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A review by blimeburner
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
3.0
I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. I read Of Mice and Men a few years ago and wasn't really a fan of it, so I was going into this expecting to have the same feeling. However, I found this to be a much more substantial story. The overwhelming emotions I felt when reading this were sadness and anger. I know that the story was inspired by Steinbeck's visit to labor camps during the Great Depression, and the conditions that the workers lived in. I'm not sure how accurate some of the aspects of the book are, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it is 100% accurate to how refugees from Oklahoma and Arizona were treated.
My biggest issue with the book was the personalities of two of the characters. Rose of Sharon annoyed me so much. It seemed like after Connie left, she just entirely devolved into a whiney girl who complained about everything. I get that she was pregnant with her first child and that that comes with some worries and every woman is kinda paranoid about it and her husband had just up and disappeared, but I found her personality so irritating after that point. I also got annoyed with Uncle John constantly blaming himself for being bad luck and constantly feeling sorry for himself. I found him to be just plain selfish, especially when they first reached California and he took $2 and went on a drinking binge. $2 in that time is about the equivalent of $30 today and was like an entire day's work for the entire family. I know that they'd just reached California and didn't quite know how hard it was going to be to find work, but if he hadn't done that, that would've been like two extra meals that they would've been able to buy. All in all, though, I did enjoy this book.
My biggest issue with the book was the personalities of two of the characters. Rose of Sharon annoyed me so much. It seemed like after Connie left, she just entirely devolved into a whiney girl who complained about everything. I get that she was pregnant with her first child and that that comes with some worries and every woman is kinda paranoid about it and her husband had just up and disappeared, but I found her personality so irritating after that point. I also got annoyed with Uncle John constantly blaming himself for being bad luck and constantly feeling sorry for himself. I found him to be just plain selfish, especially when they first reached California and he took $2 and went on a drinking binge. $2 in that time is about the equivalent of $30 today and was like an entire day's work for the entire family. I know that they'd just reached California and didn't quite know how hard it was going to be to find work, but if he hadn't done that, that would've been like two extra meals that they would've been able to buy. All in all, though, I did enjoy this book.