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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Second time reading this; the first time was in high school. I liked how Steinbeck alternates chapters that give grounded narrative and others that offer these artful, “voice of god” observations of American society. The more that the story went on, though, the more I felt limitations in my enjoyment of it. Steinbeck’s polemical and political goals are deeply felt, but also lead him to present his protagonists (and their fellow migrants) as these almost angelic do-gooders so as to heighten the impact of seeing them tormented. I just wanted to see some complexity. The ending is beautiful and I would have loved more moments that embrace that kind of ambiguity. And if I ever doubt Steinbeck’s worth as a writer, I’d just need to revisit the early chapter where he spends like 5 pages describing a turtle crossing a road; it’s remarkable stuff.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-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:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
sad
fast-paced
I tried so hard with this one. I made it half way through and was not enjoying the book at all so decided to give up. When I first started reading it, I enjoyed Steinbeck's descriptions. He vividly describes the earth beneath Tom's feet and you can feel it yourself and understand how he's happy to be out of prison and on his way to see his family. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to keep me sustained in the book. There's basically no plot and all the characters are horrible who don't seem to care that their grandparents/parents are ill. I've never been one to understand or care for symbolism in a book, which I'm sure this has plenty. I'll still give East of Eden a try since I've heard it's better than this one, but I wasn't impressed with my first Steinbeck novel.