Reviews

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

chasejwise's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

whiskeybucket's review against another edition

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1.0

This book did not slap.

Dry, deceiving, and bearing an ending that was heavily concerning, “Grapes of Wrath” genuinely made me wallow in sadness.

bella613's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I like the way that some of the dialogue-ish parts were like stream-of-consciousness writing. I felt like an inanimate object listening to a conversation. Or like I was listening to a transcription of someone's observational comments throughout their day. 

The book portrayed a lot of casual racism and misogyny. Makes sense for the age of it, but doesn't make it fun to listen to. 
Interesting to listen to the way traumatic events are described in that generation. 

joanamlr's review against another edition

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4.0

Que viagem!

yuliia_dju's review against another edition

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5.0

Абсолютне спустошення після цієї книги.
Бажання загорнутись у ковдру і дивитись в стіну

awwsunshine's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

jacket7227's review against another edition

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reflective

4.75

belzins's review against another edition

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I just kept looking for a glimmer of home that never came. 

droffig's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

alisarae's review against another edition

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4.0

I had never read the book, and I hadn't seen the film or even known what the story was about besides it being something about a poor white family in the 1930's. I didn't know that it is a very pro-communist story, and that surprised me.

The structure of the book — alternating between a chapter of "general" experiences or a bird's eye view of a situation and a chapter of what happens to the Joads — is lyrical and interesting. I thought the generalized chapters to be poetic and powerful.

The weakest part of the book is the dialogue. It's choppy, repetitive (though I could argue this to be a stylistic choice to carry the poeticism of the book, or perhaps it is to show the characters' singular mindset of survival), and oftentimes unrealistic in naivety and brevity.

I learned so much about 1930's America. I don't know how accurate Steinbeck's lens was, but I feel like I really entered into that world while I was reading. I like reading books that taste very American; this is one of them.