Staggering literary achievement - Rated 
This is simply one of the greatest books ever written. Powerful, always challenging, shocking, yet more human than almost anything else I have ever read. I dont think you can ever see things in the same way after reading this book. The story of the Joads and America at that time will stay with me forever. Steinbeck is the very essence of great literature.
Genius in black and white - Rated
Having just slated Pride & Prejudice I would like to set the record straight and announce my undying love for this book.
It is a work of pure, raw, tense, teeth-clenched, beauty.
Has the whole gamut of human emotions ever been so evocatively put in print? I doubt it.
Magnificent.
Telling the story of the Joad family - Rated
Telling the story of the Joad family who, evicted from their Oklahoma land, travel to California along the now legendary Route 66. Steinbeck keeps the reader tense and nervous throughout, and it is impossible to predict what will happen next. Every character of the Joad family is well-developed, and the various elements of the story tie together to produce a novel which is difficult to put down. I was sorry when I reached the last page, and found myself wanting to know how their lives continued after the period of the story! Also, if you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates, go and read it.
A phenonenal achievement - Rated
I first read this book about 30 years ago but it was great to return to it again. A phenomenal achievement - telling the story of the Joad family as they struggle to survive in the depression of the thirties in US. There is hope and despair in the book but Steinbeck always ensures that the innate goodness of ordinary people shines through. Some wonderful characters: Ma who is determined to keep the family together, the fiery Tom who leaves to organize other workers, Rosasharn whose dreams of a happy future fall away but she nonetheless is prepared to give her mother's milk to a starving man. And the picture of Casy is remarkable - a preacher no longer certain of his faith but who finds practical ways of putting others before himself.
Although the story is set some 70 years ago there are still many modern parallels. Some of the comments made about the Okies are echoed today in relation to immigrants. And big companies trying to reduce what they pay to their suppliers? Did someone mention Tesco?
Some chapters hardly move the narrative forward but instead offer Steinbeck's reflections on the situation. These are little gems, beautifully written, and could be part of a book on political philosophy.
A triumph of a book - should be compulsory reading for everyone!
An unequivocal classic - Rated
If the test of a classic is a work of fiction which retains its relevance with the passage of time, Grapes of Wrath is nailed on.
In 1930s America, Tom Joad, newly released from jail for killing in self defence, returns to the family farm to find it empty. He finds out from two acquaintances that they have been driven out of their tenant farm by owners seeking to employ industrial farming methods. They are waiting for him at his uncle's farm, preparing to set out on the long journey from dust bowl Oklahoma, to the seemingly promised land of California. They have been attracted by handbills promising easy work and a prosperous life.
On the journey west along route 66 they meet up with the mass of people driven by similar circumstances and desires. They are faced with unscrupulous salesmen, suspicious locals, and above all family tragedy.
On the journey they hear stories, confirmed when they arrive, that California is not the golden opportunity it seems. The migrant workers are despised by the residents, exploited by landowners, and forced to live in squalid shanty towns. There are moments of hope, the family getting a place on a government run camp with decent facilities, but generally it is a tale of sadness and bitter poverty. Towards the end, the family take up residence in an abandoned boxcar and it feels like a step up.
Eventually Tom is on the run and the family are washed out of the box car.
All in all it sounds like unremitting misery, but it isn't. The indomitable spirit of the Joad family gives a hope that is never fully crushed, and even at its most desperate at the end, there is a moment of enlivening human kindness.
The structure of the book is interesting with two strands interweaving. There is the specific story of the Joads and their very personal struggle, but wrapped around this are chapters describing the general conditions of the migrant workers. This really works, given context to the specific story, and humanity to the general.
Also, I tend to prefer novels with a clean tidy ending, which this book doesn't have. But in this case it is absolutely right, the uncertainty reflecting the uncertainty of the Joads' life.
What makes the Grapes of Wrath truly great is the fact that the key themes remain true. What it says about the interaction of wealth and poverty, about consumerism, and about xenophobia remains true and relevant. In particular the descriptions of the reactions of the Californians to the newcomers could have been written today about migrant workers coming to Britain. Daily Mail leader writers should read this book and hang their heads in shame.
This makes the book sound highly political. It both is and isn't. Clearly it is an extremely angry polemic regarding the state and exploitation of migrant workers. It also tangentially argues for some form of community based collectivism. On the other hand it is not driven by any political theory, specifically it is not the Marxist treatise it has been accused of being. It is driven by concern for humanity and the need to right a wrong, not by any perceived solution.
Finally the book contains some stunningly beautiful writing. The descriptions of the Oklahoma Countryside, of the smells and sounds of the journey and of the characters and their relationships are top notch.
In summary, this is a genuine classic. It is not an easy or comfortable read. It is tough. I can however wholeheartedly recommend it.
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