Rating: 
Summary: First-rate American Literature
Review: You would need a heart of snow to not be moved by Steinbeck's story of an Oklahoma family that was forced to give up their homes in the hopes of finding a better life in California. Rarely have I ever come across a story so well crafted as the "Grapes of Wrath". Readers take heed; this is the novel by which all other American novels should be measured against.Like Steinbeck's other big book, the main family spans three generations. Each character is so well fleshed out that it would be difficult to limit their hopes, trials, even existence to the confines of the written page. Even now, a year after having read this novel, the characters Tom and Rose of Sharon seem as real as anyone I've ever met. However, the character, to use the word broadly, that I particularly liked was the narrator. Steinbeck's voice in this novel is incomparable. When times are exceedingly rough for the Joad Family; when it seems that just one more straw on the camel's back will break them, it is the narrator that crosses the line, revealing to us just how close the family is being pushed towards insanity. After the Joads pack up their belongings and begin the trek to California, the narrative shifts jarringly from the third person to that of a car salesman trying desperately to sell you a new car, literally. I remember thinking clearly that Steinbeck had lost his mind to do such a transition, but it works. Aspiring writers should take note on how to create such an underscore. Another quick example would be when the Joads pull into the gas station with the two clerks. The family had been struggling all day on the road to get the automobile to run, to stay on course, and to fight for survival. The chapter ends, however, with one of the clerks dropping a bead of sweat from his forehead onto a pink invoice sheet that he had been filling out. Hopefully, you get some sort of semblance of the subtlety in this novel. Read the book, you'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best!
Review: I've never known poverty. Every day I have had food, every night I have had shelter and all of my needs have always been fulfilled. After 28 years on God's Earth, my understanding of poverty has now become clearer. Grapes of Wrath is timeless. When a 60 year-old novel can move a grown man to tears that is powerful. I won't spoil the ending, but I will simply say it is the most touching ending that I have ever read in a book, seen in a movie or heard in a song. I had to read the last page three times to really get the full effect. I have young children, this will be one of the first novels I will want them to read as teens. I think I would have been more compassionate and understanding in my teens and twenties if I had read this earlier. For years I have listed To Kill a Mockingbird as my favorite book. Hats off to Steinbeck, I've changed my mind and Grapes of Wrath is Simply the Best!
Rating: 
Summary: If you want a good bedtime story....
Review: This book is only good to read when you are unable to sleep. The turtle chapter was pointless. It did not get better as it went on. It got more boring. We HATE this book. We do not recommend this book to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Awww sick! Point blank...I DID NOT enjoy this book
Review: Sorry Mr. Steinbeck. I didn't like this one. I had to read this book for my AP English class. Now you may think, since I am a teenager, I think all classics are bad. NOT TRUE. I read a lot of plays (I LOVE the Glass Menagerie) and I've just started Allen Ginsberg's autobio. However, I HATE HATE HATE this book! Let me tell you why. First of all, these poor people have SUCH BAD LUCK. I mean, you'd think that at least one good thing would happen to them within the entire novel. Not so. I mean, if this book were just a hundred pages longer, all of them would be dead. Also, Steinbeck managed to kill off the two best characters in the entire book: Grandma and Grandpa, while Rose of Sharon, possibly the most annoying character I have ever read about, remains alive and whining till the dreadful end. Also, Steinbeck uses a lot of sexual references that are kind of weird and not very enjoyable. For example, he talks about the tractors "raping" the land. Lastly, you'd think Steinbeck is an insane guy or something because whenever something gross happens he really gets into describing it somewhat graphically. He spends a good amount of the book describing, in great detail, a pig eating a baby, cleaning a dead rabbit, and a dead dog squashed flat on the ground.
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Summary: The best preparation for the SAT verbal
Review: Forget about SAT success, SAT key and other useless stuff -This is the real thing. I raised my verbal by 160 points just after reading it (note that I didn't use any other prep material - just the book!) Considering the fact that I'm an international applicant, and English is not my first language - I guess any IVY-caliber kid should definitely buy it and make sure he memorizes every unknown word he comes across.
Rating:
Summary: Great title
Review: I read Grapes of Wrath about a year ago and the imagery is still very vivid in my mind. Needless to say, I think it's a great book and thoroughly deserve it's classic status. Granted, Mr. Steinbeck wasn't the best in prose like an Anderson or Fitzgerald but I think the most important part of a story is the story itself and Steinbeck is a great story teller. I've never felt more anger than when the Joad's were called "Okkies" or more sickened when they were cheated by the farm owners. The style of alternating the chapters was quite clever and I think it just sort of builds up the suspense. The ending to me is just right although a bit melodramatic, it captures the essence of hopelessness that prevails throughout the book. I thoroughly recommend this book and Steinbeck will make a cynic out of you yet.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing.
Review: I bought this book because I heard that it was good from various people. I have never been too fond of "farm" stories but this one was great. It was not the greatest story I have ever read, but it is very good and very educational! Probably the most educational book I have read. It starts of interesting. The middle is interesting. The ending is very sad but still, interesting. This book really shows the reader what the people that worked on the field had to go through. I have never read a book by John Steinbeck that was not sad. This is no exception. The book might have been better if it had a happier ending. But I believe that if it had a happier ending, it would not be as true. I believe, after reading this book that the lives of the field workers were like this. This book had opened my eyes. This book will change you way of life, it did mine. The book seems long, over 600 pages but the font is bigger than usually so do not hesitate to buy this book because of the size. If the font were at a normal size the book would probably be 400 or fewer pages. The book is not hard to read. Reading John Steinbeck is not too hard! It is not as easy as reading Stephen King of course but it is not like reading Shakespeare. If you are hesitating to buy this book because you are not interested in books about farm workers let me tell you. The book is not all about that. It is about the struggles the Joad family has to go through. I will not lie to you, the book is a lot about life on the fields but it is very intriguing! You will get into the book quickly. When I read a review, I like it when the reviewer gives a summery of the book without giving the book away. So I will do just that in the next paragraph. I remember the book clearly because it was so good! The book starts of with beautiful description of a farmhouse and the farm owners, no dialogue just great description for one whole chapter. In this book every other chapter is just pure description but trust me, you wont get bored. After the first chapter, Steinbeck introduces us to a man named Tom. He is in a cafe. He has just come home from Jail. He had injured a man badly. He hitchhikes to where his parents live. He finds an old friend along the way. The friend tells him that his parents had gone to his uncle's house because they were going to California. He goes over there and his parents are very happy to see him. They head out to California in their car. First they go to one place that they love. The people are nice. They're room is nice. The only flaw is that there is no work. After a few days they have to move out for this reason and find a new place. They go to several places trying to find the perfect place. But something always is wrong, or something always goes wrong. That is a brief summery of the book, I have told you what happens in the first 100 pages or so. Do not hesitate to buy this book, you will love it. Ignore all the bad reviews! Whoever gave this book a bad review is crazy, or a bad reader!
Rating: 
Summary: After the first few chapters...
Review: The first 16 pages of this novel really knows how to put a person to sleep. If you are in to analyzing characters in text to Biblical figures (aka Jesus Christ) then you'll like the preacher J. Casey. From their journey until they arrive in California is fairly accurate in giving you a description of what the life was like for these displaced farmers. You can see the developement of Ma Joad as she takes center stage in the family. As for the ending, it was rather odd how Rose of Sharon gave of herself after showing such selfishness and wistful dreaming. Overall, a very good piece of American Literature.
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Summary: Real heros don't always conquer the world
Review: This book sat and sat on my book shelf for years. Thinking it would be one of those "classics" that I "should" read I neglected it. One day I picked it up and found out the my fears were misplaced. It reads like any pleasurable popular fiction, with suspence, mystery and great characters, but it also goes beyond and delivers a powerful and heart wrenching message.
How do "we" (those in power, those with wealth, those with land, those with plenty) choose to neglect "them" (powerless, poor, disenfranchised)????? This book isn't so much a look at political systems or an indictment against the rich, it really is a deep glare into the heart of man. And man's heart is often a dark and terrible place.
What really makes this book great are the little victories, those things that made me the reader long for the great sense of love and community that followed the Joad family wherever they went.
Sometimes a man's heart has been recreated, and when it has, nothing dark or evil can overcome.
Rating:
Summary: Snake's Opoinion
Review: Now unlike many of the other readers for Grapes of Wrath, I disliked most of the book. Yes it does tell the story of the migrant workers in California. And yes John Stienbeck is descriptive. In my opinion the way his writing is completely bored me. I had to literally force myself to read this book it was so boring. It was far sure way to long and also a very slow reading book. This book bored me so much that I would fall asleep when reading it. Every now and then there was a good chapter but mostly pretty boring of a book. His writing is not nearly as interesting as other authors. Stienbeck is considered a great author, but not really to me. Save yourself some pain and do not read this book unless you have to!
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