Rating: 
Summary: "A Fella Ain't No Good Alone"
Review: When I first moved to Los Angeles, the majority population was White with fairly large Hispanic and Black minorities. Now the majority population is Hispanic, and I frequently find myself communicating with them in Spanish. Look in any newspaper. All around the world, large masses of people are on the move: Albanians to Italy, Serbs to Hungary, Rwandans to Zaire, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to Britain, Algerians to France, and so on. Every year, the number of people in refugee camps grows; and the resources of nations are stretched to the limit to accommodate the influx. In America, we've had our own migrations: from the original 13 Colonies to the West, Blacks from the South to Northern industrial cities after World War II, and the Okies to California during the Depression. My point is that Steinbeck's GRAPES OF WRATH discusses a very contemporary phenomenon with compassion and great artistry. His Joad family can just as easily be Mexican "Wetbacks" looking or a better life in the same places where the Joads went (Arvin, the site of the FSA's Weedpatch Camp, is mostly Chicano today). How Steinbeck, a native Californian, came to side with the Okies against the corporate farmers and their hired deputies, and the townsfolk who supported them, is an interesting story in itself. Suffice it to say that no one was more sympathetic with the plight of the poor than Steinbeck, who at times comes across as an American Gorky. There are other books that show equally great compassion. Steinbeck in this novel, however, rises to heights of poetry he was never to reach again. Tom Joad in this passage explains why he decided to become a labor organizer: "Says one time he [Jim Casy, the preacher] went out into the wilderness to find his own soul, an' he foun' he jus' got a little piece of a great big soul. Says a wilderness ain't no good , 'cause his little piece of a soul wasn't no good 'less it was with the rest, an' was whole. Funny how I remember. Didn' think I was even listenin'. But I know now a fella ain't no good alone." There are scenes, such as the description of the progress of a turtle seen by Tom as he walks down the long road home after being paroled, where you see as if in a magnifying glass the progress of untold thousands of farmers fleeing the drought of the Dust Bowl. This is a book which will make you feel different about your fellow man. It takes the side of the hated, misunderstood outsider and sees poetry, goodness, a rough justice, and a tenacity that can move mountains.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing novel
Review: Truthfully the only reason I read this novel is because it was part of my summer reading assignment this year for highschool. Somehow being told you HAVE to read a book rather than wanting to on your own makes the reading experience something to dread. Well all I can say is I am SO GLAD I HAD TO READ THIS!!! This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. I have added it to my list of favorites way up there with Animal Farm (people think 'cause they read it in junior high it's for kids, WHATEVER!!)and Wuthering Heights. Every chapter is a feast for the mind. You can picture ever bead of sweat, every loss and tear as if it were right there in front of you. The story goes from humorous, to serious, to hopeful, to emotional so quickly you almost don't realize it's there till it hits you. The story takes place in the 30's based on real events, following the fictional accounts of the Joad family. Apparently back then, there was a crisis where farmers had overworked their land to the point where the soil had been reduced to worthless dust annd could no longer grow crops. The bank then had to take it from them because, well, god forbid they lose any money. Thousands, maybe millions of people were kicked out from their homes, the homes that their grandfathers had built, where children had been born and lives been lived. They were forced to all move west to California, selling what little they had for cash, dreaming of a new life. Flyers promised work and good pay, but when only 10,000 workers are needed, and 100,000 see the flyers and come looking for work, what happens then? This is a story of survival. Not like in that movie Cast Away where he's stranded on a deserted island with no food or anything, but a time not unlike today. A place filled with stores and restaurants and yet a man still can't feed his children and they are dying from malnutrition. How can you buy food if you don't have any money? and how can you make money if there aren't any jobs? "water water everywhere and not a drop to drink". And hungry men become desperate, which turns into fear, which becomes anger, and this makes teh Californians afraid. So wages drop to pay for security, to pay for more sheriffs and police and spies, and all the while this anger grows... Like I said this is a wonderful book. I'm so glad I read it.
Some parts were so touching I actually cried a little. They weren't even necessarily sad but very moving. Anyway, I recommend this book to everyone as a great read. Yeah and to the person who said teenagers can't appreciate a book like this, I guess I just proved you wrong.
Rating:
Summary: TEENS NEED NOT APPLY
Review: I believe it is a mistake for schools to continue to assign their students the job of reading The Grapes of Wrath. This is a book written for mature, adults, and it is obvious from reading the numerous negative reviews left by teens that they are not mature, adult readers. How can anyone expect a teenager from today's hurry up, rush rush, society to enjoy a book that develops as slowly as The Grapes of Wrath. And how can anyone expect today's teenagers to enjoy anything that doesn't have crashing cars, explosions, graphic sex..etc. etc. about every 3 pages. Teachers would be doing all of the mature readers who can appreciate a book as great as this a favor by not forcing their students to read it, and thus sparing us from their immature, ridiculous reviews. No offense to teens, but most of them are not capable of understanding a work this deep.
Rating:
Summary: It FLOWS LIKE A BUTTERFLY and STINGS LIKE A BEE!!!
Review: John Steinbeck, in my opinion, is probably the most talented author I have ever read. His descriptions are awe-inspiring, his narration unique, and his stories are emotional rollercoasters. I found myself, while reading 'The Grapes', at all times either laughing, crying, or just plain ticked off. In this novel is portrayed one of the saddest, yet least know tradgedies in our countries history. The story of farmers kicked out of their homes, forced to a strange land and despised, cheated, and starved when they arrived reminded me of medievil times but the sad fact is it happened while our grandparents were growing up. I admit I was not proud of America as I read this book! But it is oh so important of a read because if it can happen 50 years ago it can happen today, and only by learning from history can we avoid these same mistakes.
But despite the feelings you may have while consuming this book please do not avoid it, for it is a must read. If you have somehow made it past high school without having read this one, then why not do it now. It is probably the best book I have read by an American author and too important to pass up. I don't guarantee you will happily enjoy it but I do guarantee you will be better for having read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Steinbeck is the most over-rated American author ever!
Review: Steinbeck is not an great author. Rather, he is an author who knows how to pick his topic and manipulate his readers. As in his other well known novels/novellas such as "Of Mice and Men" and "The Pearl", Steinbeck had again chosen a innocent good (the Okies) struggling against a unlimited evil (the California captalists). To give credit where credit is due, Steinbeck indeed does potray the hardships of the dustbowl sharecroppers vividly and at the same time, tells us of the awsome collective powers of humanity and society via Jim Casy. Unfortunately, the literary value of "Grapes of Wrath" ends up just about there. As Steinbeck repeatedly stresses the Joad Family's mistreatment, he does not explain nor justify why the so called "big greedy captalist" exploit the "impoverished sharecroppers". Furthermore, Steinbeck does not offer us a fair resolution, he simply and conviently leaves the readers hanging in the end without new revelations. Think of "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Cry, the Beloved Country", we learn that sometimes the society is filled injustice, however, in the end, all people, white or black, rich or poor are inherently good. Sadly, "The Grapes of Wrath" fails to transcend its melodramatics. In essence, like a teenager's unwarranted complaint against his or her "phony" society which cannot be called literature, "The Grapes of Wrath" does not deserve the label "a great American novel".
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read For All Americans
Review: With over 300 other reviews listed here, I don't have much to add, except to echo what others have already said: 'The Grapes of Wrath' is one of the most powerful novels you will ever read, American or otherwise. As you journey from Oklahoma to California with the Joad Family, you'll experience the same obstacles and emotions they experienced: hunger, pain, separation of family, deplorable living and working conditions, tears, laughter, life, death. But this book is so much more. Whether or not you agree with his political views, no one can deny that Steinbeck was a brilliant writer. That brilliance is evident in every page of this novel. I don't think I will ever forget the book's final scene. It will stay with me for a long, long time. A great novel.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Steinbeck's Graphes of Wrath is an amazing book. I recommend this read to anyone who enjoys Steinbeck's style of writing. It is an excellent story.
Rating:
Summary: The Movie does not do it Justice.
Review: The Grapes of Wrath is in my mind the best american novel ever written. I began by liking the movie and then read the book. Important deatales are left out of the movie and they should be featured. This book shows the struggle of a family unaceppted everywhere they go. It shows the prejudices felt by people just because they are different and don't know the way of life in California. It is a wonderful book and everyone should read it.
Rating:
Summary: Evocative and deeply moving
Review: This book cannot but be considered one of the greatest works of American literature. Its plot is simple, almost literally pedestrian, but it magically conveys the feelings not just of its characters, but of an entire social movement and era. The device of alternating chapters between the tale of the Joad family and descriptive narratives of the society around them only strengthens things. This is no academic, dusty view of history; this is reality, as people lived and thought and experienced. The human attachment to the soil, the desire for home and community, the struggle for social justice, the tyranny of property, the myth of the Promised Land, the hope and dreams of a new life - there is something here on every level, the social, the spiritual, and the emotional. The beginning of the novel is a bit slow, but it slowly picks up momentum as it travels west. By its end, one cannot but be riveted by the Joads and the struggles they endure. And one can feel the grapes of wrath building, the knowledge that some way, somehow, the human will to survive can never be defeated. But, despite its clear social messages, this is not a political tract. The novel's ending takes one of the most intimate of human actions into a bare, stark necessity. Eroticism, motherhood, generosity, desperation - what is it? We cannot tell for sure, but we know only that it is human. The most horrific of our trials only serve to bring out our humanity. A haunting and unforgettable message.
Rating:
Summary: Words Cannot Describe....
Review: I am not sure that there are words capable of painting an accurate picture of the emotions that this book evokes. It is the unbelievably powerful story of the Joad family. Their trek to what they hope is paradise in the West is anything but. While the story can evoke emotions in us, it seems that the characters have had to let go of any possible emotion to cope with the state of affairs in their lives. That is except for Tom (Jr.), incapable of containing his emotions- and because of that pays a price. It might be tough for us to imagine the world that the Joads were forced into. But it was not that long ago. It is an important part of (recent) American history that, I think, is often forgotten. This book is bleak. There is no silver-lining. But Steinbeck's honesty should be appreciated. He shows that many of the great things with which America entered the 20th Century, disappeared in the 1930s. In the story, even the talk of God, once central to their lives, disappears as the Joads and their compatriots battle the Depression.
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