The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Forced from their home, the Joad family is lured to California to find work; instead they find disillusionment, exploitation, and hunger.
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4 comments:
John Steinbeck - the Grapes of Wrath.
I have re-read the Grapes of Wrath again after many years, and found it to be just as impressive with a second reading. In particular I appreciated how Steinbeck, grappling with many of the big issues of his day, incorporates these seamlessly into his story. Whilst you read of the Joad's migration to California the 'land of milk and honey', and their inevitable disillusion, you begin to see the world as the Joad's saw it, to feel the hostility that they felt, and to question as they did the justice of a society that allowed people to starve to death, whilst dumping food to keep up prices. This was Steinbeck's intention, he didn't want to just record the patterns of migration or to tell the Joad's story. Steinbeck wanted to fundamentally question American society during the depression, as few others had done. Of course this was interpreted as a 'political' book by the entrenched powers of the day, and his award of the Noble Prize
for Literature was bound to be controversial. Steinbeck through the Grapes of Wrath caused
modern society to (briefly) pause and question it's justification. Of course this did not last for long as we can see today. But to even slow the juggernaught down for a second was a considerable achievement and testament to his powers as a conceptual author.
Book Loft Member
Couldn't get into the book - could not hear the "voice". Julie
I really enjoyed the book. Not only did it follow the life of the Joads, but every second chapter talked about all the immigrants on their journey to California. These chapters had a rythymn to them and it was almost like cars travlling along a bumpy road.
robyn
This is one of my all time favorite books - extremely powerful writing that engulfed me emotionally. A story about ordinary people stuck in hard times, hungered for a human spirit. They strive to preserve their humanity in the face of tremendous odds, and from those people who treated them inhumanly.
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