BAM! With this book, I'm sitting pretty as the school year starts with 40 books read. I've caught up to where I should be to reach 50 by the end of the year. Only 2 books per month to coast into 2013.
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS: Before I started reading Grapes of Wrath, I was dreading it. Although Steinbeck is my favorite author (tied with Kurt Vonnegut), and I've read at least a third of everything he's published and loved each one, this story-line was spoiled for me in high school when our Steinbeck-loving English teacher had us watch the movie version of GOW rather than reading the lengthy epic in class. THE JOADS ARE SO WHINEY IN THE MOVIE! Who wants to watch that?! Fearing that the book might be the same and would therefore sour my opinion of my beloved John, I've avoided the book like the plague for the past 8 years of my literature-loving life.
All I can say is "phew". Although The Grapes of Wrath really can't hold a candle to "East of Eden" or "Of Mice and Men" (I don't care what anyone says, they're better books!), it was still enjoyable. It started out well, dragged a bit in the middle (I mean, I know it's a long drive to California, but seriously), and then picked up again when I was about 2/3 of the way through. There's so much wrapped up in the story, I'd rather not speculate on the plethora of themes, so I'll just suggest you read it for yourself and skip to my grade sheet.
GRADE SHEET:
Pacing: B-
Readability: B+
Protagonist's Likability: A (who is the real protagonist? Tom? Ma? Rosashorn?)
Satisfying Ending: C+
Realistic Dialogue: A
Not Being Like the Shitty Movie: A
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS: Before I started reading Grapes of Wrath, I was dreading it. Although Steinbeck is my favorite author (tied with Kurt Vonnegut), and I've read at least a third of everything he's published and loved each one, this story-line was spoiled for me in high school when our Steinbeck-loving English teacher had us watch the movie version of GOW rather than reading the lengthy epic in class. THE JOADS ARE SO WHINEY IN THE MOVIE! Who wants to watch that?! Fearing that the book might be the same and would therefore sour my opinion of my beloved John, I've avoided the book like the plague for the past 8 years of my literature-loving life.
All I can say is "phew". Although The Grapes of Wrath really can't hold a candle to "East of Eden" or "Of Mice and Men" (I don't care what anyone says, they're better books!), it was still enjoyable. It started out well, dragged a bit in the middle (I mean, I know it's a long drive to California, but seriously), and then picked up again when I was about 2/3 of the way through. There's so much wrapped up in the story, I'd rather not speculate on the plethora of themes, so I'll just suggest you read it for yourself and skip to my grade sheet.
GRADE SHEET:
Pacing: B-
Readability: B+
Protagonist's Likability: A (who is the real protagonist? Tom? Ma? Rosashorn?)
Satisfying Ending: C+
Realistic Dialogue: A
Not Being Like the Shitty Movie: A
No comments:
Post a Comment