Customer Reviews

Modern Classics Grapes Of Wrath

5 star:		(311)
4 star:		(88)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

Not a short book by any means, GRAPES is nevertheless THE American Classic. While his EAST OF EDEN is a remarkable work, GRAPES is even more powerful, dealing with the dust-bowl and the Great Depression. The saga of the Joad family from Oklahoma to California is fraught with danger, bias, angst, humor, and hard work. It's hard to imagine just how bad it probably was for these people at that time, but Steinbeck captures this remarkably well, and the details---the sights, sounds, and smells---are so vivid that it is amazing. By the way, if you get a chance to see the film with Henry Fonda, while it's not terribly faithful to the book, it is still very good. But GRAPES OF WRATH, the book, will blow you away, particularly with the last scene. Not since BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and Styron's SOPHIE'S CHOICE have I been so moved and shaken. Must also recommend Steinbeck's WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT for another great work.

Suffice it to say that this is one of the best novels ever written. The only better one is Steinbeck's EAST OF EDEN. And my reason for this is based purely on the subject matter. That said, GRAPES is a must for anyone interested in serious literature and a major period in our country's heritage. It's because of Steinbeck's talent that we're captivated about anyone for X number of pages, let alone people who are poor, destitute, and trying to survive the dustbowl. This brilliant work deserves its place among the classics and hopefully will continue to be read in the years to come. After all, it's stood the test to time this far. Would also recommend Steinbeck's other work (of many) THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT and a book called KATZENJAMMER by an author named McCrae. Would also recommend his Bukowski's HAM ON RYE which is excellent as well.

"The Grapes of Wrath" a true American Classic is one of the most outstanding books that I have ever read. It does not fail to leaves its mark on a reader. This serious master-piece has its setting during the "Great Depression" and gives a general view of the 1930's. John Steinbeck who may be the greatest chronicler of this cataclysm wrote this THE GRAPES OF WRATH which is about the struggles of the poor during this time. In the story, the Joad family endures many struggles on their way to find work in California and their lives are a microcosm of struggles of the poor during this time. Like thousands of other families, they encounter hunger, violence, betrayals, setbacks and despair. Yet the Joads maintained dignity, courage, and hope to recover. America was fortunate in that the poor did maintain these virtues which kept their hopes alive and made them not to rebel and throw the nation into anarchy. The nation was also lucky with the ascension to power of Roosevelt. THE GRAPES OF WRATH shows how a people with hope and a leadership committed to its people can overcome disaster to become strong again.

Also recommended: DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, OF MICE AND MEN, WAR AND PEACE, THE USURPER AND OTHER STORIES, THE UNION MOUJIK

Who am I to review one of the greatest literary works of all time? Could I possibly give this book anything less than the maximum rating it so richly deserves? Should I even commence? Those were just some of my private thoughts as I finally put down a copy of this book - read. This is the book which stirred the American conscience, caused political reform and brought about change when first published in 1939. This is the book which described how families were starving to death because of corruption. This is John Steinbeck at his exceptional best. For those people who never got around to reading this engaging and absorbing account of the Joad family, may I suggest you actually purchase a copy (any copy!) and finally read it.

Today the world is either in recession or emerging from the dark grip of this latest financial catastrophe. Whilst we may live in a time when millions of families are no longer allowed to starve to death - well, not in the developed world at any rate, I earnestly believe there are lessons to be learned from this book about the rich and powerful who care not for their fellow man but only for personal gain. More importantly, those lessons are as relevant today as they were in 1939.

Another similarity also failed to escape my notice; In this book we see how US police and other officials use their positions of authority to threaten and even blackmail the many thousands of American migrants who were simply looking for work in order to feed hungry mouths. These people had not arrived from any foreign country and were not even black - something which would have made their persecution much easier. No!, these ordinary white American folk were honest farmers who had been forcibly evicted from their homes and the land they had worked for generations. Seventy years on, here in the UK, we are besieged by TV programmes depicting our different police forces undertaking their various duties around the country. Yet more cheaply produced "reality" television! Significantly, however, I have occasionally noticed how some police officers deliberately provoke a hostile situation where exists. Whilst not on the scale portrayed in this outstanding work, it is interesting that I should recognise that underlying attitude of arrogant superiority.

Whilst some may find the book slow going at the start, Steinbeck quickly gathers in those loose strands until they suddenly pull together to assume a story, reveal a mental photograph and produce a relevance into which the reader becomes fully immersed. I promptly learned local words and understood the dialect in which they were spoken as the Joad story unfolded. I could hear those southern accents as hardships are endured and explained through the actions of those who lived them. This was the organised, legalised daylight robbery and exploitation of the poor by the rich who were actively supported by the law enforcement agencies. A week's work for 1,000 fruit pickers paying 50 cents an hour is advertised to 3,000 hungry people who then pass on the message. Consequently, 5,000 starving workers arrive in search of that employment. With so much competition, the rate is lowered to 30 cents - take it or leave it! It was a deliberate ploy repeated time after time. Anyone attempting to organise his fellow workers is photographed, black-listed and branded a communist. Now feed that to your children. Then the banks insist the farmers reduced the rate to 25 cents and any landowner who questions that decision is swiftly reminded of his own vulnerability as a mortgagee! In short, either you pay them 25 cents or you join them! My own immediate reaction was to recognise a similarity between then and now - specifically with those modern banking practises which preyed on the sub-prime market. Anyone who cared to consider precisely what "sub-prime" meant, knew it was a policy destined to fail. And fail it did in spectacular fashion - and yet, the fat cat bankers still draw bonuses based on "personal performance" and not on their company's overall profit or loss...

I note from some of the comments appended to certain editions of this book, that various issues have been produced in which, apparently, Steinbeck's prose are changed to make the work an easier read. Please don't take the easy option, take the version written as it was intended to be read - i.e. the version written by Steinbeck. If not, you cannot claim to have read this book at all - instead you have the equivalent of, say, a Romeo and Juliet story - set in Manhattan in the 21st Century - and there are plenty of those...

In closing, I would urge anyone (indeed everyone) who has not already read an original version of this book If to go out and buy a copy - any old copy and then simply read it. Having done that, you too will draw parallels with our modern age and understand what I mean. You will also be richer for having done so - as would those fat cats who, unfortunately, will probably never bother. Having finally finished reading this outstanding work, I wonder how many of you will still be wondering whatever happened to that perfectly matched pair of Bays! I do...

NM

Who am I to review one of the greatest literary works of all time? Could I possibly give this book anything less than the maximum rating it so richly deserves? Should I even commence? Those were just some of my private thoughts as I finally put down a copy of this book - read. This is the book which stirred the American conscience, caused political reform and brought about change when first published in 1939. This is the book which described how families were starving to death because of corruption. This is John Steinbeck at his exceptional best. For those people who never got around to reading this engaging and absorbing account of the Joad family, may I suggest you actually purchase a copy (any copy!) and finally read it.

Today the world is either in recession or emerging from the dark grip of this latest financial catastrophe. Whilst we may live in a time when millions of families are no longer allowed to starve to death - well, not in the developed world at any rate, I earnestly believe there are lessons to be learned from this book about the rich and powerful who care not for their fellow man but only for personal gain. More importantly, those lessons are as relevant today as they were in 1939.

Another similarity also failed to escape my notice; In this book we see how US police and other officials use their positions of authority to threaten and even blackmail the many thousands of American migrants who were simply looking for work in order to feed hungry mouths. These people had not arrived from any foreign country and were not even black - something which would have made their persecution much easier. No!, these ordinary white American folk were honest farmers who had been forcibly evicted from their homes and the land they had worked for generations. Seventy years on, here in the UK, we are besieged by TV programmes depicting our different police forces undertaking their various duties around the country. Yet more cheaply produced "reality" television! Significantly, however, I have occasionally noticed how some police officers deliberately provoke a hostile situation where exists. Whilst not on the scale portrayed in this outstanding work, it is interesting that I should recognise that underlying attitude of arrogant superiority.

Whilst some may find the book slow going at the start, Steinbeck quickly gathers in those loose strands until they suddenly pull together to assume a story, reveal a mental photograph and produce a relevance into which the reader becomes fully immersed. I promptly learned local words and understood the dialect in which they were spoken as the Joad story unfolded. I could hear those southern accents as hardships are endured and explained through the actions of those who lived them. This was the organised, legalised daylight robbery and exploitation of the poor by the rich who were actively supported by the law enforcement agencies. A week's work for 1,000 fruit pickers paying 50 cents an hour is advertised to 3,000 hungry people who then pass on the message. Consequently, 5,000 starving workers arrive in search of that employment. With so much competition, the rate is lowered to 30 cents - take it or leave it! It was a deliberate ploy repeated time after time. Anyone attempting to organise his fellow workers is photographed, black-listed and branded a communist. Now feed that to your children. Then the banks insist the farmers reduced the rate to 25 cents and any landowner who questions that decision is swiftly reminded of his own vulnerability as a mortgagee! In short, either you pay them 25 cents or you join them! My own immediate reaction was to recognise a similarity between then and now - specifically with those modern banking practises which preyed on the sub-prime market. Anyone who cared to consider precisely what "sub-prime" meant, knew it was a policy destined to fail. And fail it did in spectacular fashion - and yet, the fat cat bankers still draw bonuses based on "personal performance" and not on their company's overall profit or loss...

I note from some of the comments appended to certain editions of this book, that various issues have been produced in which, apparently, Steinbeck's prose are changed to make the work an easier read. Please don't take the easy option, take the version written as it was intended to be read - i.e. the version written by Steinbeck. If not, you cannot claim to have read this book at all - instead you have the equivalent of, say, a Romeo and Juliet story - set in Manhattan in the 21st Century - and there are plenty of those...

In closing, I would urge anyone (indeed everyone) who has not already read an original version of this book If to go out and buy a copy - any old copy and then simply read it. Having done that, you too will draw parallels with our modern age and understand what I mean. You will also be richer for having done so - as would those fat cats who, unfortunately, will probably never bother. Having finally finished reading this outstanding work, I wonder how many of you will still be wondering whatever happened to that perfectly matched pair of Bays! I do...

NM

I first read this book over thirty years ago, and it still resonants with me. Set in the Great Depression of the 1930's, it tells of ordinary people pitted against unforeseen events and circumstances beyond their control. But by their strength of character, and sense of decency for others, they survive. Steinbeck's most moving novel is a read to be treasured.

Well worth the length of the book. (over 600 pages) Grapes of wrath, once begun is a can't-put-it-down reading experience. One becomes 'as one' with the Joad family in their desperate flee to California and their struggle of finding work once they arrive there. A novel, which perhaps best comments upon the sociological perspectives of the dirty Thirties deppression, is also Steinbecks masterpiece. His development of characters leaves the reader feeling as if inside of the story in this all too real analysis of the hardships endured by migrant workers flocking to California in the 1930s.
Social values are analyzed through conversations such as when one is asked to consider the worth of the farm horse as compared to the farm labourer: A farmer wouldn't think of putting out a farm horse during bad weather; but people who toil on the farm until the work is done are turned out.

I had to read this in high school and loved it then. Now, I find myself re-reading it and loving it all the more. The story of the Joad family is riveting and compelling. This is a must for anyone interested in great literature. Must also recommend the novel MY FRIEND LEONARD by Frey as it is one fantastic book also!

Probably the best "classic" to date, GRAPES tells the story of the Joad family as they journey across America to California. The term "earthy" doesn't even begin to describe what happens to these poor people and the characters are some of the most memorable and heart-felt ever to appear on the page. The movie which was made with Henry Fonda is also great. But the thing that really stands out in this classic is the ending. Whooooah! Most books fall flat by the time they finish but GRAPES OF WRATH builds until the very last sentence. Must also recommend another great book that I recently came across titled CHILDREN'S CORNER. Excellent writing and each and every story is completely different. NOT a book for children but short stories crafted in a readable and excellent style.

The Grapes of Wrath, written in 1939 by John Steinbeck (1902-1968), is considered by many literary critics to be the greatest of all American novels. This is a book about the Great Depression, and one poor sharecropper family's struggle to survive the worst deprivations that American society in the 1930's had to offer. Indeed, in my view, perhaps no American work of fiction fits the label of "The Great American Novel" better than Steinbeck's wonderfully written and still highly controversial masterpiece of fiction.

The story is both gripping and well told. Set in the 1930's, in America's "Dust Bowl," it is the tale of the Joad family, a large clan of poor Oklahoma sharecroppers, and how they are forced into a decision to migrate to California. It's also the story of the many trials and sufferings that they endure during their long and harrowing journey.

Lured by the promise of high paying jobs in California, the Joads, after much deliberation, decide to uproot themselves and make the journey westward. It's not an easy decision for them; it's almost an act of sheer desperation for this close-knit, extended family. They have been farming this same piece of Oklahoma sod for generations. Now, both the forces of nature and the forces of economics have conspired against them. A combination of severe drought and poor farming practices have turned this once fertile area into a barren wasteland covered with several inches of dust. Large conglomerates have taken over all the land in the area, and have forcibly kicked all the sharecroppers out of their houses and off their farms. Family homesteads have been systematically destroyed by these greedy new landowners.

So, the Joads, this proud, hard-working family, must go. They sell most of their worldly possessions in order to buy a run-down old jalopy. The whole family - Ma and Pa; Granma and Granpa; Tom (the oldest son, and an ex-convict recently paroled from prison); Al (Tom's younger brother); Uncle John (Pa's brother); Ruthie and Winfield (Ma and Pa's youngest children); the heavily pregnant Rose of Sharon (Tom's younger sister) and her husband Connie; and the Reverend Jim Casy (a family "friend") - pack themselves, along with their essential goods, aboard their decrepit old vehicle, and depart for the "promised land" on America's west coast.

The vast majority of this compelling novel tells the story of the Joads' plight while on the road. They are almost immediately confronted with the death of a loved one. This compounds their grief at the loss of their home and possessions. They find that most people they meet along the way despise, reject, and vilify them as dirty, filthy "Okies;" they receive aid and comfort from very few along their route. Yet, they remain undaunted; throughout their struggles, they remain focused on the ultimate realization of a dream: jobs, high pay, and a new life in California.

But the worst is yet to come. Upon their arrival in the Golden State, they find their dreams shattered. There are no high paying jobs; local residents, fearful of a takeover by this mass migration of "Okies," resort to violence and intimidation to rid themselves of a group of people they despise. The Joads find themselves bouncing from migrant camp to migrant camp. They are forced to flee one camp after Tom gets into a fight with a deputy sheriff. They spend several weeks in one well-run, well-equipped, and clean camp. They travel nearly 70 miles at the promise of high paying jobs as fruit pickers, only to find themselves cruelly exploited by union-busting farm bosses.

The great climax of The Grapes of Wrath sees the Joads once again suffering in unspeakable squalor as they attempt to survive the violent forces of nature and humanity in this, the great western "promised land."

The basic plot of The Grapes of Wrath is exciting, suspenseful, gripping, and possessed with a terrible beauty. But, this is not just a novel with a simple, basic plot. It is, indeed, a highly complex book, written perhaps in the finest traditions of the early twentieth century "muckraking" novels. It exposes the worst societal ills that were prevalent in American society of the 1930's. Truly a great book, but see for yourself! Pick up a copy of this classic book! Another novel I need to recommend -- completely unrelated to Steinbeck, but very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "The Losers' Club" by Richard Perez, an exceptional, highly entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.