Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

58 reviews

duarshe's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

I would like to thank my parents, for always cheering me on to do my best. Thank you to my brother for having my back always. Thank you also to my boyfriend for supporting my hopes and dreams and to my best friend for never leaving my side. I felt fit thanking my people after reaching the long awaited end of this book after 3 long days of forcing myself to finish it. Steinbeck really had A WHOLE LOT to say about the Great Depression and, honestly, fair. But God am I tired... And because I am trying to be less biased in my opinion of books with respect to how long they are I am giving this 4 stars. The Grapes of Wrath is a great book, it made me understand a lot of the things families had to go through much better than a history textbook would be able to. All the characters were great, and you can find things in each one of them that make them distinguishable from the others, even when the book praises community over individualism. Moreover, it was beautifully written and the descriptions helped me picture everything better. Overall, this book narrates a very honest, tough, and hopeful story representative of so many during the 1930s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and Classism

Minor: Racial slurs

soupyyy's review against another edition

challenging 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Death

megantyler's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

Minor: Racial slurs

aristarcodisamo's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Blood, Dementia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

beautifulminutiae's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Murder

eraserharris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

corvusthore's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is such a good book. From the very focused world building to the deep characters, nothing to hate, a lot to love. It's definitely not a comfortable read throughout, but I wasn't expecting that either. Also a very interesting story for any communist or otherwise leftist person

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, Blood, Car accident, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content

everyatom's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

The way that the Grapes of Wrath moves as a story is unlike anything else I remember reading. The story makes the reader feel the abrupt pain of

losing the family members that walk off, leave, or die

. It never feels whole or complete or like those characters'

endings

were justified. Because they weren't. And the folks they left behind weren't able to

get closure or process the absence of their loved ones. I mourned not only the characters as well as how their family was deprived of proper mourning

.

I felt the big swell of the message. Where the Joads' story and pains

got continually harsher, slimmer, and harder to comprehend

the message of the book becomes stronger and more epic in scope. The chapters between the story of the Joads' were so important to help the reader get that scope and to see the place of the Joads in the larger, unfair system. 

I'll be thinking of this book for years. Can almost guarantee. Just sits deeply in me and feels magnificent in scope, message, and pain. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

An unnamed dog is hit in the road and dies in the first part of the book

sundayfever's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This read much faster than I expected given how long it is. Interesting and made me reflect. The core issues around class, poverty and respect for the land are still issues today, despite the age of this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Racial slurs

thisisnotanexit's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

favourite book. An excellent look at the great depression which alternates between a close up journey of a family, as they try to survive the economic and social hardship of the dust bowl, and sermons, which contextualise the events and systems experienced by the characters in the broader societal and economic structures that enforces these. How anyone can read the deeply passionate and empathetic words of Steinbeck and not be affected is beyond me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Police brutality

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide

a major theme of the novel concerns poverty and starvation. As is police brutality, though in the context of the book against poor white people.