The Grapes of Wrath

Written by John Steinbeck and 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 twentieth 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. 'A novelist who is also a true poet' Sunday Times

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Jun 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781101530887

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) was an American novelist best known for The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. His debut novel, Cup of Gold (1929), is a romanticized historical fiction based loosely on the life of pirate Henry Morgan, featuring lush, lyrical prose that foreshadows the social concerns and deep character empathy of his later work. Set in the 17th century, the novel recounts Morgan’s assault on Panama and his quest for “La Santa Roja,” blending adventure with thematic explorations of disorder and longing. Throughout his career, Steinbeck combined imaginative realism with keen social perception, earning a Pulitzer Prize and, in 1962, the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Reviews for The Grapes of Wrath

[Santigonzlez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I chose this book, I did so especially because of its great reputation, and... it truly deserves it. The author offers us a great story, critical, harsh, beautiful, (Translated from Spanish)

[MacarenaPalacios · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Steinbeck descends into the underworld of the everyday to remind me that history books overlook the stories that make them up. (Translated from Spanish)

[Pricarte · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is a masterpiece of literature without a doubt. Very well written and reflects a truly atrocious situation in the history of America. (Translated from Spanish)

[Jrubio · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anger, disquiet, and a pessimistic view of the human condition. (Translated from Spanish)

[MigHenri · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The American nightmare. (Translated from Spanish)

[Rockjas 666 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

-I would bet that your mother filled your head with fantasies before she died. Then she spoke to you about your future.
- A time will come -she prophesied- when women will earn their bread. There is no reason for a woman not to learn a trade. Look, for example -she said- the moment will come, not too far off, when a girl like you will earn a salary and tell the first man who wants to marry her to go to hell. (Translated from Spanish)

[Loguas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can be written that hasn't been written about this masterpiece: an excellent portrait of how the Great Depression affects a farming family who loses their land, and out of fear, hope, and dreams, they embark on a journey to California in search of work and money to survive. (Translated from Spanish)

[IvnA · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A masterpiece of literature. Everything the book describes is still relevant today. People without jobs, labor precariousness, labor emigration, etc... Almost 80 years have passed and we are the same. Regards. (Translated from Spanish)

[AnxaCF · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I couldn't let it go until I finished it. I give it five stars because there aren't any more... I think I'm going to spend a few days dreaming about those people and how they experienced it... and the worst part is that history always repeats itself... (Translated from Spanish)

[Mamen Puerto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A book you must read. (Translated from Spanish)

[ZPolvo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book with a story about too many hunger during the Great Depression. (Translated from Spanish)

[Nora Mar · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A novel with a heart-wrenching story. Impactful where the author captures human feelings and passions with great realism. A tale that unfolds during the 1930s crisis in the US, where a family, in their need to find a better future, leaves everything behind. It is a very harsh story that is not forgotten and meant to be read just once. (Translated from Spanish)

[Sekhmet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It can be said that the story of this novel can be extrapolated to any moment in history, including the present. Abuses of power, social inequality, and labor exploitation take advantage of the misfortune and disasters that accompany economic crises. Everything repeats itself. (Translated from Spanish)

[AnaValls · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I will never forget reading this overwhelming book that so harshly depicts the era following the Great Depression in the US in the 1930s. A family of farmers facing eviction sets out on a journey in search of a promising future. (Translated from Spanish)

[Thingolon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First book I read by this author, I love his way of writing and describing the scenes. I will definitely read more of him. Recommended. (Translated from Spanish)

[Fermín de Pas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I knew about Ford's extraordinary film. But the book is even better and has an unembellished ending. A hard story, uncompromising, with a chilling conclusion. It reveals how the American superpower emerged and the misery it contained and still contains. (Translated from Spanish)

[Lil · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel that I read a long time ago left a mark on me, the desperation of these desperate people reached me so deeply, literally thrown out of their homes by the greed of the system, looking for a place to rebuild a home, have a job, live with dignity, that some passages have stuck in my memory, like when someone has to breastfeed a person who is dying of hunger, what a scene, without any hope, very good right, an unsurpassable work. (Translated from Spanish)

[BlancaMB · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A masterpiece that is relevant in our days. People who leave their homeland, forced by one reason or another, in search of a better life and what they find has nothing to do with what they had dreamed of. It is a very sad and harsh book, realistic, a great critique of capitalism. The ending is shocking, the kind that stays with you and is not forgotten. It should be a mandatory reading. (Translated from Spanish)

[Minerva18 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An impactful, moving, essential work. (Translated from Spanish)

[ENRIQUE DOM · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What can I say about this little book? I call it little because of its size: 123 pages. Is it fun? It has some moments. Not too many. Most of it is very clichéd. Easy reading. I finished it in two hours. The phrase: "I get the creeps from this seed milk, let's see if in the end it germinates in my stomach and I end up defecating (I changed the original word; you can imagine what it was), geraniums." Readers: a simple hug. (Translated from Spanish)

[Begotxu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I haven't been able to read a classic that I like as much as this one... Exceptional from beginning to end. (Translated from Spanish)

[Turrillo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Splendidly narrated the abuse of the worker and poverty. (Translated from Spanish)

[MarioRomndelValle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Masterpiece. Excellent narration of times of economic crisis. Poverty and marginalization are described in a raw and realistic way. The ending is magnificent. (Translated from Spanish)

[Zufremocli · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The best ending I have read. Impressive. (Translated from Spanish)

[Nico Coati · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A brilliant work that depicts humanity and its despair from the simplest things. A stark exposure of Western society and a failed system. (Translated from Spanish)

[CristinaJimenez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Masterpiece. I'm still impacted by the ending... (Translated from Spanish)

[Neneco · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In my library, this book is next to "Atlas Shrugged" to remind me that no matter how well-written a truth may seem, it is never the whole story. Nevertheless, a masterpiece. (Translated from Spanish)