2023-01-01 - The Grapes of Wrath (1939)

Even though I had never heard of it before, this one is a classic of American literature. The story takes place in poor Okhlahoma, in the depression era, where we follow a family that gets more or less expropriated. Banks, the system, whatever, makes them move from their house and small farm. They decide to all move to California to find a better future. That decision is based on an ad that says that they're looking for workers to pick up fruits, with a great salary.

It's the story of their journey, and of the future that actually awaits them in California. Spoiler alert, it's not the El Dorado that they were looking for. It's a story about poverty, about classes and rejections, about hard life and about the power of people.

It is quite a grim book, as you can imagine given the subject. But while it doesn't really lighten your mood, it's also a very deep and well written book that makes you reflect on your life. I really enjoyed reading through it. Also, because it's divided in multiple acts, I didn't get bored at all, even though it's quite long.

The end, however, is kind of weird. I don't know what I expected, but I feel like it just stops in the middle of the storytelling. There is not really any conclusion to it.

Overall, I really liked it. It's a great book, and it has aged well. It makes sense that it's a classic. I have probably missed a lot, not being American and not really trying to analyze it. And yet, I enjoyed it a lot. The only downside is that it's kind of heavy, as a book to get to sleep to.

Name         The Grapes of Wrath
Author       John Steinbeck
Release      1939
Type         Novel
Genre        Historical Fiction, Classic
Country      USA
Length       601 pages
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Opinion      Loved it. Deep and interesting. Dark mood though.
Read Date    April 2022 
Support      Kindle
List         2022 - Category: Title with a fruit or vegetable

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