian and other themes within the context of a man's relationship to the land.
Well, it kind of did, but then it kind of didn't also. What was said by each character seems to be more of a caricature of each respective viewpoint, rather than a lived belief. Joseph, who supposedly had some spiritual connection to the land, didn't appear to understand exactly what was the nature of this connection, and similarly the religious aspect of the book seems similarly confused. Things just kind of happen, with no suggestion of truth being found in any one of the belief systems. They could all be equally valid or equally false.
From the beginning of the novel, it seems to set itself up as a tragedy, as the Indians foretell to Joseph of the droughts that periodically plague the land, and how he arrogantly tells them that they will not come again, now that he in inhabiting the land. We get the same sense of foreboding when we learn more about the character of his brother Benjy.
Despite these foreshadowings, Steinbeck has created a character that, while I can't identify with his beliefs, I still root for him and hope that somehow his optimism will by borne out by the narrative. The book is slow in pace and heavy with description, but this didn't detract from it's readability.
The biggest flaw of the story was that after it was over, I was still left with the question: what was the point?
Christian and other themes within the context of a man's relationship to the land.
Well, it kind of did, but then it kind of didn't also. What was said by each character seems to be more of a caricature of each respective viewpoint, rather than a lived belief. Joseph, who supposedly had some spiritual connection to the land, didn't appear to understand exactly what was the nature of this connection, and similarly the religious aspect of the book seems similarly confused. Things just kind of happen, with no suggestion of truth being found in any one of the belief systems. They could all be equally valid or equally false.
From the beginning of the novel, it seems to set itself up as a tragedy, as the Indians foretell to Joseph of the droughts that periodically plague the land, and how he arrogantly tells them that they will not come again, now that he in inhabiting the land. We get the same sense of foreboding when we learn more about the character of his brother Benjy.
Despite these foreshadowings, Steinbeck has created a character that, while I can't identify with his beliefs, I still root for him and hope that somehow his optimism will by borne out by the narrative. The book is slow in pace and heavy with description, but this didn't detract from it's readability.
The biggest flaw of the story was that after it was over, I was still left with the question: what was the point?