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A review by katmindae
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Glad to listen to this on audio otherwise it would have been a trudge.
I don't know if I would have appreciated reading this in school but I wish I had read this when I was younger. It isn't surprising how this disgusting look into the pitiful lives of the proletariat sparked some real change - too bad it didn't continue on into the socialism at the end and that Sinclair was trying to get at.
I would love to see a modern version of this out today with a new immigrant family in new work scenarios... I think in a modern rendition the storytelling would have a little stronger characterization so the readers could care even deeper for the characters and their plight. (It took me awhile [audiobook problem too] to figure out who the main main characters were and how they were all related.
Only not a 5 star bc it was hard to read but I found it extremely compelling and way more important than other 'classics' I've tried to get through - and of course there is some racism (more stark than the misogyny, which is interesting considering we get a pretty 'sex work is work' argument) which is unfortunate. Is the proletariat the proletariat or not?
I don't know if I would have appreciated reading this in school but I wish I had read this when I was younger. It isn't surprising how this disgusting look into the pitiful lives of the proletariat sparked some real change - too bad it didn't continue on into the socialism at the end and that Sinclair was trying to get at.
I would love to see a modern version of this out today with a new immigrant family in new work scenarios... I think in a modern rendition the storytelling would have a little stronger characterization so the readers could care even deeper for the characters and their plight. (It took me awhile [audiobook problem too] to figure out who the main main characters were and how they were all related.
Only not a 5 star bc it was hard to read but I found it extremely compelling and way more important than other 'classics' I've tried to get through - and of course there is some racism (more stark than the misogyny, which is interesting considering we get a pretty 'sex work is work' argument) which is unfortunate. Is the proletariat the proletariat or not?