Genre: Classic
Series: Standalone
Page Count: 601
Publication Year: Originally 1952, my edition came out in 2002.
Publisher: Originally Viking Press, mine is Penguin Books.
Special Notes: This was my first read-a-long, hosted by Old Books, New Readers.
Summary: Two families intertwine in a Californian valley.
Steinbeck really knew how to add color and life to a mundane setting.
This isn’t a story I’d normally read. I’m more about camaraderie, adventure, witty banter, lots of dialogue, and fast stories. There are friendships in this book and the odd bit of humor. But because it’s inspired by Cain and Abel’s story (that idea is utilized in a few different ways), the feel of the encroaching disaster taints it all.
It’s impressive how I don’t like any of the people but it didn’t take long for me to become fully invested in their lives. Part of the impressiveness is that since I don’t have a dysfunctional family, I don’t fully understand how it could happen. Seeing this family splinter and fracture is so far from what I’m familiar with that it drove my intrigue and kept me curious as to its conclusion. I am repeatedly surprised at how great a writer Steinbeck was and how he could weave so many ordinarily boring elements (to me) into an immersive story. No matter how depressing his books are I always want to finish them.
Since I didn’t read this to dissect it (much like my The Brothers Karamazov experience) I didn’t pay much attention to the personal struggles of the characters. The questions they ask and the obstacles they face mean next to nothing to me. I’m not fighting my darker side or searching for some answer to a vague question. What I can say is that Steinbeck gave everyone scars and tested them in many fields to see how they’d bleed. I believe every character he created is terribly flawed to the point of being almost ugly and that’s something today’s writers—YA ones especially—should strive to imitate. His characters are all imperfect and it made me want their success that much more. Sadly, hardly anyone got it.
One of the worst characters is Cathy. She’s a straight up psychopath. She’s constantly scheming to get what she wants (money and power) and so many people are fooled by it. Murder, theft, manipulation, blackmail, terrible mothering, she does it all without feeling a shred of remorse. What makes it even worse is that she gets away with it. Some people she meets suspect she’s not all there, but proof and timing are not on their side.
There’s a narrator who steps in occasionally to talk about the town of Salinas and what’s going on in the world. This is a slight spoiler but you find out that his name is John Steinbeck. I found out that his family in the story is a dramatized version of his real one. I think that’s an ingenious way to blend fiction and truth.
The funniest part for me is when they get the car and are being taught how to start it. I know old cars required cranking but all the other steps are such a far cry from today. Hearing their confusion at this completely foreign object induced both cackling and sympathy in me.
Will I read it again? I can see myself maybe picking it up in another twenty years when I’ve changed and can pick out new elements I’d previously ignored.
Should you read it? If you know what it’s about or are a fan of Steinbeck I think you’ll appreciate it. If you’re being forced to study it I can definitely see why it would be hated.
Is it his best book? He said all his other work before was in preparation for this one. I haven’t read all his books but I think this could be one of his best.
Here’s my favorite quote:
When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.
Since this is a fairly well-known classic that many people have been forced to read, I’m going to list why I think it could be despised.
It’s slow
If you can’t stand books that go through someone’s day and no obvious plot happens, you will be frustrated with this story. This is a great example of, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” Sometimes this works for me and other times I feel like ripping out pages.
It worked for me here because people are living entire lives and experiencing everything that goes with that. And no matter if they move across the country or live their whole lives in one place, changes and choices are made that prevented me from growing bored. The incidents may not have been monumental in appearance (like the first mention of Lee) but I knew that something else was always going to happen and that persistent threat of change/danger kept me wanting more.
Almost no one is likable
There are some really trashy people in this book; Cyrus, Charles, Cathy, and Caleb are the main antagonists and they add the charming traits of bullying, murder, violence, manipulation and jealousy. Wait a minute, did Steinbeck start all their names with ‘c’ for the comparison to Cain? And all their counterparts start with the letter ‘a:’ Adam, Aron and Abra.*gasps* Oh my goodness, that’s some great foreshadowing. This book just got better.
Some of the people are what passes for nice in a Steinbeck book, like Samuel and Lee. The good thing about them is that even when they make mistakes, they will sometimes preface it by saying they’re probably making a mistake. They don’t recklessly charge in and they can admit that they made a blunder. And they themselves are good friends so you get some needed bonding moments.
But for the most part everyone is a bit too deep in the pits to truly like.
I don’t read Steinbeck’s books to find favorite characters but to be consumed by stories I'd normally avoid. That’s what this one did for me.
It’s mildly depressing
It’s not endless-drought depressing like The Grapes of Wrath, but these poor people can’t catch a break. From death and imprisonment, to trickery and fake botulism (which resulted in death), it’s just one disaster after another. Early on I felt this impending doom and it turns out it's not impending, it’s a constant dribble of misery. Steinbeck did inject moments of brightness and humor, which I appreciate, but for the most part you know that this is not going to end well. Of the ones I’ve read, only Cannery Row and Travels with Charley didn’t delight in crushing my soul. Every nicety in this story is opposed by deep darkness but it is balanced with skill.
It’s also a downer because all the problems the characters face are within themselves. I didn’t take the time to delve deep into their minds but I did see how sad, lonely, and unfulfilled most of the characters are.
It’s long
Some people are put off by long books just because they’re long. I can understand that. I’m not exactly eager to read War and Peace but it’s more the subject of that one that makes me shudder. I spent a month reading this book and yet I was never impatient for it to be over. I experienced a generation of lives and that takes time.
Have you read this classic or any of Steinbeck’s other works? Or do you avoid classics at all cost?
Check out my rating here.
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