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The Grapes of Wrath is a landmark of American literature. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man's fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman's stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women in the transformation of an entire nation, The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one Oklahoma family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an American divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plain-spoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.

First published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath summed up its era in the way that Uncle Tom's Cabin summed up the years of slavery before the Civil War. Sensitive to fascist and communist criticism, Steinbeck insisted that "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" be printed in its entirety in the first edition of the book -- which takes its title from the first verse: "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored." At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck's fictional chronicle of the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

Steinbeck chronicles the trials and tribulations of one particular family that is affected by the unimaginable economic loss of The Great Depression. Tom Joad gets out of jail only to find that his family has lost its farm and nearly forced west in search of work.

The book is written beautifully, and I am amazed at the level of detail the author brings to the era. The only information I really have on this time period is old anecdotes my grandmother used to share. Her stories were nothing compared to what the Joad family, like so many others, had to endure. I had never downplayed the tragedy of The Great Depression, however I feel now that I have a strong(er) appreciation for the survival instincts exhibited by so many people. The will to live is an incredible force.

Unfortunately, however, it was not long into the book that my opinion of it soured. It seemed as my understanding of the conditions and quality (or lack there of) of life grew, my pleasure found in the book dropped. The story follows from the perspective of one family, as I had mentioned before. From this point of view we see so many different stages of the Depression; living in tents along the highway between days of driving, eating nothing but fried dough, the treatment received by others, the Hoovervilles and the government camps. I was basically halfway through the book when I realized that the point could have been made in a lengthy magazine article. I could have learned as much about what people had to live through (or in some instances die from) and not found myself wrestling with the second half of 450 pages to finish the book.

At 100 pages remaining I realized that there would be no resolution to the book. The Joad family could not immediately come into economic prosperity, nor could the author kill them all off. In either case, no one would read the book and it certainly would not have reached the level of "classic" literature.

The book had to just end. Which it did. I will ignore my own complaints with the actual ending, as I will freely admit that I could not write one better.

From a factual standpoint, to obtain a certain level of knowledge of the era and do so with John Steinbeck's panache, The Grapes of Wrath was a good book. From an entertainment standpoint, to read a book that masterfully grips your attention unwilling to release until you've read each and every word, The Grapes of Wrath cannot even be considered in my opinion.

I feel somewhat bad suggesting that you do not read a novel that is considered "classic" American Literature, but I stand by my feeling. It turns out I had the right idea in opting against reading The Grapes of Wrath in high school when so many other people read it.

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The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

When The Moviegoer was first published in 1961, it won the National Book Award and established Walker Percy as one of the supplest and most deftly modulated new voices in Southern literature. In his portrait of a boyish New Orleans stockbroker wavering between ennui and the longing for redemption, Percy managed to combine Bourbon Street elegance with the spiritual urgency of a Russian novel.

On the eve of his thirtieth birthday, Binx Bolling is adrift. He occupies himself dallying with his secretaries and going to movies, which provide him with the "treasurable moments" absent from his real life. But one fateful Mardi Gras, Binx embarks on a quest -- a harebrained search for authenticity that outrages his family, endangers his fragile cousin, Kate, and send him reeling through the gaudy chaos of the French Quarter. Wry and wrenching, rich in irony and romance, The Moviegoer is a genuine American classic.

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In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win the deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

I am typically a Mystery/Suspense novel snob. Rarely have I varied my path from those books, but more and more recently I have been making the switch. At a time when mystery novels have nearly ceased to excite me, I have needed to look elsewhere. I would have never expected to find comfort in the arms of Sci-fi/Fantasy, yet here I am before you.

I have read The Lord of the Rings, but my experience beyond has been disappointing. A few years ago, at the urging of a friend I picked up a copy of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Book 1 of the Wheel of Time series. My first non-Tolkien Sci-fi/Fantasy experience was a bust. It probably took me a week if not more to read the first 13 pages. Try though I might, I could not find myself lost in Jordan's world. At 832 pages, it was not a book I wanted to take my time and give a truly fair chance.

Needless to say that I was hesitant when the recommendation came to try the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Same friend as before to make the recommendation, but this time he let the book speak for itself. A Game of Thrones spoke loudly to me. I actually read the first however many pages right from Amazon.com and before I knew it I had bought a copy.

Martin's writing style, in respect to different chapters, was very interesting. He titled a chapter as the name of a key character and then the subsequent pages would be some unfolding of the story from that character's perspective. This kept the story fresh at all times; ever-changing.

I will warn you that if you are a reader who likes to see each character to whom you become attached remain unharmed, this may not be the series for you. Martin dares to allow the big name(s) to die. Not all authors will take this step, I like it. It makes you realize that at any time, any one of the characters in the story could be killed. Not that this book needed help creating excitement, but this element certainly added to it.

In true Sci-fi/Fantasy style, A Game of Thrones was a long book (Book 2, A Clash of Kings is even longer). When I would normally expect relief at the end of such a long book (807 pages), here I found actual goosebumps and the burning desire to continue the series.

I applaud the author for his writing; his mix of sci-fi/fantasy with mystery and romance and everything in between, I thank Thomas for his recommendation which I pass on to you, and I order my copy of Book 2.

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