Thu, 29 Jan 2004

Jan 29, 2004, 11:12 [home/books/grapes_of_wrath]
Finally Finished

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I finished Grapes of Wrath about three days ago… what a strange book.

I’ve heard so much about this work that I thought there was something really amazing here. I’d heard it was Steinbeck’s best.

My final opinion after finishing it is that it’s not— not by far. East of Eden is way better, as is The Pastures of Heaven. This is more like his worst.

It’s not that he doesn’t have lots to say… he makes important comments about who we are as a human race, the reality of the bottom line, how insane we are to waste excess food while millions starve. The very essence of captilism is under critique, and he does this very well.

But he doesn’t go anywhere with it! I prefer stories that take us from start to finish. This one ends with the main characters in the same predicament they were at the start. In fact, if anything, they’re worse off.

This isn’t a pleasure read, this is more of a duty read. We should know what happened in the U.S. during this time period, and we should think about our personal perspectives wth regard to the poor.

So I recommend this book with slight warning. You’ll probably not enjoy it, but you won’t regret reading it either. If you can handle the lack of resolution, maybe you’ll really like it!

~Jason

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