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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Assigned reading
All right man what the flip. Look I know I'm an English major and I'm meant to see all the classics for what they are. But this one just...wasn't for me. Do I recognize the point of that and why the book is dull and sad? Sure. Do I want to? No, not really. I can be bitter occasionally.
Nothing good happens to this family. Ever. I spent eighteen and a half hours (Thank you, Isaac, from Essential Reads I owe you big time) listening about dust and starvation and how important it is to have community and hope for it to end like that and Google "Why do people like The Grapes of Wrath". Call me naive, young, stupid, and unappreciative but it all comes down to the fact that I just didn't like it. More opinion than fact but whatever, man. Happy for you if you liked it though. At least now I can say I read it.
Also disgruntled that this is the book that lets me complete my reading goal of 2023.
All right man what the flip. Look I know I'm an English major and I'm meant to see all the classics for what they are. But this one just...wasn't for me. Do I recognize the point of that and why the book is dull and sad? Sure. Do I want to? No, not really. I can be bitter occasionally.
Nothing good happens to this family. Ever. I spent eighteen and a half hours (Thank you, Isaac, from Essential Reads I owe you big time) listening about dust and starvation and how important it is to have community and hope for it to end like that and Google "Why do people like The Grapes of Wrath". Call me naive, young, stupid, and unappreciative but it all comes down to the fact that I just didn't like it. More opinion than fact but whatever, man. Happy for you if you liked it though. At least now I can say I read it.
Also disgruntled that this is the book that lets me complete my reading goal of 2023.
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
In some ways I wish I’d read this book much earlier in life but on the other hand I think I got more out of it reading it in 2025.
It’s hard to say what my favorite part is, as I loved the characters, the plot, and the lessons, but I think probably the best thing for me was the sort of lyrical passages between the plot advancing portions. They really brought you deeper into the setting and made you feel almost like a character in the story. They heightened the emotion and were just beautiful even when they were sad.
This book was definitely depressing as shit but in some ways I think it’s hopeful. It shows the resilience of poor folks and what we can do if we stick together.
It’s hard to say what my favorite part is, as I loved the characters, the plot, and the lessons, but I think probably the best thing for me was the sort of lyrical passages between the plot advancing portions. They really brought you deeper into the setting and made you feel almost like a character in the story. They heightened the emotion and were just beautiful even when they were sad.
This book was definitely depressing as shit but in some ways I think it’s hopeful. It shows the resilience of poor folks and what we can do if we stick together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Police brutality, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit
One of the CW would be a spoiler in my opinion so I’m putting it here instead stillbirth
Keep in mind the book was written and is set in the 1930s for context/cultural norms.
It’s hard to say if there’s sexual violence really…. There are some times that the men are talking about women they’ve slept with that are definitely questionable, and there’s one scene where a man is assaulting a woman (not necessarily sexually, idk?) and she’s fighting him off but then they both start laughing.
There’s also talk of a man beating his wife etc. but it doesn’t actually happen
Indigenous and Black folks are both casually referred to as slurs a handful of times
This is a book about poverty in the Great Depression. There is a lot of hunger, sickness, and exploitation.
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
inspiring
sad
medium-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:
Complicated
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you have ever read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, you will understand what I mean when I say this story is similar in it’s emotional toll. It is incredible to read about what people went through during the Dust Bowl/Great Depression time period, and the lessons learned then are still, if not more than ever, potent today. This was an excellent read with fantastic lessons and fascinating characters. I’ve always been enamored with the seemingly poor and simple-minded character that, once dug down into, is actually the wisest one of the narrative - and this book has many characters like that. Tolkien’s Samwise Gamgee is another I think of, or perhaps Rowling’s Neville Longbottom, or Sinclair’s Jurgis Rudkis, or Stowe’s Uncle Tom, among many others.
Also, a friend found this video that covers this time period and I found it very enlightening:
https://vimeo.com/150192017
Also, a friend found this video that covers this time period and I found it very enlightening:
https://vimeo.com/150192017
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-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