Wrath and Grapes - a heady mixture (Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck)

Member Name: Cow-Lover

Product:	Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Date:	23/08/00 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gripping and rewarding read. Unforgettable imagery.

Disadvantages: Caused late nights because I couldn't stop reading it

The best tragedies don't make you cry - they are far too great to resort to cheap heart-string tugging in order to reach their audience. The same is true of the Grapes of Wrath - the trials and disasters faced by the Joad family as they make their way West in search of prosperity and security are enough to bring anbody down. But, like his characters, Steinbeck doesn't want you to wallow in it - you will find your hopes raised with theirs at the sight of a new town on the horizon, at a leaflet promising paid employment only a couple of miles away. Will their quest be in vain? Will this run of luck last? Like the family in its travels, you too will be living on hope.

The reason why this book refuses to let you get sentimental, however, is its sheer scale. Despite the presence of deeply moving and tenderly human scenes amongst the harsh backdrop of a forced nomadic life, Steinbeck writes like a film director and knows exactly when to cut to a different scene in order to exploit contrast and create a deliberately epic, distanced perspective. Thus, although we see the Joad family suffer in their trek across the desert to California, we also draw back to see hundreds of other families and individuals swarming along the same roads in desperation - many of them in a worse state than our heroes. Steinbeck is a master of the telling tableau - in the minimum of words he can tell you everything about families or individuals encountered en route. He has a gift for condensing information whilst keeping it instantly understandable for the reader. Thus the entire farming community of America is studiedin this book - plus the circumstances behind the scenery against which the action takes place, i.e. the outside pressures on farmers in both social and economic terms.

From the very outset, Steinbeck's awesome talent for visual imagery and the apt coupling of ideas will hold you spellbound - everything he has to say is expressed via illustration
, simile and metaphor, and often it is his sheer lack of sentimentality which will rack you with empathy. He doesn't want you to weep over the first page, but rather to read on with gritted teeth. Resilience is the uniting and inspiring feature of all his characters, and he expects it of his readers too. Your reward will be a vivid and comprehensive overview of a tragic chapter of America's past.

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