Reviews

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

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dunnadam's review against another edition

5.0

My second time reading, my first in about 20 years.
600 pages never flew by so fast.
The book perfectly captures the essence of humanity.

books_coffee_and_rain's review

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emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

paola_mobileread's review against another edition

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4.0

What can I possibly add to what has been written on [b:The Grapes of Wrath|4395|The Grapes of Wrath|John Steinbeck|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1352912927s/4395.jpg|2931549] already? There is no way that I can add any novel insights or angle, so I will just commit my personal impressions on paper.

I did like this work a lot, but the last three chapters (and the ending) somewhat disappointed, and though I do understand the Joad family are simply a vehicle to convey the larger picture, the insistence on certain aspect, most notably the tireless laboriousness of the men, the utter goodness of each member of the family, with just a spatter of infractions here and there,the relentlessness with which they stand up after each and every hit becomes progressively more incredible, making the characters less and less real, and abstracting the message more and more. I did find the ending disturbing, and I guess the author is looking for something that will really shock the reader, but there was something slightly deranged in the last scene - won't say more not to spoil it, of course.

Having said this, [a:John Steinbeck|585|John Steinbeck|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1182118389p2/585.jpg]'s prose is masterful, and his alternating chapters describing the general environment with those following the (mis)fortunes of the Joad family very effective. There are countless memorable passages, and I was struck by the almost tenderness with which the author describes the internal battles of men struggling to understand and finding it hard to express their feelings in words:

Joad moved gratefully into it and squatted on his hams and made a new smooth place on which to draw his thoughts with a stick

There is some humor, too, e.g in this exchange between Tom Joad senior and his brother John:

I'm gettin' bad," he said. "I feel sin."
"You can't sin none," said Pa. "You ain't got no money. Jus' sit tight. Cos' you at leas' two bucks to sin, an' we ain't got two bucks amongst us."
"Yeah! But I'm a-thinkin' sin."
"Awright. You can think sin for nothin'."
"It's jus' as bad," said Uncle John.
"It's a whole hell of a lot cheaper," said Pa.

Of course, it is a must read.

michaelwinstonclark's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative reflective 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? No

4.25

jeffeberhard's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An American classic that everyone should read

dnandrews797's review against another edition

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4.0

This novel perfectly encapsulates the confusion and desperation of the Great Depression. I especially like that there is no one human to blame for the tragedy and starvation of a people, only amalgamous organisations like “the banks” or “the farmers association”. It’s not the cruelty or callousness of individuals but the soulless system of capitalism, sucking dry the forces that maintain the machine for “profit”, even going so far as to burn food instead of giving it to the hungry. I think this is one of the great American novels for shedding light on the difficulties of the blue collar workers who keep the nation running. It’s terrifying to think this was written almost a century ago and we’re still facing the same problems as then.