losersfiction 's review for:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

5.0

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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