Rating: 
Summary: Voice of the Migrants for Generations to come!
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 farming-belt of the mid-west had suffered severe drought. "Dusters" swept across the farmland, skimming off the topsoil, leaving behind a dustbowl, only a few sparse sprigs of wheat surviving. The tenant farms were foreclosed and the families forcibly tractored off the land in a ruthless drive to maximise profit margins. Circe 250,000 migrants, "refugees from the dust", pulled up stakes and headed west on route 66, the road of flight to California, the golden land of dreams and opportunity, drawn by the prospect of picking work, harvesting oranges and peaches. The influx of rootless migrant workers centred on the San Joachin valley, California, and the huge farms therein, drifting in search of work from squatter camps to government camps to shacks in tied labour camps charging excessive rents and inflated company-store prices. 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 meagre belongings, the Joads set forth on an epic 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 peripheral aspects of their route 66 experience, the trickery of used-car salesmen or a snapshot of life in a truck-stop diner, to cite but two examples; other chapters function as social commentary 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, chronicling the Joads suffering and misfortune trucking along the endless narrow concrete miles to Bakersfield, California, revealing qualities of grit, guts and resilience in their desperate struggle for survival in the face of death, starvation, hostility, exploitation and harassment. Steinbeck's powerful voice depicting the plight of 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 a powerful punch!
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: Beautiful...Moving....Epic
Review: What do I say? What hasn't been said about this book?
I am sure at some point, students of all measures of education- high school to post-doctoral- has been required to explicate this novel. Sadly, the book has suffered denigration and in extreme cases, it has been banned. Critics decried flat characterization, over-emphasis on symbolism, and too frequent melodrama. If we can even begin to consider these flaws we would not appreciate the honest and unadulterated human aspect Steinbeck brought to this book. These traits allow us to relate, understand, and empathize with the characters and even more importantly the author. Regardless of condemnation, Grapes of Wrath has survived as one of the clearest examples of the 'great American novel'. It is beautiful, moving, and epic.
If you have not read it, read 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: His best
Review: This may be the best written American novel of all time. The imagery and settings alone would make this a stellar read, but when coupled with Steinbeck's insight into the human condition and his excellent dialogue, you've got something quite unusual and unique. As if this weren't enough, the ending--the last few paragraphs--are enough to put Steinbeck at the top of the list of great American authors. Few other writers can convey this kind of power and feeling through the written word. Also recommended: McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood"
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.
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