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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HEARTWRENCHING......NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED, 11 Jan 2003
At first when I started out, wasn't too sure I would want to continue. This book is written in local dialect which I thought would be tedious but I was in for a surprise for it was not. After a while I began to love the dialect as much as I loved this book to tell the truth. No wonder John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 for this work.The Grapes of Wrath centres on the Joads; a Dustbowl family from Oklahoma whose land was confiscated from them, along with others in the Midwestern states. All these families head for California where it is understood that there is lots of opportunity in that golden state to start again. This being in immigrant work or farm labour in grape, pear and peach reaping.The trek is long but it's supposed to be well worth it with expectant good wages. and somewhere decent to live, somewhere to call home. Meet the Joad family of Ma Joad; a good Christian woman and as the strength and spine of the family, she holds a tight reign on the entire bunch of them retaining their team spirit, and keeping the morale alive amongst them. Then there is Casey a sometimes preacher man; Tom Joad her eldest son who is driven and afraid of nobody, but just anxious to get out to California; his brother Noah, a man consumed in quiet moments, and little to say; Al the brother who drives the loaded down truck from Oklahoma, out to the West; Uncle John a restless soul, but who can blame him! These along with Pa Joad the Joad sister Rose of Sharon, and the young ones Ruthie and Winfield they make up the exodus. An exodus like none ever seen, we share in each heartache and disappointment as well as their hopefulness which Ma stokes daily. As the Joad turn from farmers in their own right to immigrant workers, it gets harder for the family to retain their dignity. The reader will find himself living through these characters lives, and experiencing gratefulness for the little things which are so often taken for granted day in and day out. I would love to encourage anyone interested in good literature, to get your hands on this powerful book soon. It certainly encouraged me to look at life differently. Reviewed by
Heather Marshall
January 10th, 2003
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