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loveislandkentuky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
4.5/5
I think this is the best classic I've ever read. I have not read a lot of Steinbeck but I'm starting to think maybe I should. Going into it, I had no expectations for what the book would be like except that I had gotten a good recommendation, so you can imagine my surprise when it turns out to be the most anti-capitalist book I've ever read.
Throughout the book, Steinbeck portrays heavy anti-capitalist, anti-cop, anti-big-owner, ideas and it was very interesting to read about. When the book was released originally, it was met with great backlash due to this but I think no matter if you loved it or hated it, it really gets you thinking and questioning your own beliefs, which I believe is above all, the mark of great literature.
Although it is an old book, the ideas are not too dated (besides of course use of the n-word as well as some misogynistic family value ideas) and the language is still very easy to understand. Steinbeck's work remarkably stood the test of time.
I think he has an interesting portrayal of characters as well as just enough plot so that his ideologies do not take over the book completely. I really enjoyed his in-between chapters, where Steinbeck would enter an entirely different point of view and discuss happenings of the time. It added great context to what was happening at the time as well as what you could expect from the chapter. It was like every chapter had its own little prologue which I really liked.
This is not to say that the book was perfect, there were some questionable points, but overall the book was very enjoyable for me, and I really did like it a lot. It's a long read, but I would definitely say it was worth it.
I think this is the best classic I've ever read. I have not read a lot of Steinbeck but I'm starting to think maybe I should. Going into it, I had no expectations for what the book would be like except that I had gotten a good recommendation, so you can imagine my surprise when it turns out to be the most anti-capitalist book I've ever read.
Throughout the book, Steinbeck portrays heavy anti-capitalist, anti-cop, anti-big-owner, ideas and it was very interesting to read about. When the book was released originally, it was met with great backlash due to this but I think no matter if you loved it or hated it, it really gets you thinking and questioning your own beliefs, which I believe is above all, the mark of great literature.
Although it is an old book, the ideas are not too dated (besides of course use of the n-word as well as some misogynistic family value ideas) and the language is still very easy to understand. Steinbeck's work remarkably stood the test of time.
I think he has an interesting portrayal of characters as well as just enough plot so that his ideologies do not take over the book completely. I really enjoyed his in-between chapters, where Steinbeck would enter an entirely different point of view and discuss happenings of the time. It added great context to what was happening at the time as well as what you could expect from the chapter. It was like every chapter had its own little prologue which I really liked.
This is not to say that the book was perfect, there were some questionable points, but overall the book was very enjoyable for me, and I really did like it a lot. It's a long read, but I would definitely say it was worth it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Police brutality
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Racial slurs
jennalynn48's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
sleepycatreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
An incredibly powerful novel about the migration of the Joad family from Oklahoma to California during the dust bowl.
This book is incredibly well researched and is a brutal and realistic description, that will really make you think and reflect.
The main issue for me was not so much an issue but a personal preference. The pacing is slow and while I think it worked really well for the novel, it’s just not to my personal taste.
This book is incredibly well researched and is a brutal and realistic description, that will really make you think and reflect.
The main issue for me was not so much an issue but a personal preference. The pacing is slow and while I think it worked really well for the novel, it’s just not to my personal taste.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition
Alright, I didn't make it through this book, but it was bound to happen for two reasons: a crappy English teacher and I don't much enjoy American literature. I feel like this endeavour was doomed from the first; and looking back I'm surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. I hate leaving a book unfinished, especially when it wasn't necessarily at fault, so the most I can do is leave an explanation. Here it goes.
To take first, my crappy English teacher. I go to a private school, so I'm aware this may be nothing compared to some of y'all's crazy teachers, but for my school, this lady was pretty off the wall. To give you a vague picture, she practically made us write all of our papers from the feminist point of view, and she would cry about her messy divorce and alcoholic dad in class (none of which was adding to the discussion at the time). I tried to enjoy the books we read despite her, but by the end of the year, when we read this book, I was pretty done with her. I wasn't encouraged to continue with the material because I basically received no class insight or analysis and I was too busy to research it on my own. Maybe I'll be more available in the future and can do more research into the time period, author, text, &c. to better appreciate the book.
Secondly, I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, so I didn't particularly take to this book. Pretty self-explanatory. I also discovered Steinbeck isn't my cup of tea. I can appreciate it as literature, but I'd rather read something else. Nothing specific I can pinpoint (besides the often disturbing and violent turns his narratives take), I just don't like it.
One thing I did like about The Grapes of Wrath was Jim Casey. I am endlessly fascinated by priest/clergy characters and their various tropes, and Casey both fit into a priest trope but also maintained nuanced elements to his character. I enjoyed his kindly, loyal, honest nature and his talks with Tom Joad.Actually, I was planning on independently continuing to read (we only read a portion of the novel in class), but I looked ahead a bit and read the section where Casey gets killed. That was the deal-breaker for me. My favourite characters always get killed, and although I did (reluctantly) sign up for the breastfeeding scene at the end, I did NOT sign up for another character death.
Final verdict: a slow, gritty book about hillbilly drama with twinges of violence and vernacular. 2.5 stars; might pick it up again in the future just to say I've read it.
To take first, my crappy English teacher. I go to a private school, so I'm aware this may be nothing compared to some of y'all's crazy teachers, but for my school, this lady was pretty off the wall. To give you a vague picture, she practically made us write all of our papers from the feminist point of view, and she would cry about her messy divorce and alcoholic dad in class (none of which was adding to the discussion at the time). I tried to enjoy the books we read despite her, but by the end of the year, when we read this book, I was pretty done with her. I wasn't encouraged to continue with the material because I basically received no class insight or analysis and I was too busy to research it on my own. Maybe I'll be more available in the future and can do more research into the time period, author, text, &c. to better appreciate the book.
Secondly, I'm not the biggest fan of American literature, so I didn't particularly take to this book. Pretty self-explanatory. I also discovered Steinbeck isn't my cup of tea. I can appreciate it as literature, but I'd rather read something else. Nothing specific I can pinpoint (besides the often disturbing and violent turns his narratives take), I just don't like it.
One thing I did like about The Grapes of Wrath was Jim Casey. I am endlessly fascinated by priest/clergy characters and their various tropes, and Casey both fit into a priest trope but also maintained nuanced elements to his character. I enjoyed his kindly, loyal, honest nature and his talks with Tom Joad.
Final verdict: a slow, gritty book about hillbilly drama with twinges of violence and vernacular. 2.5 stars; might pick it up again in the future just to say I've read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Death, and Murder
Minor: Child death
lowkeymarie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Almost DNF'd this one a few times in the first couple hundred pages but I'm glad I stuck it out. Such a moving story with memorable characters and themes that are still infuriatingly relevant today.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Child death
Moderate: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, and Classism
lexarobinson's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I want to pay tribute to my dad and say I love this book, but... I just don't. I'm sorry. It moves far too slowly, the intercalary chapters are simply unnecessary, and Steinbeck uses far too many words to describe the same things far too many times. It gains a few points for how well it tackles such a tragic event, but unfortunately, with the book's length and depressing writing style, I can imagine a lot of people will simply never get through the whole thing. Disappointing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Ableism
tanisha_112's review against another edition
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Miscarriage
amehlia's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
“How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past?”
I picked up Steinbeck’s Pulitzer-prize winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, in a Waterstones in Surrey several years ago and just a few minutes after purchasing had the ending spoiled for me immediately. I didn’t pick it up to read for a long time, but I am so glad I did.
This novel is brilliant and heart-wrenching, it carries you on an immense journey through Dust Bowl America during the Great Depression, beautifully and tragically capturing the plight of the migrant labourers in California in both his extended chapters dedicated to the Joad family and also the alternate shorter chapters that do a fantastic job of contextualising their situation and setting the wider scene. Steinbeck does a fantastic job of hooking you in and committing the reader to the Joads and their story. It took me a long time to finish because I didn’t want the story to be over
The slow pace of this book meant it took a couple of chapters to get me hooked, but when it did I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’m not sure what to do with myself now that I’ve finished it. Any book that has this sort of effect on a reader is, in my opinion, an epic novel. It makes for a bold social commentary not just in its own time, but is relevant today with negative attitudes towards migrants, and natural disasters and conflict displacing many more families that will undertake a journey similar to that of the Joads.
Overall, one of my new all-time favourites although I don’t think this will become a re-read. I’m not sure I can put myself through it again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Child death, Alcohol, Murder, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
Minor: Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
noshelf_control's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Murder, and Police brutality
smoothgoat's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Minor: Blood, Death, and Murder