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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
challenging
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was challenging to read because it was so depressing in parts. Some of the description was so visceral that I felt angry, horrified and disgusted about the situation, and I knew that it would keep getting worse/not getting better. Despite all the terrible things that were happening to them, the characters held the hope of the story together. I especially liked the characters of Tom, Ma and Casy. The latter's death was very jarring. Ma was such a strong person, you could see how she was the one holding the family together (as much as possible). And Tom, even though he's killed two men , came through as a strong person who loved his family and hated injustice, especially when compared to the 'villians' of the narrative, the land owners and the Californians.
It was interesting reading this at the same time as the riots in LA. And with the state the USA is in. People, rightly, are talking about how LA has always been a city of immigrants, which it seems it was, but back in the '30s they didn't seem to value that as much as they do now. Also, in many ways, the US seems the exact same as it was back then. The rich hoard all the money and the poor starve.
The final page of the book was very strange. It made me uncomfortable, but at the same time, I think it perfectly tied up the themes of the book. The idea of a woman breastfeeding a grown man is slightly nauseating, but speaks to the desperate hunger of the migrants and the sorry state of the existence, while at the same time, offering a strange glimpse of hope that not everything is terrible.
It was interesting reading this at the same time as the riots in LA. And with the state the USA is in. People, rightly, are talking about how LA has always been a city of immigrants, which it seems it was, but back in the '30s they didn't seem to value that as much as they do now. Also, in many ways, the US seems the exact same as it was back then. The rich hoard all the money and the poor starve.
adventurous
challenging
dark
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
very tedious to get through, the almost 100 page chapters were not fun. the interchapters were fascinating and poignant, and the whole story really comes to life off the page. beautiful writing, although descriptions of the land got quite boring after 500 pages. interesting metaphors and commentary, i enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i would.
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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:
No
i simply was not prepared for that ending. still gotta process……
um. well. this was… beautifully written, for sure. did i enjoy reading it? no, not really, save for a couple poignant scenes. did i empathize with the joads? some more than others (particularly ma and rosasharn.)
the thing that made this sO hard to read was the underlying misogyny on the part of steinbeck himself — it bled into the writing. girls are viewed as objects. inanimate objects and animals being destroyed/killed are always referred to as “she.” rape/non-con subject matter is treated as a joke by the male characters. girls are referred to as “heifers”.
i’m reading this with some friends, and the guys in the group were absolutely undisturbed by the twisted sexual views. one of my girlfriends, on the other hand, was horrified. i don’t know if it’s if it doesn’t apply to you, it doesn’t bother you, but this should bother anyone who reads it.
OH and can we talk about how absolutely screwed up like all of the theology is?? either it’s universalist and spiritualistic and not even trying to masquerade as christian, or it’s the most hateful kind of “christianity” you can imagine, and there’s no good balance.
the plight of immigrants was well-written and sympathetic. it’s important from a historical perspective, but i don’t think it’s quite culturally relevant, if we’re talking about modern-day immigration. but then again, this is a historical fiction piece.
wouldn’t recommend, but it was okay.
c o n t e n t
language: sh*t, godd*mn (like multiple times every page), d*mn, h*ll, b*tch/son of a (at least every page), the n word a few times
sex: ew. nothing narrated, but plenty of the characters have raped girls & are promiscuous. there’s a joke about bestiality. jokes about domestic abuse.
violence: a couple murders, graphic descriptions of animal hunting, starvation
um. well. this was… beautifully written, for sure. did i enjoy reading it? no, not really, save for a couple poignant scenes. did i empathize with the joads? some more than others (particularly ma and rosasharn.)
the thing that made this sO hard to read was the underlying misogyny on the part of steinbeck himself — it bled into the writing. girls are viewed as objects. inanimate objects and animals being destroyed/killed are always referred to as “she.” rape/non-con subject matter is treated as a joke by the male characters. girls are referred to as “heifers”.
i’m reading this with some friends, and the guys in the group were absolutely undisturbed by the twisted sexual views. one of my girlfriends, on the other hand, was horrified. i don’t know if it’s if it doesn’t apply to you, it doesn’t bother you, but this should bother anyone who reads it.
OH and can we talk about how absolutely screwed up like all of the theology is?? either it’s universalist and spiritualistic and not even trying to masquerade as christian, or it’s the most hateful kind of “christianity” you can imagine, and there’s no good balance.
the plight of immigrants was well-written and sympathetic. it’s important from a historical perspective, but i don’t think it’s quite culturally relevant, if we’re talking about modern-day immigration. but then again, this is a historical fiction piece.
wouldn’t recommend, but it was okay.
c o n t e n t
language: sh*t, godd*mn (like multiple times every page), d*mn, h*ll, b*tch/son of a (at least every page), the n word a few times
sex: ew. nothing narrated, but plenty of the characters have raped girls & are promiscuous. there’s a joke about bestiality. jokes about domestic abuse.
violence: a couple murders, graphic descriptions of animal hunting, starvation
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Somehow I was never assigned to read this in high school, so I'm reading it now!
I don't have a whole lot to say about this book. It's great, of course. Probably not as great as some people think, but a whole lot better than other people think. What's striking about it is how the problems that the novel tackles still persist. Rapacious greed and the diseased hate of the wealthy for the poor, the residents for the immigrants.
What he does especially well is show how the only people who look out for the poor and suffering are other poor and suffering people who just happen to be in a slightly better temporary situation. Also how he shows how those with wealth and power use desperate people against one another How the police are often complicit in all this.
But, yeah, Steinbeck writes character amazing as well and the dialogue is just so easy and believable and relatable.
Great stuff.
I don't have a whole lot to say about this book. It's great, of course. Probably not as great as some people think, but a whole lot better than other people think. What's striking about it is how the problems that the novel tackles still persist. Rapacious greed and the diseased hate of the wealthy for the poor, the residents for the immigrants.
What he does especially well is show how the only people who look out for the poor and suffering are other poor and suffering people who just happen to be in a slightly better temporary situation. Also how he shows how those with wealth and power use desperate people against one another How the police are often complicit in all this.
But, yeah, Steinbeck writes character amazing as well and the dialogue is just so easy and believable and relatable.
Great stuff.
As usual with Steinbeck for me, not interested in the subject matter but I’m sucked in. Real page turner. Makes me proud to be in a labor union. I found the ending unexpected and fitting.
