Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

9 reviews

gabriella_'s review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

God, what a great read.
Let me start with the problems.

I have some critiques. First -  I felt like it didn’t capture the breadth of displaced Americans for the time. Second - It was very white-centric and seemed to buy into Manifest Destiny shit. I take major issue with both of these. These are my narrative issues 

Clearly not as pressing but the pacing at point was inconsistent and dragged on. But I know at points that was the point.

Now the pros. 
I really loved the way Ma and Tom were characterized throughout. The family relations at points felt complex. There were really moving moments throughout, and great commentary that’s still relevant now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Ableism, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

mondovertigo's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Police brutality, Animal death, Pregnancy, Classism, Violence, Abandonment, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Racial slurs

arszania's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cursing, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

matilda_holroyd_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

larseneiii's review

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

....why the fuck did it end like that....

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Classism, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Cursing

Minor: Confinement, Genocide, Slavery, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I bought The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck because I enjoyed reading Of Mice and Men in high school. 

 

Blurb:

In this novel, Steinbeck alternates between macro and micro views of history. The bulk of the book follows the Joad family as they are forced out of their farmland by corporate landowners during the manmade environmental crisis known as the Dust Bowl. They pile their large family and most important worldly possessions into a sedan-turned-pickup truck and make the arduous drive from Oklahoma to California in search of work. In the alternating shorter chapters, Steinbeck outlines the migration of sharecroppers and other poor farmers from regions affected by the Dust Bowl to California, where they struggled due to low wages, inhumane business practices, and hostile locals. These chapters frame the story of the Joads as part of a larger historical movement.

 

Review:

There is no getting around the fact that The Grapes of Wrath is a slow-paced read, description-heavy, and full of small details. However, this appears to be intentional—any boredom or frustration the reader feels helps them empathize with the main characters, who must tediously travel halfway across the country in an old, rickety sedan-turned-pickup truck that could break down at any moment. Herein lies the genius of The Grapes of Wrath: Steinbeck writes his narrative and characters so realistically that I actually felt as though I was along for the ride with the Joads as they drove to California and searched desperately for work. Every character in this novel feels like a real human being, and Steinbeck avoids falling into the common trap of depicting lower-class characters as either monstrous or angelic. I rooted for the Joads every step of the way: their victories were my victories, their defeats my defeats. Their dialogue is full of wisdom: if I were a person who annotated my books, I would have highlighted and starred several phrases per page. 

 

The realistic portrayal of the migrants and their travails as well as the intelligent, brilliantly written social commentary transforms this book into a powerful anti-capitalist work. I have never read a book that so effectively made me despise capitalism and the American police institution. Steinbeck achieves this without appearing preachy or sacrificing the realism of his story. The Grapes of Wrath absolutely deserves its status as a Pulitzer Prize winner and American masterpiece. 

 

Sidenote:
The Grapes of Wrath contains several instances of sexism and racism (including the occasional use of the n-word). The racism is restricted to a handful of off-hand remarks made by the characters, while the sexism shows up more frequently. However, these instances serve mainly to accurately reflect the attitudes of the people it follows, and I personally did not get the feeling that the author was championing such views. The story itself contains several strong, capable, well-written female characters and the book’s overall message champions human dignity. However, every reader will have their own interpretation of these aspects of the book, and it is important to keep in mind if you are sensitive to these topics in literature.

 

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like The Grapes of Wrath if:

·      You have enjoyed other works by Steinbeck (if you have not read any of his other work, I recommend starting out with a short story or novella by him first to see if you like his writing style)

·      You are a fan of the artistic movement known as realism and/or you enjoy stories that realistically portray the lives of everyday, working-class people

·      You want to learn more about the human side of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl

·      You are interested in anti-capitalist and anti-police literature

·      You have experienced displacement from your home due to environmental, political, or social factors

 

You might not like The Grapes of Wrath if:

·      You dislike description-heavy, slow-paced books where “nothing happens” for pages on end

·      You dislike stories with ambiguous/open endings

·      You want to read a cheerful story

 

A Similar Book: 

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (1906). Similarities between The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath include:

·      Stories that follow migrant working-class families who attempt to build a life for themselves in a harsh, cruel capitalist system

·      Pro-socialist messages

·      Realistic depictions of working conditions in American history

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Death of parent, Confinement, Classism, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, Alcohol, Murder, and Sexism

Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Forced institutionalization

avsdhpn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Abandonment, Animal death, Sexual content, Slavery, Child death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Violence

mvtthewyng's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Sexism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Vomit, Xenophobia, Slavery, and Miscarriage

annapox's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The story was good. The writing was so detailed as to become boring.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cursing, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Domestic abuse