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4.46 AVERAGE
4.46 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
I found myself struggling to give this book a rating. It almost feels pointless to try to give it one, as if it's not meant to be experienced that way. Sometimes in life, things suck, maybe a little or maybe a lot, and you're still better off having gone through them.
This book was a hard read, I could barely stomach more than 30 pages in a sitting until the latter portion. I complained about the drab misery of the late 19th early 20th centuries, the bleakness of it all is something I felt as if it were floating in my own plane of reality. It takes a long while for everything to come together. You know it's a Cain/Abel retelling and you spend most of the book wondering where it comes in. Thinking you found it. Finding it again. Having it slip and slip and slip. Then it happens and you're so used to being mistaken, you don't realize you had it until you're reminded you did and it's all over. Maybe you get so bogged down with the themes that when you do manage find the thread of the story, it's such an exciting surprise, and you stay on your toes. I think I'm better off looking at it that way.
But there is real soul to the story. You can tell. You read it, and even though you're pushing yourself through, you understand why it's a classic. Steinbeck's prose is beautiful whether or not it's making a point. But more than that, it is deeply thought provoking. There are so many candid moments of what feels like getting to the bottom of the human condition as if it had been laying bare in front of us all along and we'd been too caught in the motions to notice. It's really a wonderful exposition of how we experience and grow from trauma, love, disappointment, fear, and courage. And most of all, it reminds us of what agency we do have over our lives when all feels lost. Sometimes it's a lot, sometimes it's just a little, and yet it all matters the same.
This book was a hard read, I could barely stomach more than 30 pages in a sitting until the latter portion. I complained about the drab misery of the late 19th early 20th centuries, the bleakness of it all is something I felt as if it were floating in my own plane of reality. It takes a long while for everything to come together. You know it's a Cain/Abel retelling and you spend most of the book wondering where it comes in. Thinking you found it. Finding it again. Having it slip and slip and slip. Then it happens and you're so used to being mistaken, you don't realize you had it until you're reminded you did and it's all over. Maybe you get so bogged down with the themes that when you do manage find the thread of the story, it's such an exciting surprise, and you stay on your toes. I think I'm better off looking at it that way.
But there is real soul to the story. You can tell. You read it, and even though you're pushing yourself through, you understand why it's a classic. Steinbeck's prose is beautiful whether or not it's making a point. But more than that, it is deeply thought provoking. There are so many candid moments of what feels like getting to the bottom of the human condition as if it had been laying bare in front of us all along and we'd been too caught in the motions to notice. It's really a wonderful exposition of how we experience and grow from trauma, love, disappointment, fear, and courage. And most of all, it reminds us of what agency we do have over our lives when all feels lost. Sometimes it's a lot, sometimes it's just a little, and yet it all matters the same.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A timeless masterpiece! Though written decades ago, the experiences and insights still ring true. Such amazing characters (good and bad: Sam, Cathy, Adam, Lee!!!, Cal). Poignant quotes every chapter. Enjoyed it from beginning to end!
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
Beautiful book John Steinbeck I love you you never miss
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Hands down, my new favorite book. Steinbeck provides a moving account of love, the soul and free agency that demands a great deal of introspection and has certainly changed the way that I see the world and think of my relationships with others.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
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
Such an amazing book, I really couldn't put it down. The characters are so compelling and the course of the story took so many interesting turns. I was never bored.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i don’t think there are words for me to encompass this book.. it was absolutely captivating. i don’t know how Steinbeck does it but i could feel the emotions of each character and the hope and despair that each one of them carries with them. i wish i could hear more of Lee he felt like a very good friend.