This is part of the continuing series of random book reviews that'll be nothing like a New York Times book review. Gone is the ten thousand word analysis. Instead, here is a book review like you'd tell your friends.
Review:
Chapter One Reaction: It can't be this boring for 600 pages, can it?
Chapter Two Reaction: No, seriously, it has to get perkier than this, right? What page am I on?
Chapter Three Reaction: Okay, really, can you pick up the pace a little? I have a date with life I'd like to keep.
The pace doesn't quicken. The Grapes of Wrath makes War and Peace look like a light summer beach read. It's the type of book where if you just lost your job and your 401(k)...and then came home and found your spouse in bed with your best friend...and then mistakenly ran over your precious golden retriever as you peeled out of the driveway...and then you happened to read The Grapes of Wrath that night, you'd say, "Well, hey, life can always be worse I guess."
You know those books where you read 50 pages and then probably never get back to reading it because you're easily distracted by shiny objects and Entertainment Tonight on tv? That's The Grapes of Wrath. You know those books that get listed as a "great novel," but after reading those first 50 pages you question the sanity of book reviewers? That's The Grapes of Wrath. You know when you have no patience for a book after those first three chapters...but that when you get to the end of the book you understand that patience was all part of the master plan of the book? That there's an emotional payoff at the end? That there was a point after all to trudging through 600 pages because the author looked for a message that transcended literature for a change? That the point of the whole book is that it actually has a point?
That's The Grapes of Wrath.
Are you kidding me? Honestly, I think I might actually go crazy from this review... really? I mean, really? Are you sure you are majoring in English? Do the majority of your classes have something to do with Math or Science? Are you quite certain you aren't majoring in Communications? I just wanted to check.
ReplyDeleteThis book is fabulous. I work with teenagers who hate to read. Teenagers for whom reading is a torturous arduous nightmare. Teenagers who actually throw books at each other because that's what they believe the book was created for... why else would it have such nice sharp edges? They loved this story. They got every theme I asked them to find. They found the significance in not only the connection to the time that produced it, but to our contemporary time.
I just, I just, oh my god... I'm loosing my mind over how wrong you are. I might go blind from how crazy this blog review has made me.
And as far as your mention of Ayn Rand, she can kiss my and Steinbeck's ass! I hope to God you guys can tell I'm writing tongue-in-cheek. Maybe you should start slower, See Spot Run was a good book.
Deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Deep breaths.
ReplyDeleteReading comprehension can be a tricky thing. I realize things aren't always that easy to understand, and possibly this review was equally confusing to you. That's ok. If I were a professor I'd give you a D for comprehension and an A for effort.
Here's the catch: John Steinbeck is my favorite author. This was actually a positive review. The last few sentences of the review actually sum up my feeling...that the "Grapes of Wrath" is one of the few books that transcend literature for a greater meaning and purpose.
You're equally guilty of what I say many people mention about "The Grapes of Wrath"...that you didn't get beyond the beginning (of my review) to understand the payoff at the end.
It's ok. I'll just assume you were reading the "Poky Little Puppy" and got all excited. (What tension! Will the puppy get dessert? Oooh, don't spoil the ending for me!) Just lay off the Golden Books collection before you get flustered next time. Otherwise you're acting just like Ayn Rand, and you wouldn't want that.