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February 2021 book

I had read this book some years ago but couldn't remember the details of the plot or the key characters until I read it again.

I think this is a tough book to read both because the writing is so densely descriptive and because for me the book seems to be an unmitigated tragedy. I have seen that some commentators argue that the indomitability of the key characters makes the book also a tale of the human ability to triumph despite disasters. The driver of the book's narrative is the power of the banks and large landowners exercised to their benefit without consideration for their fellow men.

John Steinbeck is brilliant at describing the world in which he'd placed his characters to enable the reader to get an impression of the daily struggle to survive he was describing. How much of this was true in reality and for what proportion of the population I'm not sure - but it's clearly the opposite end of American society to that described in The Great Gatsby. I think we know that not all Americans were suffering during the Depression - Hollywood across the state from the cotton pickers described was a place in which great wealth was being generated. The tragedy of their situation is the complete disconnect between the story's characters and any hope for real advancement.

It is clear that the key characters in the novel strove continuously to make the best of the circumstances. How and why they managed to do this is not something I can fully understand. Some may say that this demonstrates the great moral character of the lead players in the book. I suspect it is a more practical issue of - so long as you're alive - you try to make the best you can of your circumstances.

I've never been to America and the way in which the book describes the dustbowl of Oklahoma and the privation on Californian farms doesn't really encourage me to want to go. My one concern about this impression is whether it is presented like this for literary purposes.

I am also very conscious that the sort of near slave-like working conditions which feature throughout the book are current experiences for many people in the UK today. What we know of the working conditions of temporary farm workers - harvesting fruit and vegetables, cockle picking in Morecambe Bay, and so on is not far off the conditions described in this book - even without taking into account the many examples of modern slavery which the press reports. In the cities zero hours contracts on minimum wage (or less) leaves many others in our country unable to prosper.

Overall I think this has been a great book to read and can see how this should be on the syllabus for young Americans and should be a recommended read in the UK too.