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22nd out of 40 books
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Novels and Stories, 1932-1937: The Pastures of Heaven / To a God Unknown / Tortilla Flat / In Dubious Battle / Of Mice and Men
"Deep down it's mine, right to the center of the world," says a Salinas Valley farmer about his land in John Steinbeck's To a God Unknown, and Steinbeck the writer could have said the same. From the very start of his career he evoked the landscapes and people of central California with lyrical intensity and unflinching frankness. Through his intimate rendering of...more
Hardcover, 912 pages
Published
September 1st 1994
by Library of America
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The Pastures of Heaven - interesting compilation of fable-like stories - harsh reality mixed with serendipity - irony between beauty of environs and ugliness of human occupation, framed in the social structure of an early rural town in California. Easily digestible as separate themes, but challenging to fit into a unifying idea as a book.
To a God Unknown - very visceral descriptions of man's real or imagined relationship with nature - seems accessible to a wide range of audience, fr...more
To a God Unknown - very visceral descriptions of man's real or imagined relationship with nature - seems accessible to a wide range of audience, fr...more
I consider it quite a strange experience to read Steinbeck, it is not that he has an awkward style or is difficult to read; it is rather the opposite, as qua language use he is sober, the depth he achieves though is tantalizing and as such when reading these works we are offered clever constructs of social realism that show both the world and the individual as mutually wrapped up in one another.
Especially outstanding here are “In a dubious battle” and “Of mice and men”. The former deals wi...more
Especially outstanding here are “In a dubious battle” and “Of mice and men”. The former deals wi...more
What's not to love about a collection of stories that contains the classic Of Mice and Men? But this typically beautiful edition from the Library of America is so much more. It contains Steinbeck's earliest writings, ranging from the the pastoral (The Pastures of Heaven)and the poetic (To A God Unknown), to outright slapstick (Tortilla Flat). But the real sleeper in here is one of the longest stories, In Dubious Battle, the story of two self-proclaimed radicals who help organize apple pickers...more
Angela Arzaga
is currently reading it
I love Steinbeck. He draws characters that are simply passionate. Common and anomalous.
Immerse yourself in the simple, comedic, tragic lives of these people.
ps- doesn't he look dreamy in this picture?
Immerse yourself in the simple, comedic, tragic lives of these people.
ps- doesn't he look dreamy in this picture?
I read "Of Mice and Men" and "In Dubious Battle" from this book before I returned it to the library. The second novel was a suggestion from my brother. Both books immerse you in the life of travelling workers in the depression era US. Everyone knows "OF Mice and Men", and it was suprisingly short, but so poingniently told the story of struggle and hope. "In Dubious Battle" was a suprise. It presents the disfunction and cruelty of a labor strike during the ...more
Steinbeck is a hard read for me, especially emotionally. He is not my favorte author and the ones I like usually die. But, I wanted to read this mostly for Of Mice and Men, because I couldn't stand that my husband had read it but I hadn't.
I borrowed this from the library, and will probably buy it. The book's physical quality is among the best I've ever seen - really nice thin but sturdy pages that won't yellow or get brittle, and it lays open by itself.
I ended up buying this whole Steinbeck series from Library of America last year, I've read through them all and am re-reading much of it when I feel like picking something up.
I ended up buying this whole Steinbeck series from Library of America last year, I've read through them all and am re-reading much of it when I feel like picking something up.
Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors! Every one of his better known works is a beautiful piece. A wonderful, early California writer who opens up the world of old Monterey, Big Sur, and central California with his ability to capture the natural beauty of his settings, and poetic insight into the human heart and psyche. Every one of these stories is beautiful and perfect.
Okay... really I've only read two of the inclusions in this book: In Dubious battle, which I give 3 stars to cause it's just not Steinbeck's best and Of Mice and Men which I loved as a kid so lets say 4 stars.
Esnel Pla
marked it as partially-read
Read [i]Of Mice and Men[/i].
Five stories, gritty and gristly, pure Steinbeck. Great, great, reading.
2-in-1 Anthology
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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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