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arszania's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Cursing
carpetconcretecrocodile's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
One of John Steinbeck’s greatest writing strengths, to me, is his ability to craft realistic scenarios that connect with people and encourage examinations of human life. And despite my love for East of Eden, I find that The Grapes of Wrath truly exemplifies that strength the most, and it makes perfect sense that it was banned upon release.
The way economic and social disparity is described in this book is often harrowing. The way each character in the Joad family portrays different personalities’ reaction to these disparities is part of what makes it so harrowing, as often times you can relate these characters to people that may be in your life, or perhaps even yourself. And I believe that’s how Steinbeck riled so many people up with this book- showing average, realistic people taking on the horrors that the Great Depression befell onto them, which allows for a much deeper connection and emotional response to the themes.
I found this book amazing, and it’s hard to describe in detail why that is. So I implore anyone who hasn’t to read it, and find out themselves.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs
another_dahlia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident and Colonisation
matilda_holroyd_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
larseneiii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Genocide, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
The Grapes of Wrath contains several instances of sexism and racism (including the occasional use of the n-word). The racism is restricted to a handful of off-hand remarks made by the characters, while the sexism shows up more frequently. However, these instances serve mainly to accurately reflect the attitudes of the people it follows, and I personally did not get the feeling that the author was championing such views. The story itself contains several strong, capable, well-written female characters and the book’s overall message champions human dignity. However, every reader will have their own interpretation of these aspects of the book, and it is important to keep in mind if you are sensitive to these topics in literature.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident
alex2teeuw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Steinbeck did his best - as he had hoped - "to rip a reader's nerves to rags". I find it difficult to imagine anything besides. For someone like myself who had not read much leftist literature, the Grapes of Wrath helped me develop class consciousness and a consideration for those who are marginalised. Really - how could anyone who's read the Grapes of Wrath conclude that we live in a just society, a functioning society, a successful society that works for everyone? It changed me.
Also, chapters 5 and 25 are hands-down the best pages of literature ever written. They're beautifully written - analogous to Marx's capital. I feel immense sadness and simultaneous happiness when I read them. I feel the anger.
Also, also, it should not be ignored that there is quite widespread agreement that Steinbeck used (or even plagiarised) some ideas for the Grapes of Wrath from Sanora Babb's 'Whose Names Are Unknown'. It would be worth reading both novels.
Graphic: Miscarriage and Murder
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
calamityin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Police brutality, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Slavery and Murder
Minor: Kidnapping
bakunzi1990's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🍇 The plot: When Tom Joad is released from prison and returns to his family's farm in Oklahoma, it is to find them packing up to move west. The 1930s Dust Bowl crisis has decimated their land and the corporate farmers who own it are driving them out, toward the too-good-to-be-true promise of prosperity in California. The trials and tribulations of the Joads' journey mirrors the broader story of workers at this point in the development of modern capitalism.
If you'd have told me when I'd just started this book and read a whole chapter about corn that this would turn out to be a five star read, I wouldn't have believed you. There are significant caveats to those five stars, but overall, this one really surprised me!
With chapters alternating between the Joad family's story and the broader plight of migrant workers, the scope of this novel is incredible. I think a lot about how separated I am from the production of most of the things I need to live, and this book charts the rise of this separation in America, as machines enable corporate farmers to put profits before people. The chapter in which an angry farmer has it explained to him that a company is not a person, and there is nowhere he can go and no person he can reason with to change its doing, is a perfect illustration of how capitalism works to alienate and disempower workers.
The novel highlights the solidarity and humanity found in migrant camps, as well as the deep corruption of the US police. If you think the Defund movement is only a few years old/ only relevant to Black Americans/ that one of the key functions of policing isn't to protect property of the rich, read this book.
On that note however, as I said before, there are caveats to my praise for this novel. Firstly, it focuses solely on the white migrant experience, so its depiction is by no means comprehensive. You'd also think from this book that there were 10 men for every one woman in America. And finally there's some evidence Steinbeck plagiarised a lot of it from a woman whose notes he read without her knowledge. So definitely let that inform your reading!
🍇 Read it if you like books that deal with how individual stories fit into overarching historical trends, particularly capitalism.
🚫 Avoid it if you're avoiding stories featuring police violence or stillbirth, if you don't like novels that read a bit like fables, or if you'd rather invest your energy researching an intersectional history of the Dust Bowl crisis (very fair if so, this is a big book)
Graphic: Death, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Racism