Book #5: The Grapes of Wrath

The book: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

What is this book about: The Joad family is forced off their land in Oklahoma, so they head out along the migrant road toward California. They’ve heard there’s a lot of work in California, but their hopes start to fade because the journey is rough and it seems everyone along the road is counting on the work in California. When the family works together with the other kind souls they meet, they can get by, but they learn the hard way that there are far too many who would take pleasure in crushing their souls and their decency.

Why did I read this book: When I was in California last year I went to that John Steinbeck wax museum and bought a John Steinbeck t-shirt, which you might remember from its appearance at my Oscar party. Well, I kinda felt like a fraud walking around in a John Steinbeck t-shirt without having read the Grapes of Wrath.

What did I think of this book: Well, it turns out that this book is one of the best books of all-time, so I got pretty upset that no one made me read it earlier. I was kinda surprised by how easy it was to read, but I guess everyone else read it in high school so maybe that shouldn’t have been surprising to me.

What was my favorite part of this book: It feels wrong to pick a favorite part when so many characters are so miserable for so much of this book. Obviously the times when people came together for the common good were heartening, or the individual glimpses of humanity, such as a truckstop waitress who told a man that nickel candy was really two for a penny after giving him a hard time about a loaf of bread.

Also, I must have read this passage about 5 times. I guess it sums up the whole book and most of what I’ve already said:

“And here’s a story you can hardly believe, but it’s true, and it’s funny and it’s beautiful. There was a family of twelve and they were forced off the land. They had no car. They built a trailer out of junk and loaded it with their possessions. They pulled it to the side of 66 and waited. And pretty soon a sedan picked them up. Five of them rode in the sedan and seven on the trailer, and a dog on the trailer. They got to California in two jumps. The man who pulled them fed them. And that’s true. But how can such courage be, and such faith in their own species? Very few things would teach such faith.

The people in flight from the terror behind – strange things happen to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refined forever.”

(Please don’t sue me, John Steinbeck’s estate. I bought a t-shirt.)

What did I learn from this book: Sometimes you have to keep on keepin’ on. Don’t let the man get you down. Dignity is the most important possession.

What grade do I give this book: A+

Now please go to YouTube and enjoy the fine song “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” by Bruce Springsteen, from the album of the same name. http://youtube.com/watch?v=1DEtA5fhk4k

I’d embed it, but embedding was disabled by request, and when the request is made by the Boss, you gotta obey.