The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Name: John Steinbeck

Year Won: 1962

Read: "The Grapes of Wrath"

Original Language: English

Reason: "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception"

About: "The Grapes of Wrath" follows an okie (e.g. a pejorative given to economic immigrants from the middle of the country by California - many of whom were from Oklahoma) family immigrating to California. Their goal is mostly just to live and raise their family. But they face enormous prejudice (including farmers unwilling to pay them a decent wage because their neighbors will burn their crops, police raids, vigilante raids, etc.) from the lovely folk of Salinas who do NOT want them there.

This is the first time I've read this particular book by Steinbeck (although I've read a number of others and loved them), but he always feels particularly resonant to me as I lived for a while in Monterey California (near Salinas), so am well aware of the hatred that still continues towards the okies. (FWIW, Steinbeck is not well loved in Salinas, who mostly tries to forget that he exists.)

What I liked: Steinbeck does an amazing job of capturing the economic desperation of the family (e.g. them desperately hoping their car doesn't break along Route 66 stranding them in the desert without food or water), the beauty of Salinas valley, and the incredible prejudice they face upon arriving in California. This truly is a masterwork.

What I Disliked: It's actively painful to read about how the family is treated, as well as their hardships. I think that's the point, but still...

Also, while I liked some of the asides in which he sort of just describes things, I could see how they might get tedious after a while. (And they do seem to distract somewhat from the plot, which Steinbeck seems only marginally interested in.

Should it have won a Nobel: Yes. There's a reason Steinbeck is almost always taught in high school classes in the US (unless you live in Salinas, LOL). He's an incredibly talented writer who is able to make us feel sympathy for the downtrodden. (He's also pretty good at weaving an epic narrative about a family - see "East of Eden", which I actually enjoyed more, but both are great books.)

Next Up: The Collected Poems of Giorgos Seferis