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A review by cpope9
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4.0
Oof. Came for Steinbeck and stayed surprisingly for the anti-capitalist propaganda.
At the end of it all, this was a special book with timeless messages, particularly for Americans. For a country that was and is continuously built on the exploitation of labor, this book just really brings that home. And no, this type of story isn’t unique to the dust bowl depression era. This has been happening and still happens every year this country has existed. Whether black and Asian slaves in the 17th-20th centuries to the working poor and immigrants in the 20th-21st centuries, this story is so deeply American. And with the expansion of globalism over the last few decades, this exploitation of labor has extended everywhere in the world.
So good for Steinbeck for seeing the capitalist machine as the anti-human leviathan that it is. And shame on us for having this novel for nearly a century and doing nothing with it.
Aside from the morals here, the book is beautiful and full of robust and deep characters, each with their own arc and purpose. I found myself so deeply in Tom at the absolute disgust for the injustices he and his family faced and witnessed.
This book made me feel so so so much. So many things I haven’t been able to feel this strongly. I felt so stressed for so much of this at the traps and helpless events the characters had to go through, especially the ones they had no choice but to go through. I felt trapped with these characters. And in communicating the desperation and hopelessness of the poor, Steinbeck made it so real.
I particularly connected with the evolution of the poor protagonists going from self-focused to family-focused to human-focused. That arc then being juxtaposed against the corporate, police, and other authorities ever entrenching a focus self-success at all costs. One felt true, one felt evil.
I just happen to be going through a phase of my life and thinking that very deeply connected with the themes of this novel in a real visceral level. So this was a timely read for me and a life changing framing of certain important principles in my mind.
However, what I can say to knock this book is, that despite its depth and value, I just spent a good couple stretches of this book totally bored. I felt the scope of the story arc was just a little too big to be consistently engaging. So knock a star off my rating for that.
But regardless, this is a critical read for any American.
At the end of it all, this was a special book with timeless messages, particularly for Americans. For a country that was and is continuously built on the exploitation of labor, this book just really brings that home. And no, this type of story isn’t unique to the dust bowl depression era. This has been happening and still happens every year this country has existed. Whether black and Asian slaves in the 17th-20th centuries to the working poor and immigrants in the 20th-21st centuries, this story is so deeply American. And with the expansion of globalism over the last few decades, this exploitation of labor has extended everywhere in the world.
So good for Steinbeck for seeing the capitalist machine as the anti-human leviathan that it is. And shame on us for having this novel for nearly a century and doing nothing with it.
Aside from the morals here, the book is beautiful and full of robust and deep characters, each with their own arc and purpose. I found myself so deeply in Tom at the absolute disgust for the injustices he and his family faced and witnessed.
This book made me feel so so so much. So many things I haven’t been able to feel this strongly. I felt so stressed for so much of this at the traps and helpless events the characters had to go through, especially the ones they had no choice but to go through. I felt trapped with these characters. And in communicating the desperation and hopelessness of the poor, Steinbeck made it so real.
I particularly connected with the evolution of the poor protagonists going from self-focused to family-focused to human-focused. That arc then being juxtaposed against the corporate, police, and other authorities ever entrenching a focus self-success at all costs. One felt true, one felt evil.
I just happen to be going through a phase of my life and thinking that very deeply connected with the themes of this novel in a real visceral level. So this was a timely read for me and a life changing framing of certain important principles in my mind.
However, what I can say to knock this book is, that despite its depth and value, I just spent a good couple stretches of this book totally bored. I felt the scope of the story arc was just a little too big to be consistently engaging. So knock a star off my rating for that.
But regardless, this is a critical read for any American.