Just how good is Steinbeck?

13 posts / 0 new

Sun, 2012-09-30 22:19

I've been a massive fan of John Steinbeck since first reading "Cannery Row," the very first book that left me sad at the end because the characters - Doc, Mack and the Boys, Dora Flood and the others - were no longer a part of my life anymore.

I visited Cannery Row last year on a California road trip. We found a hotel just one street up. Hanging from every lampost in Cannery Row are quotes from the book.

We even travelled on Route 66 for a while - stopping at the Bagdad Cafe for a drink - which brings me onto The Grapes of Wrath, which I've just started to read. Just how good is Steinbeck!

Sun, 2012-09-30 22:21

karl_wiggins

Ooops, spelling mistake in the title. Sorry about that. Don't know how to edit it.

Sun, 2012-09-30 23:04

(Reply to #2) #3

TVR

Second perhaps only to Hemingway, karl (only my opinion, which isn't that valid) but they are probably about each other's equal. Funny enough, my favourite book of Steinbeck's is Of Mice and Men which is little more than a novella, but so well crafted and rich in characterization, and a brilliant example of fine storytelling. I have probably read it at least half-a-dozen times and will never tire of it, or cease to learn something about the craft of writing from it. Going back to Hemingway, my favourite book of his is yet another novella - The Old Man and the Sea, a fabulous story. Bet you enjoyed your trip along the 'old' road and Steinbeck country. Trev

TVR

Sun, 2012-09-30 23:31

scratch

There surely can be no finer opening pages to any book than the ones in OMAM. The sheer brilliance always astonishes me.

Mon, 2012-10-01 10:33

karl_wiggins

Sue, My lad has Mice & Men for GCSE and he hates it. No matter how much I talk to him about the great characterisation he just hates it. That's teenagers for you. Scratch, I agree. "A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hill-side bank and runs deep and green." I think the word Soledad means "solitude" and "loneliness" in Spanish, but this first line paints an immediate picture in your mind. The first line of a book is possibly the most important AND the hardest to write. (Thanks to whoever edited the title of this post for me)

Mon, 2012-10-01 11:19

maddan

I did Mice & Men for GCSE, and The Pearl, and The Red Pony, and I despised Steinbeck by the end of it with a venom I've never felt for any other author. It wasn't until years later when somebody gave me a copy of Grapes Of Wrath that I finally came around and realised he was brilliant.

Mon, 2012-10-01 12:42

karl_wiggins

Do you know there's a book called Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, which is an excellent read (like Bonfire of the Vanities, but much more readable). Worth downloading. I did Old Man and the Sea at school, as well as Call of the Wild. I later read White Fang, which I thought was much better than CoTW. Love Jack London. (Maddan, maybe there's hope for my boy yet then) :-)

Mon, 2012-10-01 15:55

scratch

Karl, let your lad see the film adaptation of the book. It stars John Malkovic (I think) whilst this can never be a substitute for the book it is as good as film versions get in my opinion. You would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by it. It might prove a way into the novel for him.

Mon, 2012-10-01 15:57

scratch

FTSE - should that be a heart of stein?

Mon, 2012-10-01 16:42

#10

karl_wiggins

Scratch, already tried it. We got it out from Blockbusters and watched it as a family. He wasn't impressed. I talked a little about the characterisation but to no avail. Don't get me wrong, he's a great boy and bright as a button, but he' a teenager.

Mon, 2012-10-01 17:11

#11

Parson Thru

The greats like Steinbeck / Tolstoy know they can't keep you on a permanent high. It's how they keep you hooked between the highs that marks them out to me. And their ability to draw detailed scenes and vistas. Steinbeck seems to roll open a big barn door at the beginning of his books. Grapes of Wrath, OMAM, East of Eden. I read The Wayward Bus and wasn't sure. Great characters though. Maybe the problem for youngsters is they are given a never-ending high through other channels, with music to keep you in there. Perhaps it de-sensitises? Another sweeping generalisation!

Parson Thru

Tue, 2012-10-02 12:38

#12

Richard L. Prov...

"Travels with Charlie" - an inside look at America, was my favourite John Steinbeck book. Hemmingway another precious writer. Did you know he typed standing up? I did that for two years and it was neat. Another very good author is Robert Rourke. So many and now gone.

Richard L. Provencher

Tue, 2012-10-02 18:39

#13

Parson Thru

Hell, I'm right with you Stan. The British film industry suffers from a similar problem but has Lottery money at its disposal. Typing standing up? Don't let UK bosses hear about that. Imagine the saving on office furniture.

Parson Thru