Rating: 
Summary: Thought-Provoking Steinbeck
Review: John Steinbeck has a habit of leaving the reader hanging a little bit at the end of his stories. "To a God Unknown" is no different. This is one of the more admirable qualities of Steinbeck as he does not tell the reader what to think. He trusts the reader's intelligence.Steinbeck tells this story in the setting that seems to be his trademark, the early agricultural societies of the West. Joseph Wayne is struggling in his faith. He adopts pagan beliefs because they work while his land prospers. When the tree that is the center of his pagan beliefs is killed by his religious brother, the farm and his life begin a downward spiral. While the story almost seems biblical in the beginning, it becomes strange after the tree is killed. While Joseph seems to be a saint in the beginning, his character unravels. After the death of his wife and giving away his only son, Joseph takes to worshiping the moss growing on a rock. Eventually, the moss becomes the center of his life. The mossy rock becomes the scene of his demise as it was the scene of his wife's demise. The last scene will require some thought and reflection for the reader. Perhaps you will find your own interpretation. In the final scene, the priest hopes Joseph is happy with the rain. He says this unknowing of Joseph's death/apparent suicide. Both the pagan and the priest received what they prayed for in the end. The priest has the last word. I think this tells you who was right. The thought-provoking nature of the book makes it a very underrated classic from Steinbeck.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-Provoking Steinbeck
Review: John Steinbeck has a habit of leaving the reader hanging a little bit at the end of his stories. "To a God Unknown" is no different. This is one of the more admirable qualities of Steinbeck as he does not tell the reader what to think. He trusts the reader's intelligence. Steinbeck tells this story in the setting that seems to be his trademark, the early agricultural societies of the West. Joseph Wayne is struggling in his faith. He adopts pagan beliefs because they work while his land prospers. When the tree that is the center of his pagan beliefs is killed by his religious brother, the farm and his life begin a downward spiral. While the story almost seems biblical in the beginning, it becomes strange after the tree is killed. While Joseph seems to be a saint in the beginning, his character unravels. After the death of his wife and giving away his only son, Joseph takes to worshiping the moss growing on a rock. Eventually, the moss becomes the center of his life. The mossy rock becomes the scene of his demise as it was the scene of his wife's demise. The last scene will require some thought and reflection for the reader. Perhaps you will find your own interpretation. In the final scene, the priest hopes Joseph is happy with the rain. He says this unknowing of Joseph's death/apparent suicide. Both the pagan and the priest received what they prayed for in the end. The priest has the last word. I think this tells you who was right. The thought-provoking nature of the book makes it a very underrated classic from Steinbeck.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-Provoking Steinbeck
Review: John Steinbeck has a habit of leaving the reader hanging a little bit at the end of his stories. "To a God Unknown" is no different. This is one of the more admirable qualities of Steinbeck as he does not tell the reader what to think. He trusts the reader's intelligence. Steinbeck tells this story in the setting that seems to be his trademark, the early agricultural societies of the West. Joseph Wayne is struggling in his faith. He adopts pagan beliefs because they work while his land prospers. When the tree that is the center of his pagan beliefs is killed by his religious brother, the farm and his life begin a downward spiral. While the story almost seems biblical in the beginning, it becomes strange after the tree is killed. While Joseph seems to be a saint in the beginning, his character unravels. After the death of his wife and giving away his only son, Joseph takes to worshiping the moss growing on a rock. Eventually, the moss becomes the center of his life. The mossy rock becomes the scene of his demise as it was the scene of his wife's demise. The last scene will require some thought and reflection for the reader. Perhaps you will find your own interpretation. In the final scene, the priest hopes Joseph is happy with the rain. He says this unknowing of Joseph's death/apparent suicide. Both the pagan and the priest received what they prayed for in the end. The priest has the last word. I think this tells you who was right. The thought-provoking nature of the book makes it a very underrated classic from Steinbeck.
Rating:
Summary: It spoke to my soul.
Review: John Steinbeck's "To A God Unknown" reached into my soul and what emerged was a clearer sense of myself. This novel truly spoke to me. It is known that Steinbeck had an adversity toward organized religion, and that fact is evident in the text of this book. What struck me most was the insight into paganism and the worship of nature in its truest, rawest form. Man living in harmony with nature is a recurring theme along with the fact that humans must not desecrate the earth for monetary gains, but rather must understand nature and live within nature's guidelines. Steinbeck's lyrical prose confirms these beliefs that I hold close to my heart
Rating:
Summary: Perfect!
Review: John Steinbeck's To A God Unknown has got to be one of his most powerful and breath taking books. Steinbeck did borrow the idea from a college friend but took it far beyond the original conception. Transitions from dark, moody scenery to light-hearted glimps of life make this a story as epic as East of Eden, as touching as Tortilla Flat, and as thought provoking as Junius Maltby.
Rating: 
Summary: underdeveloped brainstorm of a novel
Review: Maybe I read too much Steinbeck, but its only because I usually love his writing. However, I found this particualr novel to be dissapointing. Although there was potential for interesting characters and character development, it never came through. I understand that the main character was supposed to be hard to understand, but I don't like that it was this idea that was developed rather than the character himself. The points on religion and connection to the earth fell through in similar fashion; interesting ideas were brought up in sporadic well-written scenes, but then never fully developed. If you want a better written and more pleasurable read that include the same, but thought-out views, read East of Eden. This novel was in fact the predecessor to Steinbecks masterpeice; and it seems to merely be a brainstorm. The plot itself was a dissapointment as well. I usually enjoy Steinbecks cynical realism and irony, but in this case it was pitiful. There was so much foreshadowing, that what it led to became unimportant and inti-climactic.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever
Review: Starting at age 9 and now I am almost 40, I have continuously read literature and "classics." This is one of the best books I have ever read. It speaks to your soul - the hunger, the power of the natural world, the basics of survival and love. It's true, others whose judgment I respect did not like it as much. I think it depends on how earthy or primal your soul is and how clear a path you have to that special place. This is one of Steinbeck's best and one of the "biggest" most powerful - yet simple- books ever. Steinbeck's magic.
A real find - I encourage everyone to read it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever
Review: Starting at age 9 and now I am almost 40, I have continuously read literature and "classics." This is one of the best books I have ever read. It speaks to your soul - the hunger, the power of the natural world, the basics of survival and love. It's true, others whose judgment I respect did not like it as much. I think it depends on how earthy or primal your soul is and how clear a path you have to that special place. This is one of Steinbeck's best and one of the "biggest" most powerful - yet simple- books ever. Steinbeck's magic.
A real find - I encourage everyone to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutley amazing!
Review: Steinbeck comes back with a masterpiece yet again. A deeply religious book, this novel will change the way you see life. A must read, for the casual reader and for the die-hard Steinbeck fan alike. I rank this as one of the best books of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Steinbeck seemed to be trying to do too much with this novel. After a really good start, with the typically magnificent descriptions of the Californian countryside one can expect from Steinbeck, the story seems to lose its way. The chief protagonist's struggle to become the lord of his farmland eventually becomes uninteresting, and even the potentially interesting leitmotiv of earthy paganism vs. otherworldly Christianity is handled too superficially to draw the reader's attention. The primary reason for the novel's failure as a literary work is the very stiff and unnatural dialogue among the various characters, which is something very unusual for Steinbeck (one only has to recall the completely natural and believable characters in novels like "The Grapes of Wrath," "Winter of Our Discontent," or "Cannery Row"). Since the the main themes of "To a God Unknown," i.e. rural California, man's struggle with and against nature, etc., were so near and dear to Steinbeck, it just fails to live up to expectations. Given the high quality of Steinbeck's many other literary masterpieces, this novel is a great disappointment.
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