The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) | John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) | John Steinbeck | Simply an Amazing Book

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The Grapes of Wrat...

	The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) John Steinbeck Penguin (Non-Classics), 2002 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 593 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Grapes of Wrath

I read this book in high school and did not pick it up again until I was 50. What a difference a few years makes! This book is about hope while facing incredible challenges. If there is hope, there is life. When the voices of the suffering come together, they simmer, begin to boil and rise up (hence, the wrath of the migrant workers). It is about finding strength in different sources (a mother surfacing as the leader of her family). It is about families circling the wagons and holding onto to each other because often that was all they had. This story has been told many times in the course of history of laborers and is the backbone of the unions. Chapter 29 says it all. Very moving. A must read over and over again.

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Simply an Amazing Book

If you haven't read The Grapes of Wrath, do yourself a huge favor and read it!!! Since it's that good, I can't think of any more words to describe it...

Powerful, memorable, beautifully written.

I loved this book, period. I was "forced" to read it in high school, and we all know how much teenagers appreciate great American literature. (wink wink.)
I am so glad I decided to pick it up and read it again, because it was as if I'd never laid eyes on the book before. This book is beautifully written, powerful, and heartbreaking. I did not fully realize the plight of the migrant workers in the 1920's and this book made me grow to respect and empathize with the Joad family and others like them.
This book stayed with me for a while after I read it; I kept thinking about it and analyzing it. I couldn't wait for my husband to finish reading it so we could talk about it. If anyone is intimidated by the phrase "classic novel" or has bad memories of being forced to read classics in high school, I strongly urge you to read this book--I read everything from People magazine to Patricia Cornwell to chick lit--and I LOVED this book.

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Politically charged and blatantly biased, but still powerful and affecting

Detractors of this novel will tell you that The Grapes of Wrath is melodramatic, contrived, and relentlessly preachy - and I can't argue with them. The Grapes of Wrath is overwrought and about as subtle as a hand grenade, but it is also a powerfully affecting novel. I challenge even the most cynical reader not to be moved (at least a little) by the tragic story of the Joad family.

The novel is often described as a `sweeping epic' (which means it is longer than the average book). It is undeniably a classic and well worth reading, but is not without its flaws. The novel is compelling and I found myself having trouble putting it down as I neared the final chapters, however it does get bogged down in spots and some of the dialogue is repetitive. Steinbeck is unquestionably one of the most important writers of the 20th century, but (and let's be honest here) his prose is largely unremarkable (certainly when compared to Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby").

And then there are the politics...

Personally, I don't have a problem with an author having a strong point of view and expressing it in a novel. Yes, Steinbeck portrays a complex issue as if it were clear-cut. He portrays the migrants as good and noble (the men-folk may behave badly at times; drinkin', brawlin', and womanizin' but they are inherently good). Meanwhile, the banks and the land owners are evil personified. There is no middle ground in The Grapes of Wrath.

Despite what some reviewers would have you believe, The Grapes of Wrath is not a communist manifesto. It does however, question how a country so plentiful can allow so many to starve and suffer and Steinbeck doesn't hesitate to point his finger at those he feels are to blame. Reality is considerably more complex. The plight of the dustbowl farmers was inevitable as the economy changed and small family farms became unsustainable.

Steinbeck's narrative alternates between the Joad family's story (the even numbered chapters), and a series of expository chapters (the odd numbered chapters) that provide a broader perspective of the migrant experience. These expository chapters are the most politically charged and blatantly biased of the novel, but they also feature some of the best writing.

My review sounds mixed because I have mixed feelings about the novel. It is bold, but contrived, compelling, yet melodramatic, powerful, but preachy. All in all though its strengths outweigh its shortcomings. The Grapes of Wrath is well worth reading, just don't set your expectations too high. This isn't one of the best novels ever written, in fact, it isn't even Steinbeck's best.

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