Product Description

Shocking and controversial when it was first published in 1939, Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic remains his undisputed masterpiece. Set against the background of dust bowl Oklahoma and Californian migrant life, it tells of the Joad family, who, like thousands of others, are forced to travel West in search of the promised land. Their story is one of false hopes, thwarted desires and broken dreams, yet out of their suffering Steinbeck created a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision; an eloquent tribute to the endurance and dignity of the human spirit.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6593 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

About the Author
Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. From September 2000, his complete works will be published by Penguin.

Customer Reviews

A phenonenal achievement
I first read this book about 30 years ago but it was great to return to it again. A phenomenal achievement - telling the story of the Joad family as they struggle to survive in the depression of the thirties in US. There is hope and despair in the book but Steinbeck always ensures that the innate goodness of ordinary people shines through. Some wonderful characters: Ma who is determined to keep the family together, the fiery Tom who leaves to organize other workers, Rosasharn whose dreams of a happy future fall away but she nonetheless is prepared to give her mother's milk to a starving man. And the picture of Casy is remarkable - a preacher no longer certain of his faith but who finds practical ways of putting others before himself.

Although the story is set some 70 years ago there are still many modern parallels. Some of the comments made about the Okies are echoed today in relation to immigrants. And big companies trying to reduce what they pay to their suppliers? Did someone mention Tesco?

Some chapters hardly move the narrative forward but instead offer Steinbeck's reflections on the situation. These are little gems, beautifully written, and could be part of a book on political philosophy.

A triumph of a book - should be compulsory reading for everyone!

HEARTWRENCHING......NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED
At first when I started out, wasn't too sure I would want to continue. This book is written in local dialect which I thought would be tedious but I was in for a surprise for it was not. After a while I began to love the dialect as much as I loved this book to tell the truth. No wonder John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 for this work.

The Grapes of Wrath centres on the Joads; a Dustbowl family from Oklahoma whose land was confiscated from them, along with others in the Midwestern states. All these families head for California where it is understood that there is lots of opportunity in that golden state to start again. This being in immigrant work or farm labour in grape, pear and peach reaping.The trek is long but it's supposed to be well worth it with expectant good wages. and somewhere decent to live, somewhere to call home.

Meet the Joad family of Ma Joad; a good Christian woman and as the strength and spine of the family, she holds a tight reign on the entire bunch of them retaining their team spirit, and keeping the morale alive amongst them. Then there is Casey a sometimes preacher man; Tom Joad her eldest son who is driven and afraid of nobody, but just anxious to get out to California; his brother Noah, a man consumed in quiet moments, and little to say; Al the brother who drives the loaded down truck from Oklahoma, out to the West; Uncle John a restless soul, but who can blame him! These along with Pa Joad the Joad sister Rose of Sharon, and the young ones Ruthie and Winfield they make up the exodus. An exodus like none ever seen, we share in each heartache and disappointment as well as their hopefulness which Ma stokes daily. As the Joad turn from farmers in their own right to immigrant workers, it gets harder for the family to retain their dignity. The reader will find himself living through these characters lives, and experiencing gratefulness for the little things which are so often taken for granted day in and day out.

I would love to encourage anyone interested in good literature, to get your hands on this powerful book soon. It certainly encouraged me to look at life differently.

Reviewed by
Heather Marshall
January 10th, 2003

Outstanding
This is a powerful, beautiful book and one that should be read by everyone irrespective of age or gender. It's tight, evocative language moves you to your core and stays with you long after the book has finished. The frustrations and anger the families of dust-bowl era America must have felt are made starkly clear and the might and sway of corporations was evident even back when this book was written. An immensely readable and powerful novel that will leave you enriched and moved.