The Grapes of Wrath

By: John Steinbeck, Robert DeMott

Narrated by: Dylan Baker

Length: 21 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

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)

Well done

Talk about sad! I did enjoy the story but it was such a downer. Nothing good ever happens. No hope for a good outcome for any of the characters.

The story is excellent and the narrator is great.

Don’t know why we skipped over this one in high school. It can be hard to get through at times, but it’s beautiful and poetic. An American story through and through, it seems like the most American thing I’ve ever read. It has really given me a deeper appreciation for this period in history. There’s also really nice harmonica music between the chapters that really sets the tone.

Grounding

I listen to this yearly to remind myself how good I have it. So tragic and sad.

Still A Great Book Even Today

Read this in HS. It was required reading. In the mid 70’s this was not as ancient a history as it seems now but sadly we seem to be trying to repeat the hatred and intolerance of the past. The narrator was able to bring out the character’s s good and bad aspects to the point where the reader could feel the anger, joy or sadness of the moment. Nice being able to have someone else do the reading!

Great story, a classic. Harmonica sucks

In cowboy movies, they don't have much tolerance for the one playing harmonica. Same here. The harmonica interludes are loud, obnoxious, and demeaning to the characters. You know it, I know it, and Amazon knows it. Yet, it's still on the recording.

Pleasant Overall

Harmonica is poorly mixed and very distracting.
Great novel. Solid performance.
I would recommend this

Amazing!

I read this in high school and remembered that I liked it, but now as a 47 year old woman listening…it’s just stunning.

An Eye opening and gut wrenching must-listen

The performance is so good that you don’t think about it. What I mean is that the characters are who they are…and who they are is a stunning revelation of Great Depression life. Our current struggles with minimum wages or police brutality are not new. Apparently, these things are simply America.

Let’s learn from then, from now and let’s move on.

what a story!

At first not sure I liked it, too descriptive, but than couldn't put it down!

Dylan Baker

I would give him 10 stars for his narration if I could. The Grapes of Wrath is a classic, obviously worthy of a high rating, the narration gave it so much life. Will be looking for other books read by him.