I could not locate a John Steinbeck thread or a thread about his novels, so there might as well be one. I already tore through Of Mice and Men this week and loved it. The ending made me teary eyed and so I decided to read through another famous novel of his, Grapes of Wrath. I'm 4 chapters in and since I used to live in the south, I feel well connected with the character diolague. I hope the book turns out to be great. Thoughts?

I went searching for more King Arthur collections a few weeks ago. When I asked the girl at Barnes and Noble, she read off a list including "the Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by Steinbeck". I froze. "Wait...huh? Steinbeck? John Steinbeck?

I mean seriously, King Arthur has nothing to do with the Great Depression or Central California, it's the last thing I'd expect for him to write.

I need to do some research. It seems he built a house and named it "Joyous Gard" after Lancelot's castle. That's awesome.

I admit, I'm very mad at him for dying before telling the story of Sir Beaumains.

edited 9th Mar '12 10:53:43 PM by Rotpar

I've read it and it's awesome. Steinbeck is one of my favorite non-genre writers. Cannery Row is probably my favorite book by him (Doc is based on a real person)

edited 26th Mar '12 9:54:32 AM by tricksterson

I found Grapes of Wrath to be tl;dr. I mean, it takes what? Six chapters before we meet the Joads? And that whole damn chapter on a turtle crossing the road? SYMBOLISM!!!!!!!!!!!

I did like Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, though. Granted I read both when I was 14, and had to have some things explained to me.

Thought Grapes of Wrath was amazing, and Cannery Row is one of my favourite books of all time.

Also highly recommend Tortilla Flat.

John Steinbeck was the iconic Early 20th Century writer for me, as his general theme was of everyday people living in a depressing environment trying valiantly to make their lives somehow less depressing. And - depressingly - failing nine times out of ten.

He's one of the best writers of the "life is hard" message I've ever read - even when the tragedy is at it's strongest it still feels real and saddeningly relatable.

The Grapes of Wrath was good, great even; but I think that Tortilla Flat was the book of him I enjoyed the best, all things considered.

But yeah, he's an awesome author.

edited 21st Mar '12 4:09:10 PM by Carciofus

I am also currently reading The Grapes of Wrath.

I've read some of Steinbeck's other books and short stories. I liked some and didn't like others. I especially enjoyed Cannery Row.

Alas, my favorite Steinbeck isn't his most acclaimed, the Grapes Of Wrath, or his most well known, Of Mice Of Men (though I love both).

Nay, my favorite is the short and simple The Pearl. It's so cruel but tragically resigned in it's irony.

Actually, I'm also reading The Grapes of Wrath. The dialogue's very good, and surprisingly funny, but a lot of the description is reeeeeally drawn out, like the aforementioned turtle chapter. Still good, though.

There was funny in that book? All I remember is it being Chinese water torture on the eyes.

Not quite on the level of Gone with the Wind, though. THAT was outright painful.

The anecdote about beating a man with a live chicken didn't do anything for you?

That was in there? I don't remember too much from the book except for it being BORING.

I just looked it up and it didn't seem funny to me. Eh.

I finished Grapes, I did not like it as much as Mice and Men but it was still good. I felt some chapters could have been cut out

I've read Of Mice and Men. So damn depressing...then again, considering the period it was written, it's not surprising. I need to get around reading the Grape of Wrath.

Of Mice And Men is good as a commentary on the effects of the Depression, but it isn't really much cop as a story. Nothing much happens until the end, which is really depressing.

The ending was pretty good, since I didn't realize until the very end how much he made me actually like the characters as much as I did.

Interesting thing with Of Mice And Men, it actually took me a while to get to like it. I stumbled upon the movie first, liked it somewhat, then bought the book to read. The book impressed me less, probably because I knew how it would end. And then I watched the play. By now I somehow got so used to that story that it became one of my favorites and I managed to understand a lot of things I had overlooked at first. It's heartbreaking and wonderful, especially since I can understand the characters and their decisions, but felt conflicted about them.

Another interesting book of his I read was the short story cycle The Pastures of Heaven. That one was easier to like and understand, because stories about families from small, closed communities are quite common among classical writers in my country, and I myself have spent a lot of time during my childhood visiting a similar community often. There are always related patterns in which people behaved in such stories and several types of characters that stand out. It's surprising what similarities exist between these communities, even in different cultures.