Reviews with content warning for Grief - As vinhas da ira

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

As vinhas da ira by John Steinbeck

9 reviews

khgp's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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gabriella_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

God, what a great read.
Let me start with the problems.

I have some critiques. First - I felt like it didn’t capture the breadth of displaced Americans for the time. Second - It was very white-centric and seemed to buy into Manifest Destiny shit. I take major issue with both of these. These are my narrative issues

Clearly not as pressing but the pacing at point was inconsistent and dragged on. But I know at points that was the point.

Now the pros.
I really loved the way Ma and Tom were characterized throughout. The family relations at points felt complex. There were really moving moments throughout, and great commentary that’s still relevant now.

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gewrgia_lightwood's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

One of the best books I’ve ever come across
Beautiful writing, brilliant story. Touching, hard, raw.

It deals with a very real problem, a problem as relevant now as ever. The consequences of capitalism, of greed, of money as a ruler are spread thought out this book.
If there is one thing to take away from this book is that solidarity and kindness will always be the weapon of the people. It’s at the darkest times, the people come closer, the people speak up, the people rise up.

Μόνο ο λαός σώζει τον λαό.

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larseneiii's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

....why the fuck did it end like that....

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I bought The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck because I enjoyed reading Of Mice and Men in high school.

Blurb:

In this novel, Steinbeck alternates between macro and micro views of history. The bulk of the book follows the Joad family as they are forced out of their farmland by corporate landowners during the manmade environmental crisis known as the Dust Bowl. They pile their large family and most important worldly possessions into a sedan-turned-pickup truck and make the arduous drive from Oklahoma to California in search of work. In the alternating shorter chapters, Steinbeck outlines the migration of sharecroppers and other poor farmers from regions affected by the Dust Bowl to California, where they struggled due to low wages, inhumane business practices, and hostile locals. These chapters frame the story of the Joads as part of a larger historical movement.

Review:

There is no getting around the fact that The Grapes of Wrath is a slow-paced read, description-heavy, and full of small details. However, this appears to be intentional—any boredom or frustration the reader feels helps them empathize with the main characters, who must tediously travel halfway across the country in an old, rickety sedan-turned-pickup truck that could break down at any moment. Herein lies the genius of The Grapes of Wrath: Steinbeck writes his narrative and characters so realistically that I actually felt as though I was along for the ride with the Joads as they drove to California and searched desperately for work. Every character in this novel feels like a real human being, and Steinbeck avoids falling into the common trap of depicting lower-class characters as either monstrous or angelic. I rooted for the Joads every step of the way: their victories were my victories, their defeats my defeats. Their dialogue is full of wisdom: if I were a person who annotated my books, I would have highlighted and starred several phrases per page.

The realistic portrayal of the migrants and their travails as well as the intelligent, brilliantly written social commentary transforms this book into a powerful anti-capitalist work. I have never read a book that so effectively made me despise capitalism and the American police institution. Steinbeck achieves this without appearing preachy or sacrificing the realism of his story. The Grapes of Wrath absolutely deserves its status as a Pulitzer Prize winner and American masterpiece.

Sidenote:
The Grapes of Wrath contains several instances of sexism and racism (including the occasional use of the n-word). The racism is restricted to a handful of off-hand remarks made by the characters, while the sexism shows up more frequently. However, these instances serve mainly to accurately reflect the attitudes of the people it follows, and I personally did not get the feeling that the author was championing such views. The story itself contains several strong, capable, well-written female characters and the book’s overall message champions human dignity. However, every reader will have their own interpretation of these aspects of the book, and it is important to keep in mind if you are sensitive to these topics in literature.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like The Grapes of Wrath if:

· You have enjoyed other works by Steinbeck (if you have not read any of his other work, I recommend starting out with a short story or novella by him first to see if you like his writing style)

· You are a fan of the artistic movement known as realism and/or you enjoy stories that realistically portray the lives of everyday, working-class people

· You want to learn more about the human side of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl

· You are interested in anti-capitalist and anti-police literature

· You have experienced displacement from your home due to environmental, political, or social factors

You might not like The Grapes of Wrath if:

· You dislike description-heavy, slow-paced books where “nothing happens” for pages on end

· You dislike stories with ambiguous/open endings

· You want to read a cheerful story

A Similar Book:

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (1906). Similarities between The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath include:

· Stories that follow migrant working-class families who attempt to build a life for themselves in a harsh, cruel capitalist system

· Pro-socialist messages

· Realistic depictions of working conditions in American history

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bakunzi1990's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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thatokiebird's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Grapes of Wrath is the story of the Joad family wrapped in tragedy, and most importantly to note is the story of this fictional family is actually the real-life history of unimaginably numerous families in the 1930's America. This is the third book of John Steinbeck's I have read, and I enjoyed this one just as well. All of his books seem to be full of heartbreak and little joy, and yet his writing is just so good. There's nothing flowery about it. No hidden intentions that must be interpreted by the reader. Just straight-forward storytelling with a mix of character and plot moving the story right along. And yet the pace is slow, and the dialogue can occasionally go round and round and be repetitive. But honestly, that can be quite accurate and true to life.

For the most part, I didn't particularly like any of the characters in the book. They're all flawed and make poor decisions, and interact with each other in ways where you feel a bit bad for the opposite character. And yet, these facts didn't take away from the book like I would expect. It made it almost more believable in a way. Because you don't necessarily have to like a person to empathize with their situation and hope for a better outcome for them.

Reading The Grapes of Wrath was actually a bit of a relief for me - I haven't liked the majority of the classic novels I've read in the last year and I was beginning to fear I simply don't like that genre any more. But I did enjoy this one, and will certainly continue reading John Steinbeck's other books.

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lowkeymarie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Almost DNF'd this one a few times in the first couple hundred pages but I'm glad I stuck it out. Such a moving story with memorable characters and themes that are still infuriatingly relevant today.

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giuliana_ferrari's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Grapes of Wraith is defined as "one of the Great American Novels". As someone that was not born nor doesn't live in the United States, considering this read as a 5.0 truly gives away how amazing this book is. There is so much to reflect on: the symbolic motifs of human struggle, the way life goes on even when hope seems to have been all but gone, the development of a family that evolves into a unit as fractured and chaotic as the environment around them. It's a story of love, pain, family and exploitation. It's a clear criticism of how the system of the "greatest country of the world" is broken, and it was written 80 years ago! The way the struggles of a family unravels into the landscape of grief, hard work, and the fight for survival of thousands of individuals is truly astonishing. Steinbeck bounces back from a closer perspective on the Joads to a general read on the current scenario of 'Dust Bowl' migrants during the Great Depression, weaving thoughts, commentary, and warnings into the narrative. Truly one of those books that you feel sad that you won't ever have again the experience of reading it for the first time.

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