The Grapes of Wrath

By: John Steinbeck, Robert DeMott

Narrated by: Dylan Baker

John Steinbeck's powerful evocation of the suffering and hardship caused by the Great Depression, and a panoramic vision of the struggle for the American Dream, The Grapes of Wrath includes a critical introduction by Robert DeMott in Penguin Modern Classics. "I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags, I don't want him satisfied".

Shocking and controversial when it was first published in 1939, Steinbeck's Pulitzer prize-winning epic The Grapes of Wrath remains his undisputed masterpiece. Set against the background of Dust Bowl Oklahoma and Californian migrant life, it tells of Tom Joad and his family, who, like thousands of others, are forced to travel west in search of the promised land. Their story is one of false hopes, thwarted desires, and broken dreams, yet out of their suffering Steinbeck created a drama that is intensely human, yet majestic in its scale and moral vision. Adapted into a celebrated film directed by John Ford, and starring Henry Fonda, The Grapes of Wrath is an eloquent tribute to the endurance and dignity of the human spirit.

John Steinbeck (1902-68), winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for literature, is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the 20th century. During the Second World War Steinbeck served as a war correspondent, with his collected dispatches published as Once There Was a War (1958); in 1945 he was awarded the Norwegian Cross of Freedom for his novel The Moon is Down (1942), a portrayal of Resistance efforts in northern Europe. His best-known works include the epics The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952), and his tragic novella Of Mice and Men (1937). John Steinbeck's complete works are published in Penguin Modern Classics. If you liked The Grapes of Wrath, you might enjoy East of Eden, also available in Penguin Classics.

©1939 John Steinbeck (P)2011 Penguin

Critic reviews

"It is Steinbeck's best novel, i.e., his toughest and tenderest, his roughest written and most mellifluous, his most realistic and, in its ending, his most melodramatic, his angriest and most idyllic. It is great in the way that Unlce Tom's Cabin was great. One of the most impassioned and exciting books of the year." (Time)

"One comes away moved, indignant, protesting, pitying. A fiery document of protest and compassion, as a story that had to be told, as a book that must be read." (Louis Kronenberger, The Nation)

"A novelist who is also a true poet" (Sunday Times)

Book's as good as I remembered.

How could the performance have been better?

Dylan Baker does a solid job differentiating the voices of the different HEY DO YOU LIKE HARMONICA MUSIC? YOU'RE GOING TO LISTEN TO SOME JOLTINGLY LOUD HARMONICA MUSIC RIGHT NOW WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! characters. But the producer who put this audiobook together didn't OH LOOK IT'S TIME FOR MORE REALLY LOUD HARMONICA MUSIC! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T IT'S REALLY GOING TO MESS WITH THE STORY! consider the way it would sound if every chapter was separated with some lousy harmonica playing at nine thousand decibels. The overall experience of listening to this OOPS NOW HERE'S ANOTHER SUPER LOUD HARMONICA INTERLUDE!! audiobook as an exercise in patience. Not recommended if, for example, you like listening to audiobooks at bedtime.

Great book - great narrator

The Nobel Prize winning "The Grapes of Wrath" is a master work and the coloration contributed by Dylan Baker's brilliant narration is worthy of the great novel.

Enjoyable introduction to another time

I enjoyed this book. It was a peek into life in another era. Enticing and beautifully written.

Love it

read this book in high school 40 yrs ago. Didnt really appreciate it then. It was wonderful but sad. The narrator was great, very easy to listen to.

So Much to Say About One of My Favorites

But I won't bother as Steinbeck captures it so masterfully in this so I'll just jot down some thoughts about the book. It's really a must read and I'm now sorry that I didn't read it in Junior High School like I was supposed to, but somehow I don't think I would've appreciated it as much as I do today.

'Of Mice and Men' is also one of my favorites and because I lived just a few blocks up the hill from Cannery Row for a few years, that is also a beloved Steinbeck of mine. However, neither compare to The Grapes of Wrath. There's so much descriptive poetry in this book, so much of the world captured, so much heart-wrenching sorrow; I wasn't prepared for this and it rocked my emotional, historical, philosophical, privileged core.

I've never been a fan of the modern day labor unions with their mandatory memberships and political partisanship, but you can't read this book and not cheer for them; too bad they've mostly lost their original purpose.

This was a first for me with Dylan Baker as narrator, and he brings Steinbeck's characters and scenes alive. It was almost as if Steinbeck wrote this book to be read by only Baker (albeit 70 years later), much like Wil Wheaton's narration of Ready Player One. I listen at 3x speed and had no problem with the narration except for a few of Grandpa's lines, but even that went along with his persona (i.e., we all have that grandpa that no one understands, yet he talks like the world is intently listening).

Top 5 book for me: 1. Starship Troopers (Heinlein) 2. Gates of Fire (Pressfield) 3. Ender's Game (Card) 4. The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck) 5. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Vern), but with this narration it's my number one audio book, no challengers even close.

Dylan Baker is exceptional

Not only is the story poignant, Baker's reading of it is wonderful. He manages a different voice and way of talking for each character and many of them are really funny.

Great performance of a classic

The narrator was one of the best I’ve heard. He truly breathed life into this classic, heart wrenching tale.

Brilliant on many levels

Extremely topical subject matter-incredibly relevant to today’s times
Excellent narration
This is a must-have audiobook

Wow. Just wow.

I had only ever read parts of it in high school, and I am so glad that I read it now. This has got to be one of my top 10 of all time.

Stunning

This is a brilliant story and the narration is flawless. Ma Joad, Tom Joad and Jim Casey embody the best humankind can be in the worst circumstances. Don't miss it