Great collection of Steinbecks best work.

Steinbeck is a great storyteller. This is a collection of his best work. The stories were long, but his storytelling is so compelling that you want to get to know these characters. Joyous reading.

It took me a while to get through this book simply because I put it somewhere and forgot it. This is my second time reading Grapes of Wrath (I have not yet read the other books novels in this book) and it honesty is one of the most poignant stories I have read in some time. The story of United States citizens being treated the same as illegal immigrants in this country are currently treated during the dust bowl brought tears to my eyes as my family were "Okies" or migrant farm workers who migrated to California from Oklahoma and Illinois when they lost their farms in the 1930's.

This story brought humanity to the story of people who immigrated, moved, or were refugees without any other hope of to better their lives and feed their children than to leave everything they know, the land that they love, their family and friends and community behind for the HOPE of a better life in a land that far away and the trials of that travel that is based only on HOPE and sheer determination. Only to get there and find that they are unwelcome.

As heart wrenching as it was the first time probably as part of english class in high school. Oh my the people were beyond struggling to find a new life and ample work for pay and comfort. John Steinbeck was an incredible writer. I wonder who are his equals now.
J.

Many years have passed since my first reading of Steinbeck’s Mice and Men. Perhaps I was too young to have fully appreciated the power and depth of his writing although I have read most of his work. I am grateful to the new Great Books Council of northern California for their new project to examine banned books..

A couple of these, I'd read as a teenager, so I thought it was about time I re-read them, to see if there was a different perspective as an adult. About all of the stories, I have to say that I was disappointed in the endings. I like for a story to actually be wrapped up at the end. I'm not a big fan of cliffhangers or endings where the reader is left to imagine what may have happened, unless there's a sequel. It's almost as if each story was ended mid-sentence! The stories themselves were great.

"The Grapes of Wrath" was much more difficult to read than I'd originally remembered (maybe I skimmed as a teen?). The thing I found the hardest to interpret was the dialect ... a southern, hillbilly-ish slang mixed with some old English. I'm sure it was perfectly natural back when the book was written, but it frustrated me a bit. The story itself was funny, insightful and heartbreaking. I found I could clearly see and feel the trials and tribulations of the Joad family as they made their way west. Each character was beautifully drawn out, and easy to picture in my mind. Even the scenery was vivid in my imagination, although at times it was a bit boring to read about. Of the 5 stories in the book, this was my favorite.

"The Moon is Down" was my least favorite. I don't generally like war stories, or stories about politics, so my opinion here is a bit biased. There were so many characters in this story, and none of them given an ample amount of description, and it made it very difficult to keep track of who was who, with the exception of the Mayor, his servants and one or two others. My favorite part of this story was the parachutes.

"Cannery Row" had me laughing from beginning to end. The trouble those guys would get themselves in was hilarious! Again, the characters were fleshed out very nicely.

"East of Eden" was an incredible story that seemed to go on forever. The first half of the story was a bit confusing, jumping back and forth from character to character, with no obvious connection between them. But once the connection was made, it flowed seemlessly. I loved every character, no matter if they were dull and lifeless in personality or if they were lively or evil. This is a story that would relate well in any time period. Everyone wants better for themselves and their children, and are willing to do just about anything for it. This is a must read story!

"Of Mice and Men" is a story like no other. I remember reading this in school, but I don't remember being as moved by it as I am now. George is a caring and selfless protector for Lenny. He is the type of man that all men should want to be. The story is a sad one, make no mistakes. The stable buck, Candy, Curly's wife ... they all share the same problem: lonliness. I felt the raw pain of each one of them. The story's ending broke my heart over and over again.

I read 'East of Eden' and found it to be perhaps the most exceptional novel I have ever read. Steinbeck's character development is exceptional and the way he weaves his themes throughout the entire work is masterful. There are many twists and turns which connects so deeply with us because this is true of life, we never know what's going to happen next. When this novel ended I was left in a state of awe and absolute worship of God and I just stopped, closed my eyes and meditated on the marvelous and life-giving lesson I had just witnessed. Beautiful.

Grapes of Wrath Review (8/12/12)
Gave 5 stars
The Grapes of Wrath is a poignant novel which follows the story of the Joad family.
I loved the symbolism of the story and the deep meanings and themes.
The ending is by no means a happy ending, but it ends on a positive and hopeful mood.
This is definitely one of my favorite Steinbeck novels. Steinbeck is a genius when it comes to depicting the how the characters actually feel and the hardships that they have to face. Another great American classic by Steinbeck. I like this book almost as much as I loved East of Eden. ;)


The Moon is Down Review (9/02/12)
Gave 4 stars
Interesting novella that follows the story about a "silent" rebellious coastal townspeople who have recently been conquered by an invading army. While the townspeople do not outwardly or actively rebel or resist, they look on to the invading army with cruel, cold, and un-trusting eyes which kills some of the invading army's soldiers. The dialogue was really creative and the characters were well-crafted.


Cannery Row Review (8/29/12)
Gave 3 stars
This novel is not plot-driven, but the story focuses more on delineating the town and characters of Cannery Row. Cannery Row is a good book for a quick read. As he always does, Steinbeck implies important short lessons about life in his story about the struggling between the rich and the poor.


East of Eden Review (8/31/10)
Gave 5 stars
I was astonished at how profound this book was. I loved how the symbolism of the biblical story between Cain and Abel was included. And despite this being the first time reading Steinbeck's work, I can totally see why he said that it was his best work. He transitioned the story so perfectly well (despite having so many characters). His meandering throughout the book necessarily added the effect of the story. The symbolism was creatively crafted into Cain and Abel. And, of course, East of Eden left an important message to its readers through a heartfelt, memorable story. *Timshel*

Although I admit being shocked when I first saw how inevitably long East of Eden was (I had to read it as a summer homework assignment), it was very entertaining as a matter of fact. It wasn't boring at all. I really didn't think of East of Eden as one huge, never-ending book anyways. East of Eden was really like a big collection of four books put together. Like a series of books.

I RECOMMEND TO EVERYBODY. REALLY ONE OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN MASTER PIECES EVER WRITTEN!


Of Mice and Men Review (2/02/11)
Gave 4 stars
I recommend to all Steinbeck reader fans. The ending is extremely sad, but Of Mice and Men is a worthwhile read that cannot be ignored.

The friendship between George and Lennie is extremely complex, and they have a genuine companionship that is not parasitic-but rather mutual-istic. Lennie needs George for intellectual and emotional support, but George leans on Lennie for enthusiasm and hope. Once their dreams of someday owning a rabbit farm are shattered, George has to man up in order to save Lennie from a painful torture and death.


General Review of all of these books
Short stories (under 200 pages):
The Moon is Down, Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men

Long chunk of a story (over 500 pages):
The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden

Better of the bunch (my personal favorites):
The Grapes of Wrath and/or East of Eden

Best short story of the bunch:
Of Mice and Men

Grapes Of Wrath:-


It is not easy to read, and I found it easier to see the film and understood better - but therefore all the more I value this work, not because it is difficult but because I could grasp it through the film.

And the film truly was great, especially when it came to the dialogue of mother and son at the end - and Henry Fonda forever marked his place amongst the great with his portrayal and his delivery in the last speech.

It is an entirely worthy, great - in the original sense of the word - work, and for anyone from US it is a must read because it is your own history, usually not told around in the fairy tale account of your country you get officially.

If you are not from US it is still a great work relating a part of history of US, and entirely worthy of reading. Difficult, yes. Great, absolutely.

The book deals with the depression in US that was devastating there, the beginning of an era in Europe that ended with millions killed in war and a sizeable few millions helpless killed by their own government in gas chambers and other ways of murder, and so on.

In all this the poor and the not so poor that became poor in US were almost forgotten, since the nation holds on to the myth that anyone who is willing to work must do well in that country.

This book for one exposes such myths.
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The Moon Is Down:-


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Cannery Row:-


About the down and out and small fry and the manual labour workers and so forth, and their lives -
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East of Eden:-


John Steinbeck is not only one of the most famous writers, and generally also a very respected one, but more than anything he transcends often from good writer to a great one. This is one of the works that is evidence of his quality that is at once magical and great both.

East Of Eden rises above the mundane and the unusual, the common and the evil, the different characters that it describes, by the good and the superlative, the aspiring human spirit and the calm, comprehending one; the courage of one and the silent tragedy of another.

It is not just the mirroring of Adam and Charles with slightly skewed images in Aaron and Caleb, and the questionable source of the money fo Adam's father mirrored in the beyond question source of Cathy's - it is the whole lot of people.

Especially Samuel and his whole clan, on one hand, with Adam's chinese housekeeper and cook on the other with his elders who went through years of learning to ponder on a question that had nothing to do with their ancestral culture. And found the answer, too!

It is Olive, with her stoic encouragement of a pilot she thought was in trouble; her sister who spread delight and peace and joy like a delicate but definite perfume in hearts and lives and brought smiles of expectation to those that expected to meet her, and herself died selently of a heartbreak. Another one who married an inventor, who went on trying, at the expense of making money - in fact spending all he had for his experiments.

Samuel's horse who had a grand name because he had nothing else. His wife who cared for her large family with the very little that their land could provide, and did not worry, only worked and provided and organised. Samuel who knew that Adam's Chinese housekeeper was more literate and erudite than his pretense to the contrary for sake of conforming to the local social prejudice, in order to blend into the background.

So many charcters unforgettable - and so many lessons implicit and otherwise.

Of course, one may complain Steinbeck went with the more socially acceptable norm, in depicting evil in the accepted form in prevalent cultural prejudicial terms of Christian and Islamic heritage, by personifying it as a female - while evil rages far more often and far more visibly out there in garb of male gender. Think nazis, think Stalin, think kkk, think paedophiles and other abusers.

But one cannot expect everything from everyone, and if Steinbeck did not rise above all of his upbringing limitations, he was only human.
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Of Mice And Men:-



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I've read 4 out of 5 of these at different times of my life. I know that The Grapes of Wrath is supposed to be the greatest of all of them but I actually think that I prefer the Trask family saga East of Eden, which, on one level, is a re-imagining of the story of Cain and Abel. The other family featured, the Hamiltons, may have been in part based on Steinbeck's own family

If you are interested in a movie version, the mid-fifties version with James Dean and Julie Harris is OK, though the Hamilton family and Cathy Trask are largely left out, and of course Cathy, evil as she is, is the most interesting character. If you want a more true-to-the book version, check out the 80s TV miniseries with Jane Seymour as Cathy.

First of all please let me clarify that this review is only for Steinbecks masterpiece "Of Mice and Men"..
This means that the other novels in this volume aren't review this time..

Its a dramatic tale full of heavy feelings..
Lennie and George both wants lo live out the American dream..
They fall prey and succumb to prejudices, an hostile environment and their own human flaws and shortcomings!!

Steinbeck will not let the reader even for a moment out of his grip!!

Powerful written and with a strong and rich prose, Steinbeck creates colorful pictures and lasting impressions which will haunt the reader like flash of lights for a long, long time indeed..

I have eagerly devoured in a piece this novel..
Strong and vibrant put on paper by Steinbeck, but the real treat consists in the deep feelings of pain and desperation this novel evokes in the soul of the reader!!!

Heavily and dense written, brought atmospheric to paper, creating fascinating moods in the reader, and pregnant with deep and desperate feelings.. an unforgettable masterpiece..

I have suffered as an old dog is taken away to be shot in the head..
It has touched me so much because the fate of this dog like a mirror reflects our own sick views and flawed opinions which like a swamp swallows merciful and compassionate feelings of love and understanding..

Steinbeck has created a timeless story about losers and how they cling to their dreams!!
"Of Mice and Men" is a must-read for anybody who loves well written dramatic stories, and also wants to develop,improve and mold his character..

So, five well deserved stars..

Happy reading
Dean;)

For GRAPES OF WRATH:

Steinbeck’s writing causes goosebumps to form on one’s skin—whilst wrapping one up in a warm, cozy blanket and thrusting a hot, comforting drink into the hands. He understands the human endeavor as if he were outside of it. His words always find a way to cut to the heart.

Stories from an era long gone

Beautifully crafted stories from an era which has long gone. There's no happy endings though. Steinbeck holds up a mirror to our inner self.