John Steinbeck’in son romanı Kaygılarımızın Kışı, etrafı her türden ahlaki çürümeyle dolu olan bir adamın., Ethan Allen Hawley’in doğru yoldan çıkmasını anlatıyor. Temiz bir hayat yaşamaya çalışan Ethan tam olarak mahalle baskısı diyebileceğimiz bir sürecin sonunda oyunu kuralına göre oynamaya karar veriyor. Roman boyunca Ethan’ın ahlak ve başarı (güç/zenginlik/itibar) arasında gidip gelen mücadelesi, Steinbeck’in keskin toplumsal eleştirisiyle daha da anlamlı hale geliyor. Karakterin yaşadığı ikilem, çevresindeki yozlaşmanın çok boyutluluğu ve döneme dair tespitleri çok güzel anlatılmış. Steinbeck çıtayı çok yükseklere koymuş bir yazar olduğu için, Fareler ve İnsanlar ya da Cennetin Doğusu gibi romanların yanında biraz sönük kalıyor Kaygılarımızın Kışı ama başlı başına değerlendirilse oldukça iyi bir roman bence.

Don't pass this one up in your choosing which Steinbeck book to consume my hungry rabble. I had no expectations of this wonderful little story and now it is one of my favorites. Give yourself for a few hours for there is much to take from Ethan and all Steinbeck's creation. Crestfallen to come to it's end, as it is with most of his work. “Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York…”

2.5 Stars

I consider myself a Steinbeck fan but I definitely did not like this one as much as his other work.

I found this book to be a departure from his earlier work and it lacks the charm and endearing quality of his novels from the beginning of his career. I found this painfully boring although it did interesting things with the exploration of themes of America and its descending morality. I couldn't get into it and did not connect to the characters. I felt no sympathy to Ethan Hawley at all.

I will read all of his work and there's bound to be ones that don't do it for me.

I love Steinbeck’s way of writing. It just kind of flows, these are no humps and before you know it, you’re at the end of the book.
This one follows Ethan, once part of the aristocracy of Long Island, now working as a clerk in a grocery shop, after his father loses the family fortune. At first, it seemed that he is quite content with his life. He has a wife that he adores, Mary, and two kids, a girl, and a boy. He struggles to keep his moral values, but the constant criticism of his family and friends make him reconsider everything. They encourage him to take risks and invest the little money he still has, take bribes and even rob a bank.

Read the full review here:

https://readingbadger.club/2019/01/23...

All in all, I definitely recommend this book. Although it may be better to read it at a younger age when you can still understand Ethan’s drive and need for a moral and internal compass.

John Steinbeck's last novel and it shows when an author pontificates his views to the readers he becomes not a writer anymore but a preacher. Disappointed in life Steinbeck tries to convey his dark feelings to the rest of the world even if they aren't too interested...there are many others, nevertheless a great novel which few scribblers could match. Ethan Allen Hawley (named after famous Revolutionary War hero) has a comfortable but ordinary existence a loving , loyal , pretty wife Mary two troublesome teenagers Allen and Ellen yet quite normal. His problem the family background, coming from an old aristocratic clan and Ethan just a grocery clerk, the store owned by an Italian immigrant the strict, secretive Marullo. All the Long Island town of New Baytown reiterates his background and he should take a prominent position in the city, worst his wife is tired of being poor and puts substantial pressure on Ethan. Only by devious means can the honest man achieve this success, he has too often seen it happen in the corrupt settlement. Danny Taylor his boyhood best friend now the town drunk , has valuable land where an airport would fit there very nicely. Can he trick the poor pathetic man by stealing it? He is deeply wounded by the decline of Danny so much promise ending up in misery and despair, unable to help the troubled inebriate. His boss maybe isn't legally in America...easily rectified by a phone call. Nothing really bad everyone else does these trivial things...right? The sticky problem is Ethan has a conscious, he knows good from evil, the World War 2 veteran doesn't lack courage in combat however civilians must behave differently no license to kill here . Margie Young -Hunt is very fetching his wife Mary's best friend, searching for a mate had already two before, a tasty morsel if he can cross the forbidden line she seems willing . Mr. Baker the unethical, greedy president of the bank and only one in town wants Danny Taylor's land an airport would be good business, everyone could benefit handsomely especially Mr. Baker. Ethan needs to make choices...still how will the man live with himself if wrong, all people are in the same boat floating or sinking those who are good navigators and manage well will reach the magical shore the others ... descend to the murky bottom.

შუაღამის ოთხ საათზე მოვრჩი სტაინბეკის კიდევ ერთ საოცარ ისტორიას, " ზამთარი ჩვენი მღელვარებისა", ჰოდა, არვიცი სად წავიღო ის მღელვარება, რომელიც ახლა ამ წიგნმა დამმართა , ზუსტად ზამთრის შუაღამეს.

კითხულობ და ფიქრობ, რომ თითქოს ეს არ არის სტაინბეკისეული ხელწერა, რომელსაც შეგვაჩვია თვითონ მწერალმა.ეს ამბავი არ არის კარგ , ან ცუდ ადამიანებზე, ეს ამბავი ადამიანებზეა, რომლებიც თავის თავში კარგსაც და ცუდსაც ერთდროულად აერთიანებენ. იმ ბრძოლაზეა, რომელიც ადამიანს შიგნით მიმდინარეობს. გაყიდოს ადამიანმა ღირსება და თავისი შინაგანი სინათლე იმისათვის, რომ სოციალური სტატუსი აიმაღლოს, აიმაღლოს სტატუსი ოჯახის თვალშიც . სიამაყის დასაბრუნებლად გაყიდოს სულის სიმშვიდე?

ყველაფერი კი ამისკენ უბიძგებს ითენს. მაგრამ რა იწვევს სიამაყეს? რა განაპირობებს იმას, რომ ქუჩაში თავაწეული სიარული შეძლოს ადამიანმა ? სტატუსი თუ შინაგანი სიმაღლე? თითქოს ასე მარტივია პასუხი გასცე - რა თქმა უნდა შინაგანი მდგომარეობა. მაგრამ თვალს ადევნებ ამ ადამიანის სატკივარს, შინაგან ბრძოლებს და ვნებათაღელვას და არ იცი რა თქვა. გინდა , რომ ღირსეული გადაწყვეტილება მიიღოს და არ გაყიდოს მისი ბავშვობა, არ გაყიდოს ადამიანების ნდობა და დამოკიდებულება. რწმენა, რომ ვიღაცას მასში არსებული სინათლის სჯერა.

რა გადაგარჩენს ამ ბრძოლაში? როცა ერთი ნაწილი ადამიანებისა, თვითონ გიბიძგებს იმისკენ, რომ ღირსება დათმო, ხოლო მეორე ნაწილი , საკუთარ ნამუსზე ფეხს გაჭერს.

რა გზა არის გასავლელი ზამთრიდან გაზაფხულამდე?
ამოცურავს ითენი ღირსეულად ამ ჭაობიდან?

მინდა რომ ეს ყველამ თვითონ ნახოს. სულისშემძვრელი ამბავი, ღირსების, ადამიანურობის, სიყვარულის, ნდობისა და პიროვნულობის შესახებ. იმის შესახებაც, რა გავლენას ახდენს სოციუმი თავისი შეძახილებით ადამიანის სულზე.

და ბოლოს, ყველა ამბავი მაინც ერთი ადამიანის ამბავია, რომელსაც ვგულშემატკივრობთ . თითქოს მის თავში ვზივართ, თითქოს ხელებს ამ სიტყვების ზღვაში ჩვენ ვიქნევთ და ჩვენვე უნდა გავიკვლიოთ გზა მაშველი რგოლისკენ, რომელიც ზღვის ფსკერზე ჩაძირულებს, ვიღაცამ გადმოგვიგდო და სინათლის სხივად ჩამოიღვარა და ამასთანავე, ვალდებული გაგვხადა, რომ უნდა გადავრჩეთ.

პ.ს. გაითვალისწინეთ ასევე, რომ კიდევ ერთ ი საოცარი სტაინბეკისეული დასასრული გელით წინ.

When I started reading this, the last novel written by John Steinbeck, I initially thought that I wasn’t going to like it. The prose was as fine as I expected it to be, but it seemed such a small story, compared to powerful epics like The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. However, the story grew on me as I read and the ending packed a punch.

Mostly in the form of a first person narrative, the novel is about Ethan Hawley, a likeable man in his late thirties, married to a woman he loves and the father of two teenagers. Ethan comes from an old and formerly wealthy family in the fictional seaside town in which he lives. However, his father lost the family fortune and Ethan now works as clerk in a grocery store; a grocery store his family used to own. As well educated and intelligent as he is, Ethan has done nothing to reverse the family's precarious financial position. Until now, that is, when a number of circumstances conspire to make Ethan re-think his scrupulous honesty and integrity.

At its heart, the novel is a critique of what Steinbeck considered to be the decline in morality in American society in the 1950s and 1960s, something he also addressed in Travels with Charley: In Search of America. Steinbeck wasn’t concerned with sexual morality, but with hypocrisy and corruption in government and in society generally. While the message is clear – and it’s a message just as relevant today as it was in the early 1960s - the novel isn’t a simple morality play. Ethan is portrayed as a good man. As he acts against his innate sense of honour and integrity, he remains likeable. In going to the dark side, even temporarily, he acts against his instincts and in many ways the novel poses more questions than it gives answers about greed, dishonesty, corruption and betrayal.

Anyone reading this novel who expects another Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden is bound to be disappointed. This is a small, intimate novel and it has its flaws. But it's a powerful work in its own quiet way.

Steinbeck é, para mim, um gigante da literatura. Desta vez agingantou-se tanto que eu, meia-leca, andei perdida no meio do labirinto. A temática é transversal à obra de Steinbeck, a narrativa vai fluindo tranquila em linguagem escorreita e diálogos plenos de bom humor. O que me desorientou foi descortinar a motivação e o objetivo de cada personagem no meio dos diálogos aparentemente claros. Claríssimo, ficou o conflito entre ricos e pobres, e o que cada um está disposto a fazer para obter o seu quinhão.
Transpira nostalgia e solidão, e deixa-nos um certo desconforto no final.

Fino a che limite puoi resistere, Ethan?

Considerando “Furore” un capolavoro della narrativa del ‘900, sono rimasto inizialmente spiazzato dall’approccio così diverso di questo romanzo di Steinbeck, l’ultimo che 22 anni dopo lo scrittore californiano pubblicò in vita.

Tanto “Furore” è un libro immediatamente travolgente, dall’andamento epico, maestoso, corale, carico di innovazioni strutturali con l’alternanza fra capitoli narrativi sull’odissea della famiglia Joad lungo la Route 66 e capitoli d’ambiente, quanto “L’inverno…” inizia in sordina con Ethan che al risveglio fa sberleffi alla moglie; con una buona dose di ironia che accompagnerà tutto il libro, il racconto procede in un’atmosfera intimista, racchiuso in una piccola cittadina del New England e circoscritto all’interno di pochi ambienti essenziali (casa, negozio, banca).

Il nucleo fondamentale del romanzo risiede nella metamorfosi che le pressioni insistenti di tutta la comunità inducono nel protagonista, uomo fondamentalmente onesto e appagato da una quotidianità semplice e tranquilla, fino a spingerlo a scendere a compromessi con la propria coscienza per partecipare all’ambizione irrefrenabile che domina la società circostante, non senza espedienti che travalicano i confini dell’integrità morale.

Come in “Furore” la narrazione è attraversata da una potente tensione etica, espressa nella prima parte del racconto in maniera sfumata, ma che si spinge progressivamente verso un’esplicita critica sociale, denunciando l’inesorabile trasformazione da un’integrità apparentemente solida al disfacimento dei principi morali.

A collegare simbolicamente i due romanzi di Steinbeck insieme a buona parte della sua bibliografia è il perpetuo conflitto fra il bene e il male all’interno del quale l’uomo, uscendone vinto o vincitore, è chiamato a resistere e a contrapporre alle sollecitazioni della bramosia di successo la propria dirittura etica; un conflitto dal quale Ethan uscirà arricchito sul piano materiale ma demolito nel profondo della sua coscienza.

كم من الناس نظرت إليهم دون أن أراهم

المال لا يُبدل المرض ، ولكن يبدل أعراضه فقط

أنت أعمي مثلي ، إلا أن نوع عماك يختلف عن عمايّ

لقد انقرضت القرصنة ، لكن يبدو أن دوافعها لم تمت

إذا أردت الاحتفاظ بصديق ، فلا تجربه

إذا ملكت جوهرة ، فلا تسرف في تلميعها ، حتي لا تتأكل من معجون التلميع


******************
لقد عشت مع هذه الرواية شهراً تقريباً ..

وهي في نسختها العربية 367 صفحة وقد قرأت فيها الكثير من الاقتباسات الرائعة التي فعلا تستحق التوقف عندها

استطاع جون شتاينبك أن يقدم رواية غريبة قليلاً عن المعتاد ، فأنت تعيش مع أبطالها وتتفاعل مع البطل كما لو أنه صديق لك ، وتجد نفسك تتمني أن يفعل كذا أو يتوقف عن فعل كذا
فالرواية في ترجمتها العربية لها عنوانان هما
حين فقدنا الرضا
وشتاء الأحزان
وأنا أفضل العنوان الأول كثيراً ، فهو الذي جذبني لها من البداية
فالبطل يحيا حياة معينة يوجد فيها بعض الشقاء إلا أنه شقاء محتمل
ويحب زوجته وأولاده وكان من الممكن أن يظل الأمر علي النحو نفسه طوال الحياة
إلا أن المُغريات أمامه كثيرة .. وسيقع فريسة لأحداها .. ثم نراه يدخل في مغامرة جديدة
وكأن القدر يهبه مجموعة من الخيارات المختلفة والتي كان من الممكن الرضا بأحداها دون الطمع في خيار آخر

المفاجأة تحدث حين يُفاجئ بأن كل من حوله لهم مخططات ومغامرات ووجوه خفية وأقنعة لم يعلم عنها شيئاً .. وهو نفسه كان لديه القناع الخاص به .. وكأنها مجموعة من الأقنعة التي تحيا سوياً في بلدة واحدة

طبعا نهاية الرواية غريبة للغاية وتنطوي علي جانب كبير من اليأس
ولكن بعد التحليل الدقيق للشخصيات من الممكن القبول بها كنهاية متوقعة
فالكاتب يظهر الشخصية الإنسانية بكل ما فيها من تناقض ومن جوانب مختلفة ، قوة تارة ، وضعف تارة ، وخوف وتردد وشك ورغبة في الأكثر ولو علي حساب المبادئ أو المشاعر
الرواية أيضاً تعطي عبرة وعظة معنية : فكما تدين تُدان
..
اقيمها بـ 5 نجمات بالتأكيد

I learned a lesson about why I should finish books, even if the story does not grip me and I find the protagonist boring. (Thanks, book club) Initially, I thought... oh man... middle aged man making bitter jokes out of his miserable life. I felt sorry for his wife.

However, as I realized what was happening as I got farther and farther into the book, I found myself wishing there was a sequel because I want to know what happened to Ethan a year or two down the road. Was he able to live with himself? Was the money worth it?

As always, Steinbeck's prose is real, fresh, and able to be read on several levels. After this first read, I have a feel for the book and it's major social themes. I do like a book that raises more questions than it answers, and I think this book does that well.

“…what a hell of a man a man could become.”

This last of Steinbeck’s novels, where he muses on the decay of American morality in 1960, is beyond dark. It is downright depressing, when you think how much further we have fallen since then, and when you see from the story how that fall impacts the individuals participating in it.

But like so much of Steinbeck’s work, this feels so important, so instructive.

The only hope I found comes from the central character, Ethan Allen Hawley. Usually we love a character for what the character does in a story, but I fell for Ethan just for who he was. I think it’s because he cares, and as long as there are people who care, there is hope.

Ethan is a grocery clerk from a formerly prominent family in New Bay Town, New York. The story, which takes place from Good Friday through the Fourth of July, is about the plans he conjures up to get himself back into a position his wife and children can be proud of. The plans are clever and intricate, but also immoral and even illegal.

In a country that was built on the idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, we feel like failures when we can’t, which causes tremendous suffering. It’s great to have opportunities, but there are just as many barriers as there are chances, and I wish we supported the efforts as much as we support the successes, but we don’t.

While the novel left me sad, I love Steinbeck’s writing so much. He really does write like a father to his children, and I almost felt like I had my own father back while I was reading. I learn so much from his words. Here are a few passages I particularly loved:

“A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has many versions as it has readers. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight. A story must have some points of contact with the reader to make him feel at home in it. Only then can he accept wonders.”

“It’s as though, in the dark and desolate caves of the mind, a faceless jury had met and decided. This secret and sleepless area in me I have always thought of as black, deep, waveless water, a spawning place from which only a few forms ever rise to the surface. Or maybe it’s a great library where is recorded everything that has ever happened to living matter back to the first moment when it began to live.”

“I don’t know for sure how other people are inside--all different and all alike at the same time.”