April reading...

Time is flying by and I cannot believe I'm going to write about another book. A quote I heard long ago comes to mind - "God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of tasks. As of right now, I am so far behind I shall never die." (I know this is not theologically accurate, but funny nonetheless). Anyway, here we go...

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I was glad to come across this book at a yard sale last year and realized I had only read snippets of it from different literature textbooks (I wouldn't say I collect literature textbooks, but I do enjoy buying them at secondhand shops and have a collection of them...). I will keep my comments brief and vague, as I don't mean to cause a debate with this somewhat controversial book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which my husband would say is predictable because I love a sad story... The narrative is often interrupted by bits of "exposition and background" (to quote the introduction of my edition) which is very interesting. I love history and think that is a major reason I enjoyed this book. Learning about the plight of the migrant workers during the great depression set in a novel is fascinating and engaging. Also, having lived in the San Joaquin valley for a few years many of the places mentioned in the book, as well as the sights described, where very familiar, which was exciting.

I don't know enough about Steinbeck to know if he was a socialist, as some claim. There are overtones of anti-capitalism throughout the book, but not as direct and charged as other books I have read (The Jungle, for example; and for the record, I am a supporter of capitalism, in case you were wondering). I do know, however, that Steinbeck was married three times and two of his wives were Gwyn and Elaine. Interesting, eh?

Throughout the book, the Lord would bring to my mind passages from Ecclesiastes..."I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." from chapter 2

I am halfway through my next book, so perhaps next month I will have a double oh-so-brief-book review. I know. You just cannot wait, right?