Product Description

Both a fast-paced story of social unrest and strike, and the tale of one young man's struggle for identity, IN DUBIOUS BATTLE is a novel about the apocalyptic violence that breaks out when the masses become the mob. Set in California apple country, a strike by migrant workers spirals out of control, as principled defiance turns into blind fanaticism. Caught in this upheaval is Jim Nolan, a once aimless man who finds himself briefly becoming the leader of the strike before being crushed in its service. IN DUBIOUS BATTLE explores and dramatises many of the ideas and themes key to Steinbeck's writing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #151107 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 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. His complete works will be available in Penguin Modern Classics

Customer Reviews

A tale of bitterness and class hatred
Steinbeck's American novels are marked out in their passion for man's struggle against injustice. Written just before "The Grapes of Wrath", but still during the Great Depression, this is the tale of the violent revolt of Californian fruit-pickers.
Jim Nolan's journey into the world of organised labour finds him in the company of Mac, an experienced hand. A fascinating book, that pulls no punches re the exploitation of men and women with little voice in their own lives.
Make no mistake -- Steinbeck displays deep sympathy for the hopes and dreams of those itinerant workers who find themselves working harder for less. A tremendous story, full of hope and fear, menace and optimism, despair and determination.

In Dubious Battle
`In Dubious Battle' is the first of Steinbeck's depression era books (which also comprises `Of Mice and Men' and `Grapes of Wrath) and whilst often overlooked in favour of the later two books, it is very much in the same vein. It has tight, richly evocative language and a story line that highlights the struggles of the time whilst offering up an engrossing plot. Following Jim Nolan, who helps in an apple pickers strike, this book makes you feel the anguish and frustrations of the workers being bullied and exploited by their employers and by the end you are feeling wrung out and exhausted as only a great book can make you feel. There was some controversy when this book was published and it was deemed to be sympathetic to communists and communism, but more than anything else it is a book about the down trodden and overlooked in society. I admit I am a fan of Steinbeck and his work, but even taking that into account this is exceptional even by his high standards. The language captures you immediately and you feel yourself admiring certain turns of phrase on a regular basis and your emotions being stimulated throughout, whether they be anger, sadness, loneliness, happiness or a whole gamut of other feelings. The story keeps you engaged until it's shattering conclusion and like `Of Mice and Men' and `Grapes of Wrath' it hits you with full impact and imprints itself on your memory to play over again and again over the coming days after you finish the book. This really is an exceptional novel and shows a master writer at his peak. This comes highly recommended indeed.

Vintage Steinbeck
This is vintage Steinbeck in the mould of the Grapes of Wrath. Set in the same era of the Depression, it tells the tale of a bitter strike by fruit pickers protesting against an imposed wage cut.

The movers and shakers are the ruthless land-owners, who control everything in the Valley, ranged against party activists, led by Mac. Then there are the pawns, the ordinary working men who are trying to scratch a living. On the one side are the strikers and, on the other, the hired strike-breakers.

Violence escalates as the dispute wears on. Ideology takes second place to naked pragmatism. While the strikers are fighting for the here and now, Mac sees it as just one more battle in a bigger war. Meanwhile, his sidekick Jim comes out of the shadows to blossom into an influential role.

It's bleak rather than uplifting, but potent and well-crafted. I would not rate it quite as highly as Steinbeck's very best works (which, for me, are "Grapes" and East of Eden). However, anyone who enjoyed those two should get plenty out of this book.