33rd out of 17,074 books
—
57,428 voters
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression follows the western movement of one family and a nation in search of work and human dignity. Perhaps the most American of American classics.
The novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of sharecroppers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in financial and...more
The novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of sharecroppers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in financial and...more
Paperback, 455 pages
Published
January 8th 2002
by Penguin Books
(first published 1939)
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Whenever I revisit a classic I'm struck by how much more I get out of it now than I did when I was 24 or 19 or, God forbid, 15. Giving a book like the Grapes of Wrath to a 15 year old serves largely to put them off fine literature for the rest of their lives. The depth of understanding and compassion for the human condition as communicated by a book like this is simply unfathomable to those who haven't lived much life yet, but after you've gotten a healthy dose of living, it comes across like ...more
REVIEW FOR Celebrity Death Match Review Elimination Tournament ONLY
My real (normal) review is at this link.
Grapes of Wrath (10) (a.k.a trampling vintage)
versus
Sound and the Fury (23) (a.k.a. soliloquy signifying nothing)
Over in this corner we have Grapes of Wrath (GW) with its clearly defined and understood message: workers unite, blessed are the poor, viva the revolution, his truth is marching on.
Over in the other corner is The Sound and th...more
My real (normal) review is at this link.
Grapes of Wrath (10) (a.k.a trampling vintage)
versus
Sound and the Fury (23) (a.k.a. soliloquy signifying nothing)
Over in this corner we have Grapes of Wrath (GW) with its clearly defined and understood message: workers unite, blessed are the poor, viva the revolution, his truth is marching on.
Over in the other corner is The Sound and th...more
This is by far my favorite book of all time for several reasons. Steinbeck always creates some of the deepest characters I've ever read. Tom Joad is my favorite character in any piece of literature. His growth from a self-serving ex-con to a Christ-like hero is an embodiment of the entire Joad family. Every time I read his lines to Ma when he says "Every time there is a cop beatin' a guy...look in their eyes Ma, You'll see me" or something like that, I think of that Rage Against th...more
My dad told me that reading this book when he was a young man made him a socialist. Of course, by the time he told me this the old man had shed many of those earlier convictions, as least as far as I could tell, but it gave me a good idea of what to expect when I finally got around to reading it at some point in the late nineties—a portrayal of the inhumane and selfish response of the capitalist minority to the widespread misery and desperation of the laboring majority during those terrible year...more
Mr Stienbec has writ a remarkable tale His story leaves a feller and a gal sad and disheartened anda appreciaten oftha dtermnation, courage n stenth of da dus bowl Okies. I fel a conect to dare struggles wit what life sometime dishes out to folk. I growed to like tha Joad family like day was my own. Grandma, Grandpa, Tom, Al, Pa, Ma, Rose ASharon, Ruthie, Wimfiel, Connie,preacher became like kin. I kepta wishin and hopin for the famly through all thiere difculties and setbacks I would give t...more
*Review contains a partial spoiler*
If you read enough reviews, you'll notice that most of the people who gave this book 1 or 2 stars had to read the book for a high school class. Most of the 4 and 5 star ratings came from those who read it as adults. I recommend listening to those who read it as adults.
Many people hate the ending, but I thought it was great. Creepy? Yes, but there was an immense amount of beauty and generosity in that creepy little ending. At one po...more
If you read enough reviews, you'll notice that most of the people who gave this book 1 or 2 stars had to read the book for a high school class. Most of the 4 and 5 star ratings came from those who read it as adults. I recommend listening to those who read it as adults.
Many people hate the ending, but I thought it was great. Creepy? Yes, but there was an immense amount of beauty and generosity in that creepy little ending. At one po...more
Isn't THE GRAPES OF WRATH just wonderful!!!!???? You've not read it??? Shit!!!! You don't know what you're missing!!!!!!!! If you've read it, then you will know exactly what I am talking about.
I have lived on, or close to old route 66 for over 20 years of my life. I love the history of THE MOTHER ROAD. However, believe it or not, it was only in the past few years that I finally read this book! I had read other Steinbeck,and loved it,and for some reason, after owning a copy of the...more
I have lived on, or close to old route 66 for over 20 years of my life. I love the history of THE MOTHER ROAD. However, believe it or not, it was only in the past few years that I finally read this book! I had read other Steinbeck,and loved it,and for some reason, after owning a copy of the...more
This book was quite a read. It follows a fictional family, the Joads, through some of the darkest days of the depression. The Joads are a family of sharecroppers who have been in Oklahoma for three generations. But now the bank owns the land and due to years of dust storms which caused repeated crop failure the bank has taken possession of the land and the family now has no way to make a living or even a home. They decide to move to California following a handbill that has promised jobs and ...more
This book deserves all the praise it's been given.
My mom, a former english teacher, discovered that I hadn't read it and mailed me a copy. Let me say that I'm SO thankful I didn't read it in high school as many have. I can't imagine that I would've appreciated it half as much back then and it's too bad that so many folks have experienced it from that adolescent standpoint (although I do think it should be required reading when learning about the history of the U.S.).
The writi...more
My mom, a former english teacher, discovered that I hadn't read it and mailed me a copy. Let me say that I'm SO thankful I didn't read it in high school as many have. I can't imagine that I would've appreciated it half as much back then and it's too bad that so many folks have experienced it from that adolescent standpoint (although I do think it should be required reading when learning about the history of the U.S.).
The writi...more
Needleroozer
rated it
Recommends it for:
kids in elementary school who want to look sophisticated carrying around a big book
Shelves:
fiction
I read this book in 5th grade. I am not kidding! My teacher asked if any of us had ever read this book (what in the hell was she thinking?), so I went home and said I wanted to read it.
My parents dutifully took me to Waldenbooks in the Acadiana Mall and bought me a copy. For some reason, the copy they bought me included a lot of critical writing about the novel, so the book was HUGE. It was one fat book. I carried it around like the geek that I was (at least I had given up carry...more
My parents dutifully took me to Waldenbooks in the Acadiana Mall and bought me a copy. For some reason, the copy they bought me included a lot of critical writing about the novel, so the book was HUGE. It was one fat book. I carried it around like the geek that I was (at least I had given up carry...more
Non sarebbe mai venuta la fine finché la paura si fosse tramutata in furore.
Se vi dicono che Furore è un libro sulla Grande Depressione Americana, credeteci, ma non del tutto. Siamo dopo il tracollo finanziario del ’29, storico giovedì nero. Ci sono il Presidente Roosevelt e la sua politica per risollevare gli USA dal tracollo, il celebre New Deal. E c’è nel vostro libro di storia un minuscolo paragrafo che dice così: “la riduzione della produzione agricola prevista dall’Agricultural ...more
Se vi dicono che Furore è un libro sulla Grande Depressione Americana, credeteci, ma non del tutto. Siamo dopo il tracollo finanziario del ’29, storico giovedì nero. Ci sono il Presidente Roosevelt e la sua politica per risollevare gli USA dal tracollo, il celebre New Deal. E c’è nel vostro libro di storia un minuscolo paragrafo che dice così: “la riduzione della produzione agricola prevista dall’Agricultural ...more
Hillary Straub
Ms. Kuhn
English 3
15 October 2007
Timeline:
1. The main character, Tom Joad, is released from the McAlester State Penitentiary, where he served four years on a manslaughter conviction.
2. On his way home, Joad runs into Jim Casy, the old preacher. They talk for a while and then both head for the Joad farm. When they get there they find it deserted.
3. The Joad family moved in with Tom's uncle John bec...more
Ms. Kuhn
English 3
15 October 2007
Timeline:
1. The main character, Tom Joad, is released from the McAlester State Penitentiary, where he served four years on a manslaughter conviction.
2. On his way home, Joad runs into Jim Casy, the old preacher. They talk for a while and then both head for the Joad farm. When they get there they find it deserted.
3. The Joad family moved in with Tom's uncle John bec...more
Emily
rated it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I find myself hesitant to give a rating to this book because my opinion on it has changed so much. My first encounter with this book was in high school. I remember being aware that I was reading a "classic" and recognizing the beauty of Steinbeck's use of language; however, I could not bring myself to get past how boring it all seemed. Intermixed with the story of the Joad family there are many lengthy descriptions of the land, the view from the road and animals. To a 16-yr old, these ...more
A well-written classic novel! I could not put it down. People in 3rd world countries would always think that American is the land of milk and honey. This book opened my eyes that sometime in 1930's US of A had that depression that drove the people to famine. The Joads family really inspired me that no matter how difficult life becomes (with the on-going global depression), there will always be a better life waiting for all of us!
This book probably deserves 5 stars. It could also rate the encomium of the (so-called) Great American Novel. But I'm giving it 4, because (in a nutshell) I just didn't like it as much as East of Eden.
And while I admired the lyrical chapters that were interspersed between the actual story of the Joad family, sometimes I felt they were a bit too heavy-handed, or superfluous, even interrupting the flow of the narrative -- with exceptions, of course. I understand that these chapters ...more
And while I admired the lyrical chapters that were interspersed between the actual story of the Joad family, sometimes I felt they were a bit too heavy-handed, or superfluous, even interrupting the flow of the narrative -- with exceptions, of course. I understand that these chapters ...more
I still can't believe I didn't read Grapes of Wrath in American Lit but suspect I enjoyed it more at 52 than 19! I was drawn into this story immediately and especially liked the book's descriptive language, structure, and memorable characters. Casey, the reluctant, questioning preacher was my favorite. I admired the Joads' dignity, perseverance despite all odds, and willingness to share with others equally unfortunate. I was struck by how Steinbeck makes you feel like you're on that journe...more
Steinbeck's work offers a lovely and vivid account of a family forced by dust storms and poverty to move West during the Great Depression. At times Steinbeck's story-telling is superb. Indeed, when the main narrative is progressing the book is about as good as any novel I have read. The story is marred, however, by tediously didactic passages in which Steinbeck offers moral sermons rather than a good story.
It might be okay--or even praiseworthy--for a novel to be didactic if what it ...more
It might be okay--or even praiseworthy--for a novel to be didactic if what it ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Michelle
added it
This book was a very accurate and informative account of the Great Depression in the 1900's. Written in 1939 by John Steinbeck, it tracks the forced migration of the "Okies" from the eastern states to the west, their final destination being California. Full of hardship and sacrifice, the lives of the migrants are tragic, as is demonstrated in this powerful novel. When the farming migrants finally arrive in California, with promises of high paying jobs and beautiful, lush land, they ...more
wow. loved this book. I've read two of Steinbeck's books now and I feel like both books changed my life in some way. This one especially. The end was amazing. I wish all people were more like the Joads, including myself.
The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen:
Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin'...more
The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen:
Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin'...more
For years people had said that this book was "terrific", "a masterpiece" and so I took it off the shelf at home and eagerly started reading to see if the reviews were true. Perhaps they are understated.
This book is written by a man that truly understands what it is to be human; he understands grief, love, loss, family, and most importantly, I believe, the subtlties of certain looks, words or sighs. He successfully depicts the the migrant Okies of the 1930's in s...more
This book is written by a man that truly understands what it is to be human; he understands grief, love, loss, family, and most importantly, I believe, the subtlties of certain looks, words or sighs. He successfully depicts the the migrant Okies of the 1930's in s...more
I read The Grapes of Wrath as I heard it was meant to be one of the great American Classics. I had only ever read Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck before, so thought this would be a good book to get into some more of his work.
I loved his writing style, the way that chapters specific to the Joad family were interspersed with chapters focusing on the situation as whole, giving the opinions and struggles of a collective identity (the migrant population.)
When reading the novel, y...more
I loved his writing style, the way that chapters specific to the Joad family were interspersed with chapters focusing on the situation as whole, giving the opinions and struggles of a collective identity (the migrant population.)
When reading the novel, y...more
i can't believe how good this book is. made me think back to my childhood growing up in indiana, but of course this goes back further in time to the dustbowl. i've just got to interview my old granmother's before they die and find out how my farming family faired during the dustbowl and the depression. this book makes you think hard about what was lost and what we are still losing.
importantly, this book talks about the important connection of man to the land. read wendell berry's...more
importantly, this book talks about the important connection of man to the land. read wendell berry's...more
Here is the truth that I know. I hate Steinbeck. I hate him for the eight years of English classes in witch each year we took one of his novels and broke it down to the point the stories were torture. I cannot begin to expound the torture of 1986 and reading the red pony on a beautiful spring days ever in Mrs. Shoemaker’s class and knowing that even then it was a self indulgent story about a boy and his pony is just that, crap…
With this being said, I loved this book. I loved the lite...more
With this being said, I loved this book. I loved the lite...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Excellent Book. I loved the sideline turtle story, the ever present hope, the historical significance...I mean, it's a classic! But jeez was it boring as hell or what?
I wouldn't have read this voluntarily, but in the end I'm glad I was made to read it. I didn't realize that white people had some non-self inflicted struggles in this country too, lol.
I wouldn't have read this voluntarily, but in the end I'm glad I was made to read it. I didn't realize that white people had some non-self inflicted struggles in this country too, lol.
The chapters were interspersed such that one tells of the general conditions of the Great Depression, then the other one would relate the details of the events in the life of the Joad family. The narratives describing a place, an event, a feeling or emotion were so well written that the reader would feel transported back in time, to the place, made to see the event as it happened, made to feel the emotions. This, no matter if one has to struggle to understand some of the spoken words in contex...more
I'm about 100 pages into The Grapes of Wrath. I don't know what makes me like this book so much, but for some reason I do. One thing for sure is that the dialogue is the best I've ever read. The characters actually possess, well, character. The accents are slang are only an addition to the already realistic and detailed conversation. Tom Joad is about as a realistic figure as you would've been able to find in the Dust Bowl of the '30's I would imagine, and being able to bring alive such a charac...more
Linds
rated it
Shelves:
1930s,
classic,
family,
favorites,
historical-fiction,
midwest,
mother-son,
movies,
oppression,
tear-jerker,
west-coast,
survival
This is the best book I've read in a long time.
When language, story, setting, characters, and plot come together by a master writer something almost spiritual happens and you know you are reading a work of genius.
I never had to read this in high school and I'm actually glad I waited until I had a little more life experience. The injustice and oppression of the long suffering Joads is hard to read at times because their desperation is so tangible.
With the econo...more
When language, story, setting, characters, and plot come together by a master writer something almost spiritual happens and you know you are reading a work of genius.
I never had to read this in high school and I'm actually glad I waited until I had a little more life experience. The injustice and oppression of the long suffering Joads is hard to read at times because their desperation is so tangible.
With the econo...more
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| The Secret Circle : Rereading one of my favorites | 1 | 3 | 13 hours, 26 min ago | |
| TKA Book Club: The Grapes of Wrath | 21 | 3 | Jan 12, 2012 12:34pm | |
| does chapter 25 pretty much give the gist? | 3 | 47 | Jan 10, 2012 04:50pm | |
| Grapes of Wrath | 47 | 275 | Jan 04, 2012 01:42pm | |
| Coffee Talk: November BOM Chapters 1 through 8 Spoilers | 26 | 24 | Nov 21, 2011 06:08am | |
| Coffee Talk: November BOM Chapters 17 through 24 Spoilers | 1 | 13 | Nov 18, 2011 07:17pm | |
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John Steinbeck III was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.
In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Steinbeck grew u...more
More about John Steinbeck...
In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Steinbeck grew u...more
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I see your point but I don't think he meant it in a bad way.
Feb 05, 2012 09:29am
I see your point but I don't think he meant ...more
Feb 05, 2012 01:25pm