Rating: 
Summary: Amazing but needs a little closure.
Review: This book is probably the most influential book that I've ever read. It has truly opened my eyes to a different time to help me appreciate the life that I have, now. The story follows the Joad family; they are heading West, to California, after being kicked off of the land that they farmed and were sharecroppers on. The Joads have heard that California is fruitful, rich, and beautiful. What they don't know is that 300,000 people just like them are also heading West to the "green pastures". Along the road, they battle death, hunger, and fatigue. When they get to California, they battle poverty, crooked authorities, and hunger. The family struggles to find work and find a decent place to camp. The story has varying chapters. One chapter is a generalization of what is happening at each stage of the migrants' journies. These chapters use vivid descriptions, metaphors, and history to create a picture for the reader. The other chapters are specific to the Joad family with plenty of personal adventures and dialogue. With each new chapter comes more intrigue, hardache, and adversities. Excellent, emotional portrayal of this devastating time period. I would have liked if there was a little more closure at the end. The book is long as it is, but I was left wondering about some of the characters. I guess it's just one of those cravings, same with movies, when you never want it to end. Steinbeck has opened up a world, to me, that is begging to be delved into and researched. I can't wait to learn more about what I read.This book has really made me think about my life and the gratitude that I owe to everyone in my life. It's excellent to find that feeling of true thankfulness.
Rating: 
Summary: To Those Who Did Not Understand This Book
Review: As I read these reviews, I came upon two that disregarded the finest book of all time as "boring", and "without a point". I was saddened to realize that the crucial message so eloquently produced by John Steinbecks' fine pen, was lost on so-called "AP" students. (For starters, "real" AP students would have developed more profound literacy arguments than those stated.) I was first exposed to this jewel of literature as a freshman AP student in high school. As a senior in college now, the depth of this story only grows with each reading. Perhaps most disheartening in the disdain of these readers, is the ignorance to the storys' ending, the very crux of Steinbecks' message.
Despite the grevious hardships endured at the hands of her fellow human beings and the stunning death of her infant, Rose of Sharon offers her breast to a dying man without hesitation. This clarifies Steinbecks' hope; not just for the dying man or the Joad family, but for humanity itself. A poignant symbol such as this is obviously lost on a few young reviewers, but valued by others. My suggestion for the young readers who so obviously do not understand or appreciate this moving piece of literature is to start out with something more at their pace; Hardy Boys perhaps?
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of American Literature
Review: There is so much to be said about this monumental work; as another reviewer mentioned, over four hundred amazon.com reviewers referring to it in the positive can't be a fluke---this is one, if not the, greatest American novels ever written. The story follows the journey of the Joads, a family from Oklahoma forced to leave their land and head west in search of a better life. This is by no means an uplifting, happy book---the Depression and the Dust Bowl are the two major factors at the time the novel takes place that influence the situations in the it, and much (at times depressing) havoc is wreaked on all the characters in the story. Very similar to Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" in its intent and message, The Grapes of Wrath is extremely well written. Steinbeck flows from poetic prose in one line to the conversations of the every-day, relatively uneducated man at the time with beauty and ease. The book is setup with every other chapter taking a somewhat "withdrawn" sense from the actual story to provide some of the author's perspective on what's being written and what is occurring, and although often times when writers follow a similar pattern it ends up being somewhat of a childish pedestal from which they stand, I looked forward to the recapitulation of sorts after each section about the Joads ended, just to see what he thought. There are times in the book that will make you cry (the very last page is one of the saddest, yet most heart-warming signs of goodwill I've ever read) and laugh, but the intent in Steinbeck's message and the way he makes it accesible and interesting will impress you the most. The book is even aesthetically pleasing---it's got a beautiful format, an easily readable typeset (I finished it in two days without devoting too much time to it), and although there is neither an introduction nor foreword, the story itself is easily worth the price. Buy this book, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: To Those Who Did Not Understand This Book
Review: As I read these reviews, I came upon two that disregarded the finest book of all time as "boring", and "without a point". I was saddened to realize that the crucial message so eloquently produced by John Steinbecks' fine pen, was lost on so-called "AP" students. (For starters, "real" AP students would have developed more profound literacy arguments than those stated.) I was first exposed to this jewel of literature as a freshman AP student in high school. As a senior in college now, the depth of this story only grows with each reading. Perhaps most disheartening in the disdain of these readers, is the ignorance to the storys' ending, the very crux of Steinbecks' message.
Despite the grevious hardships endured at the hands of her fellow human beings and the stunning death of her infant, Rose of Sharon offers her breast to a dying man without hesitation. This clarifies Steinbecks' hope; not just for the dying man or the Joad family, but for humanity itself. A poignant symbol such as this is obviously lost on a few young reviewers, but valued by others. My suggestion for the young readers who so obviously do not understand or appreciate this moving piece of literature is to start out with something more at their pace; Hardy Boys perhaps?
Rating:
Summary: Even if you've seen the movie--read the book!
Review: I watch the movie whenever it is on TV, its one of my favorites from that era. This past spring, I decided to read the book, something I rarely do if I've already seen the movie. I can understand now why the movie, compared to the book, tried to put a more promising spin on the Joad's (and many Americans) situation at the time. After all, the future for the working class and the country as a whole,was very much in doubt circa 1930's America. I recently saw a documentary on the making of the movie and it mentioned how the famous speech from Ma Joad towards the end of the film,about how they are the -"little people" and how there's many more of them and they just keep a-coming and things will eventually work out- this dialogue was actually added by Daryl Zanuck to end the movie with some hope. The book offers none of that hope...I was shocked at just how unforgiving and relentless the book is in its outlook of despair and misery for the Joads and others like them. The final chapters truly are some of the most desperate and hopeless depictions of the American Dream gone bad that I have ever read. You can really appreciate the progress we have made over the past 60 years in assuring that the country doesn't undergo anything close to "The Great Depression" again(so far)...Even if you've seen this movie first, the book is well worth reading and is dramtically different in its scope and mood..Definitely one of the best of the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: I'd highly recommend this book. I've read other works by John Steinbeck such as East of Eden (not a favorite), The Pearl and Of Mice and Men (liked both), but the Grapes of Wrath is a favorite. I was deeply moved by the Joad family story. Despite their hardships, injustices, and loss of family, they press on hoping for a better life and willing to work for it. There are some good lessons learned in their story.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: This is an excellent book; I'd highly recommend it. I've read other Steinbeck books such as East of Eden (not a favorite) and Of Mice and Men (liked it too). However, Grapes of Wrath is by far one of Steinbeck's best. I was deeply moved by the story of the Joad family, their hardships and their caring for others in need. What a classic!
Rating: 
Summary: Steinbecks Jouneys
Review: "The Grapes of Wrath" is a powerful indictment of the oppression endured by the migrant families of the American mid-west during the depression years of the 1930's. The mid-west had suffered severe drought. "Dusters" swept across the farmland, skimming off the topsoil, leaving behind a dustbowl, only a few sprigs of wheat surviving. The tenant farms were foreclosed and the families tractored off the land in a ruthless drive to maximise profit. Circe 250,000 migrants, "refugees from the dust", pulled up stakes and headed west on route 66, the road of flight to California, golden land of dreams and opportunity, drawn by the picking work, harvesting oranges and peaches. The flowing in of rootless migrant workers centred on the San Joachin valley, California, and the huge farms there. The overwhelming glut of migrants flooding through the valley swamped the harvesting work available, driving down wages to peanuts level as they desperately scrabbled "to pull, to pick, to cut - anything, any burden to bear, for food". This is the destiny that fate held in store for the Joad family in "The Grapes of Wrath". Forced off their farm, truck piled high with their belongings, the Joads set forth on a journey 2000 miles haul from Sallislaw in Oklahoma through the western desert states of Arizona and New Mexico and onto the San Joachin valley. The gut-wrenching story of the Joads heroic journey is interspersed with short "relief" chapters on aspects of their route 66 experience, the tricks of used-car salesmen or a snapshot of life in a truck-stop diner, to cite only a couple examples; other chapters function as social on, for example, the stomach turning practice of spraying mountains of oranges with kerosene or dumping potatoes in the river under armed guard to protect market prices, at a time when hundreds of thousands of migrants were literally starving. This structure enables Steinbeck at once to follow closely the fortunes of the Joads and cast a wider eye over what is happening in society during the depression years. However, Steinbeck's narrative, in my view, is at its most powerful and compelling on the road,the Joads suffering and misfortune trucking along the endless narrow concrete miles to Bakersfield, California, revealing qualities of guts and resilience in their desperate struggle for survival in the face of death, starvation, hostility, exploitation and harassment. Steinbeck's powerful voice shows the migrants during the hard times of the 1930's depression years, the hardship and oppression endured by thousands upon thousands of families like the Joads, will resonate for generations to come. It is a voice that packs alot to say!
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutey Terrible
Review: There have been many negative reviews for this book, but unfortunately most of them have been less than eloquent. Some of you who enjoyed this book seem to have noticed that. Well, I'm going to start this review off more than eloquently. "The Grapes of Wrath" is an utterly pointless, sneering exercise in self-importance. It seems as though Steinbeck wrote this thinking, "This is the single greatest piece of literature ever created by man, and I am the most amazing human being to ever put pen to paper! All will bow to me!" I'm so sorry to point out how wrong you are, Mr. Steinbeck. This is a story about the Joads. Fair enough. The Joads go to California in search of work because the big bad capitalists blew their house down. Fair enough. There's a great deal of not-so-subtle Christ imagery with Reverend Casy. Not entirely necessary, but fair enough. The point to all of this is, "The Grapes of Wrath" isn't so much a novel as a published mishmash of themes. The book has no plot at all. It simply follows this family as they migrate across the country while Steinbeck tells us how fantastic Communism is, and we should all do it. The author stands high on his pedestal and preaches to his readers, while failing to actually tell an engaging story. The characterization in the book is horrid. For some reason, critics find it a fabulous idea for Steinbeck to have created a group of one dimensional characters. I don't know where they studied, but to me, that's bad writing. Most of these cookie-cutter characters are hardly paid any mind during the book, and a good deal of them depart from the family by some means. The handful of characters Steinbeck does choose to focus on are in desperate need of deeper personalities. As it stands, I found it very difficult to actually care about what happened to any of them, and so I lost interest, and so I stopped reading. I have a thought that the term "anti-climactic" was somehow spawned by this book. As if to prove to us that the novel does, indeed, go absolutely nowhere plotwise, Steinbeck ends the novel with Rose of Sharon offering her breastmilk to a starving full grown man. Oooh, racy, John Steinbeck, you must be a good author now! ...Well, no. After devoting several hours of my life to this monster of a book, I expected to fell a trifle more satisfied by the conclusion. Hell, "rah-rah communism" is a better ending than what is currently there. So, I really can't find a reason to like this book, and a lot of that stems from the fact that I can't bring myself to like or respect Steinbeck. Get off your high horse, already. Most people have stopped caring.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the greatest novel of all time
Review: It's amazing that this book still packs a punch after all these years. I was expecting some stodgy, long-winded thing, but what I got instead was something that read as fresh as the day it was written. Steinbeck's descriptions are flawless--you can actually see and smell the locations--and his dialogue is so real and "felt" that it leaps off the page. The only other book that has better dialogue is McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood," but that's an entirely different subject. Still, I don't think Steinbeck has an equal when it comes to "Grapes." As if his writing style and brilliant dialogue weren't enough, the plot is great, and the ending will blow you away. How anyone could NOT like this book is beyond me.
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