John Steinbeck
1939
Around 465 pages
I was actually spared having to read this in high school, so all suffering caused from this novel was entirely self-inflicted. This is one of those undeniable classics that isn't much fun to read. But who can forget that closing scene?
The Joad family are driven from Oklahoma due to the Dust Bowl, which I vaguely recall being a big deal in middle school, and then never talking about it again until this moment. They hope California will provide rich job opportunities, which is an evergreen dream that is always doomed to end in tears and
some old guy pawing your chest.
I know this is a moving book for a lot of people, but I find such an onslaught of human misery difficult to connect with. I wish we had started in a happier place, so we had time to get the know the Joads before they became Steinbeck's cannon fodder.
Probably a must read given the historical context, but certainly not a favorite I want to keep revisiting.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and helped Steinbeck win the Nobel Prize in 1962.
Banned in Ireland and Turkey and was censored in parts of the US.
Bruce Springsteen named his 11th studio album, The Ghost of Tom Joad.
UP NEXT: Party Going by Henry Green
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