Book review: John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck won Nobel prize in literature in 1962, his masterpiece “The grapes of Wrath” was the main reason he got it. He was born in Salinas, CA and spent most of his life in CA, lots of his books are based on his own life experiences in CA.

In late 2021, me and mom went to Monterrey to have an overnight trip which turned out to be my last touring with mom, miss you so much, mom. On the way to Monterrey we stopped at Steinbeck’s house in Salinas, paid my tribute to this great writer, but I hadn’t read any of his books yet then.

In last 2 months, I rented 2 Steinbeck books from local library, finished “The grapes of wrath” and “Cannery Row”. Steinbeck is indeed a world class writer, both books impressed me very much, but what a contrast in the reading experiences from these 2 books.

“The grapes of wrath” was published in 1939 and became sensational immediately, won the Pulitzer price for fiction, and sold out in bookstores nationwide. It was adapted to movie in 1940 and equally successful, won the best picture in Oscar. It described the hardship of Joad family and similar Oklahoma farmers had to deal with during the great depression and dust bowl era. Joad family was forced to leave Oklahoma and trekked to CA along Route 66. They lost both grandparents on the road, had to suffer food shortages, car broke down, the whole family cramming in the truck with all their belongings, etc. When they finally reached Central Valley, they found that the agricultural jobs were seasonal and scarce, payment were very low, the local farmer association and authorities treated them badly. They lived in homeless camps and the camps were often burned by locals once the seasonal harvest was done. The book ended when the Joad family run out of last penny, and their car was flooded by winter storm, and no job prospects in 3 months and no help from the local government available. So it’s literally the most depressing ending I ever read from any books, the Joad family was doomed to starve to death.

This book really exposed the brutal situation of those dust bowl refugees, but probably over dramatized it. There were near half million okies (a disparaging term for people from Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas etc during dust bowl era) moving to California, they certainly endured lots of hardship, but the majority survived and later prospered. But from “The grapes of wrath” and “The harvest gypsies” ( the investigation report which inspired the novel), reader got the impression that the majority of Okies were doomed to death like Joad family. The novel also idealized union and socialism, which caused uproar from the conservative society and accused Steinbeck being a propagandist for communism. Indeed I felt very Deja Vu with some of the plots and characters since they were so similar to the writings of Chinese left wing writers like 茅盾，夏衍 etc. This book put Bakersfield and CA in such bad light, it was banned and burned in some CA communities, especially kern county where Bakersfield is located. This book has been very influential in USA, for people who never experienced socialism, it easily pushes them to fantasize and idealize socialism. I think this book is well worth to read, but should read with “Animal Farm” together. No society is perfect, be happy with what you got and be careful what you wish for.

While “The grapes of wrath” was very heavy to read, “Cannery Row” is exactly the opposite. It’s light hearted and cheerful, often humorous. Cannery Row was published in 1945, it described a group of eccentric people living in cannery row at the same great depression period. The main character Doc was a marine biologist, based on Steinbeck’s mentor and best friend Ed Ricketts. Doc was super nice and generous, befriended with Lee Chong ( a Chinese grocer, cool and laidback), Mack and the Boys ( a group of homeless people), Dora and her girls ( whore house owner) etc. cannery row is the most touristy area in Monterrey, it’s used to be part of ocean drive, renamed to cannery row because of Steinbeck’s book.

Both books were about life in CA during the great depression era, but the grapes of wrath described a dysfunctional dystopian society, cannery row described an utopian like life in Monterrey. Mack and the boys were smart and skillful, they can easily find full time job and live a steady life, but chose to live homeless, only worked for a short time when absolutely needed. They relied on stealing and people’s generosity to get by, later forced into Lee Chong’s spare warehouse to live there rent free. Steinbeck highly regarded their lifestyle, hinted they lived a noble life, didn’t bother the same daily meaningless struggle of average citizens. This book caused controversy like the grapes of wrath, this time for its amoral value. In a way Steinbeck was really ahead of time, predicted current homeless crisis one century earlier.

The homeless situation in “the grapes of wrath” was harsh but solvable, because those Okies were eager to work, if they were supplied with enough job opportunities, they settled down and lived prosperously. The homeless situation in “cannery row” is unsolvable because Mack and the boys chose to live that lifestyle, they didn’t want to work and settle down.

In USA Today, there is severe labor shortage. I am doing a home improvement project, shocked by the labor costs, the professional contractors charge thousands for one day work, even handyman charges over $100/hour. On the same time homeless situation is out of control, especially in CA. Each city spends millions each year to combat homeless but with minimal results. Los Angeles is spending over a billion a year in homeless and the homeless population seems to grow steadily. A lot of homeless in San Jose even refused to move into shelters supplied by the city. The mayor had to pass a rule that if a homeless refused shelter 3 times, police can force them out of camp. These homeless people are mostly drug addicts, they refused to work. Well, even if they got job, they wouldn’t be able to hold it anyway. So they are modern day of “Mack and the boys”. There are lots of activists and organizations behind these homeless population, I would say Steinbeck was almost one century ahead of them. I am curious how Steinbeck would write about them if he was still alive. Anyway I highly recommend “Cannery Row”, it’s really entertaining and fun to read it.

John Steinbeck was highly regarded and praised in Soviet Union and China because the grapes of wrath so deeply exposed the dark side of capitalism in USA.  Then I found this on the internet: The novel "The Grapes of Wrath" was translated and published in the Soviet Union in 1940. The book was initially met with enthusiasm by Soviet readers and officials, who appreciated its critique of capitalism. The film adaptation, released in 1940, was shown in Soviet cinemas in 1948 as part of anti-capitalist propaganda. However, the film's run was short-lived after audiences noticed the portrayal of Americans buying cars, even in poverty, which contradicted Soviet propaganda.

I think for exactly the same reason “the grapes of wrath” was never published in China during Mao’s era. The first Chinese translation was published in 1982. In Mao’s era, most peasants couldn’t afford a bicycle, family owned a car? Wouldn’t happen in the wildest dream. In 1990s cars were still so rare and considered luxury in Chinese family. In 2010s cars became regular household items for average Chinese family.

May 10, 2025