The Winter of Our Discontent

By: John Steinbeck

Narrated by: David Aaron Baker

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The final novel of one of America’s most beloved writers - a tale of degeneration, corruption, and spiritual crisis.

A Penguin Classic In awarding John Steinbeck the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel committee stated that with The Winter of Our Discontent, he had “resumed his position as an independent expounder of the truth, with an unbiased instinct for what is genuinely American". Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of Steinbeck’s last novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With Ethan no longer a member of Long Island’s aristocratic class, his wife is restless, and his teenage children are hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday from his own scrupulous standards. Set in Steinbeck’s contemporary 1960 America, the novel explores the tenuous line between private and public honesty, and today ranks alongside his most acclaimed works of penetrating insight into the American condition. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction and notes by leading Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw.

For more than 70 years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines.

©1961, 1989 John Steinbeck (P)2012 Penguin Audio

A wonderful listen

Loved the story and the narrator was perfectly chosen. I've always loved Steinbeck and this book did not disappoint!

Great Steinbeck story

The narration was excellent. This is in my top 10 Steinbeck books. East of Eden still holds number one.

one of my favorites

A great piece of literature, very rich in subtext. Ending might seem cliche to a modern reader but for the time it was published I feel it is rather powerful.

Love Steinbeck. Another great read.

This book gives you a great perspective from the point of view of a man driven by ambition, but not his own.

Classic Steinbeck

Can’t think of an author who writes with such a degree of humanity and insight as Steinbeck, and this book is no exception. This story of the protagonist’s struggle with moral relativism and the cost to his soul is beautifully written and the narrator is extremely well-chosen for the part. Criticism about the production from the perspective of zero time space between chapters is valid but is minor and takes nothing away from the experience of this book.

Wonderful portrait of America

John Steinbeck is a master representing the America of his time. The characters have that western feeling, that rural America feeling. The plot is well developed and his portraits not only of America but also of human nature are precious jewels that Steinbeck delights his readers.

Loved every bit of it.

A fantastic story, well presented. An easier listen than "The Grapes of wrath" and "East of Eden", which also is highly recommended.

finished like a Steinbeck does.

need 15 words to leave a review. now I have at least 15. wait, now I do.

steinbeck rarely writes a bad book.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Winter of Our Discontent to be better than the print version?

i remember reading it in highschool. i did not like it. so i guess the audio version is a lot better but i think maybe now that i am 60 i view things a BIT differently as i did as a teenager.

What did you like best about this story?

i liked the overall plot, the reader, the character development, and the main character, the grocery clerk--ethan and his dreams and immagination. i just liked everything.

Which character – as performed by David Aaron Baker – was your favorite?

mr. baker (not my fave person but i liked the way he was portrayed.

If you could take any character from The Winter of Our Discontent out to dinner, who would it be and why?

ethan, he had so many dreams and misadventures in his dreams. i think he is very likable.

Any additional comments?

steinbeck rules!

Steinbeck is filled with surprises

Steinbeck is filled with surprises with his story of Shakespeare-like evocation of a man struggling to hold onto his moral authority, in spite of the corrupting forces that surround him. Enjoyable from beginning to end.