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)

I missed the point in high school

now I understand and appreciate why it was required reading. an unrelenting story of the human spirit

no more harmonica

What made the experience of listening to The Grapes of Wrath the most enjoyable?

The story was good as it always has been.

What three words best describe Dylan Baker’s voice?

Good narrator

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I love the lack of metaphor. He just tells the story.

Any additional comments?

The harmonica was really annoying. It made me jump every time, was louder than necessary and did NOT add to the story.

Lyrical trainwreck you can't look away from!

I have to credit my best friend with making this book a priority in my life. We both love to read, but she's only seriously recommended a handful of books that most affected her. Thus far she's been pretty accurate. I loved Jane Eyre, and I just finished Rebecca last year. This one though, the one that impacted her the most, has been the longest coming. I've lost count of how many times I've attempted to read this one, but I just haven't been at a place in my life to really appreciate the weight of it as a whole, until now.

This was Steinbeck's commentary on the times during the Great Depression, and the subsequent tribulations that befell the working class—the hardest hit during the economic downturn. At it's core, the Great Depression really unveiled the greed behind faceless banks and corporations, interested in making a profit, rather than the children that were being turned out of the only homes they'd ever known.


"There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation...the fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit. And children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. And coroners must fill in the certificates—died of malnutrition—because the food must rot, must be forced to rot."


Although it's been 75 years since it's publication, today's economy isn't too much different. In a land that is figuratively "flowing with milk and honey", many people go to bed hungry. We may not be farmers, but it's hard to throw a rock and not hit someone who has had their home foreclosed on—their "land" taken out from under them. Don't even get me started on people who live here illegally, who are taken advantage of by their employers. They're grateful for a job that will fill their bellies, but isn't enough to improve their situation. If boss man decides he can't afford to pay them that week, what recourse do they have?

It's hard not to want to take the Joads under your wing, and protect them. As you follow along with their preparations to head to California to farm other people's land, you can't help but know that things aren't going to end happily for them. What warms your heart is that no matter how bad their situation gets, they always try to assist others. Ma Joad said it best:


"'I'm learnin' one thing good,' she said. 'Learnin' it all a time, ever' day. If you're in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help—the only ones.'"


And then there's dear Tom Joad—the wise beyond his years ex-convict who sits in as the family patriarch, and probably my favorite character, next to Ma. Coincidentally, I had stumbled upon Walker Evans' self-portraits a few weeks before I started reading this book, and he kept popping into my mind when I pictured Tom. Really, most of Walker's early pictures seem to encapsulate the general mood of that era.

If you haven't read The Grapes of Wrath yet, why not join the NPR book club, and read it before it turns 75. You won't regret it, I hope. It seems like it can only get better with re-readings.

A great book

This book is not for younger readers. I had a middle school aged boy who reads a lot and I would not let him read it. This is a classic book that everyone should read to learn about the United States during the dust bowl.

Thank you

I’ve always wanted to read this book but never had the time. I love the storytelling narrated by Dylan Baker and I now have my first John Steinbeck book under my belt. Thank you audible for bringing this to me. I am thrilled. What an epic journey.

tragic

this is my father's favorite book so I decided to read it. truly tragic. so much sacrificed for so little.

Great story of American history

I loved it sad it ended every body should read the book or listen to it.

A Masterpiece in Spite of the Harmonica

I was reminded once again of the timeless themes of oppression, hope and humanity that are at work in in this masterpiece of American literature. Dylan Baker’s portrayal of each character is brilliant. The harmonica musical interludes are a jarring and unpleasant distraction.

Grapes of Wrath

Great narrater, did a good job distinguishing the characters.
Story is sad and wish the ending found the family in better conditions

Great Listen

Very sad story but well told. These people truly had nothing. Narrator was great - he really brought the characters to life without being annoying.