These Library of America anthologies are great for really digging into a great author’s works. This one covers Steinbeck’s output over five years beginning in 1932, beginning with his first novel, The Pastures of Heaven, and ending with the classic Of Mice and Men, which I hadn’t read since high school. Also included are , Tortilla Flat (which I also read in my teens) and In Dubious Battle.

I read this book aloud to my wife at every night over the course of two months. Most nights I was able read only a few pages before the melody of Steinbeck’s prose lulled her to sleep. Steinbeck’s lush and beautiful writing can deceive, masking the disturbingly dark themes underlying the words.

The Pastures of Heaven – The novel, Steinbeck’s second, is a series of loosely connected short stories about the people of California’s Salinas Valley, their struggles, their success and their failures. Steinbeck imbues his stories with pathos and poignancy.

To a God Unknown – Full of symbolism and allegory, this was Steinbeck’s third novel and, having taken half a dozen years to write, was obviously a labor of love. It’s a meandering tale about a family that moves from Vermont to California’s Central Valley only to be wiped out by a devastating drought. At its core is its protagonist’s spiritual connection to the land.

Tortilla Flat – Paisanos, basically layabouts. I remember really liking this book during my teenaged, “wouldn’t it be nice if I could go through life without having to work” phase. I actually tried the lifestyle for awhile. Didn’t work out. And while Steinbeck paints a rather sympathetic, if not romantic, picture of them here, it doesn’t really work out well for these guys either.

In Dubious Battle - There’s a whole lot of dialog on this story about an apple-pickers strike, and the more these guys talked the more I came to dislike them. Years ago I covered a teachers’ strike as a newspaper during which I found the labor organizers to be every bit as dishonest and ruthless as the worst politicians I ever encountered. They weren’t about helping the county’s teachers; they were using them to advance a larger cause, and they tore a community apart and hurt teachers, parents and students alike. Steinbeck, while obviously sympathetic to his striking apple pickers, doesn’t pull any punches here. The actions of the “Reds,” Mac and Jim very “ends justify the means” and calculating. I don’t want to spoil the ending here, but I will say that I found it pretty spot on.

Of Mice and Men - I read this in high school and remember not caring for it much. Fifty years later, I found it a deeply moving study of the human condition. It was probably a good thing that my wife fell asleep a couple of pages before I finished it because I could barely get the words out.

It has been said that Steinbeck used short novels such as these as something of a warm-up to the great work, "The Grapes of Wrath". Reading this collection, I support that theory. "The Pastures of Heaven" is interesting for the way Steinbeck weaves a central theme through a diverse, yet tangentially related collection of stories. "To A God Unknown" is a strange, weird, unusual work, a thing shadowing the borders of myth and fairy tale. "Tortilla Flat" is a full-on great book, the characters unforgettable; it is a vastly entertaining small book; the fact that it is likely based on actual people and events makes it all the more interesting. "In Dubious Battle" is surely a preliminary document, Steinbeck flexing his social consciousness, working out themes and ideas we would see again. What can one say about "Of Mice and Men"? A sad, moving, achingly poignant story, dealing in age-old themes that continue to quietly resonate. Reading this volume is assuredly time well spent.

To A GOD UNKNOWN astounded me. It was one of his first books, and is not the masterpiece that East of Eden is, but is so contemporary in its insight into religious issues. Highly recommended.

20th Century Americana is one of my favorite genres. this is the first of two volumes.

Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors! Every one of his better known works is a beautiful piece. A wonderful, early California writer who opens up the world of old Monterey, Big Sur, and central California with his ability to capture the natural beauty of his settings, and poetic insight into the human heart and psyche. Every one of these stories is beautiful and perfect.

What's not to love about a collection of stories that contains the classic Of Mice and Men? But this typically beautiful edition from the Library of America is so much more. It contains Steinbeck's earliest writings, ranging from the the pastoral (The Pastures of Heaven)and the poetic (To A God Unknown), to outright slapstick (Tortilla Flat). But the real sleeper in here is one of the longest stories, In Dubious Battle, the story of two self-proclaimed radicals who help organize apple pickers in California. This is the darker side of The Grapes of Wrath, and Steinbeck's politics are at their most visible, volatile and exciting. From the very start, Steinbeck's narrative voice was already distinctly his own. You'll hear the storm clouds roll in through the Salinas valley, spit the arid soil out of your mouth, and smell the beans and beef cooking in worker camps. Terrific stuff.