Friday, August 19, 2011

The Grapes of Wrath - Rating and Review

I will have to say that overall, I really did not like this story. Please don't hate me if you absolutely loved this book. The story really just wasn't for me. It was harder to relate to the characters. Yeah, everyone in life has struggles, but this story was sort of dry. It also had so many details, which got a little annoying at times. I believe that the book would have appealed to me more if it was a little shorter and wasn't filled with so many details. The historical points of the story were very accurate, which was a huge plus because I am slightly interested in history, at least more interested than I was in this book. The novel was by no means bad, it just wasn't for me. This novel was like fruit filled candy bars from Germany. Some people absolutely love biting into a chocolate bar and tasting a dried up cherry. But as for me, I would much rather bite into a milk chocolate bar filled with simply chocolate. This story just had too much fruit in it, and by fruit I obviously mean details. I really just wanted a good snack but instead I got some half way healthy thing. I would give this novel a 2.5 out of 5. It really wasn't bad, it had a plot, characterization and setting, but it lacked that wow factor that every great book has. Yeah sure, it's an American classic, but not every American classic has to be loved by every American. I won't go too far and argue that it should be taken off the list of summer reading books. No no no, this story still is a very important story to read. It teaches of perseverance and generosity, which are both great traits to have. The Joads are people that should be looked up to. Yeah, they are just fictional literary characters, but they possess values and attitudes that should be admired by everyone. The Joads were always doing their best to make something good out of something absolutely terrible, and the characters got a 5 out of 5 in my book.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

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