This books absolutely broke me. It's such a brilliant work of compassion and complexity. When I finished it I felt this feeling of emptiness as if I emerged from the universe of these characters. They were all so relatable and I really wanted them to emerge out of this victorious, but I did have the feeling we were not going to get a happy ending given what the message of the book was. Showing tragedy for characters the authors made us grow so attached to is a very tactful means of humanising a group that is so often slandered and fearmongered against. It also shows how powerless they really are and I loved the detailed explanation of employer corruption and police brutality. It really sheds needed truths about the lives these people face, and that they aren't malevolent people out to steal your shit Ma and Tom were my favourite characters by far, and the scene where Tom is venting to Ma about a means to dissociate hit me so hard. She does tell him that he and her have to shoulder this burden since they are reliable. It really feeds into one of my core beliefs which is that talent entails responsibility, and that all talent must be used to the betterment of the collective and that we must relent in the face of hard obstacles to do that, for both ourselves and those close to us and anyone else. I also absolutely loved the chapters showing the perspectives of other people to emphasise that this story is not about mere individual experiences but that this is a phenomenon that necessitates immediate action. I could honestly talk about this book for ages it's just so layered and beautiful. Your analyses were really good and did the characters justice. I honestly do not mind the lack of flowery writing since the book is meant to be very down to Earth, barebones and realistic. It also makes sense for the writing to be like this because the characters are very conflicted and lack any clarity about literally anything. It makes sense their speech is not going to be enlightened and sophisticated. Nevertheless Steinbeck still does sneak in some thought-provoking stuff, such as when Casy renounces the concepts of sin and virtue by saying it's all just stuff people do, and the pseudo-moralism of cpaitalism with the quote "It happens that every man in the bank hates what the bank does, and yet the bank does it."
@WhytheBookWins
14 күн бұрын
Thank you for sharing! I'm glad you liked my video and I agree, this is a masterpiece! As you said, it was very layered with incredible characters and thought provoking.
@Whitestripe71
Жыл бұрын
I've just read this - finished it yesterday. I'm very glad I read it - and it's great to watch this video as it's vividly bringing back moments of the novel to me. I enjoyed it. I think you say in this video the book is more 'straightforward' than you expected - that was my immediate impression, too - and not in a bad way - I just found it very accessible. I enjoyed pretty much everything about it - I particularly liked the turn of phrase of some of the dialogue: at one point the word "jackassin' " is used as a verb - I think it's the one-eyed guy who Tom accuses of jackassin'. Not BEING a jackass, but jackassin'. I love it. I found the whole book to be gripping, powerful, engaging - a little blunt at times, but that's not really a criticism, it probably needed to be. Very, very glad I read it, and it's only because I've seen you talking about Steinbeck so much that led me to reading it. And that passage you read out - when I was reading the book, I stopped and reread that passage, I thought it it was so beautifully written; I enjoyed those short chapters, setting the scene and painting a bigger picture, between the ongoing travails of the Joad family. So thanks for turning me onto this book, and I think I'll read East of Eden at some point in the near future. And although I haven't seen the film, it's very interesting to hear you talk about it - it's good to hear that the film does justice to the book.
@WhytheBookWins
Жыл бұрын
so glad you loved it!! Steinbeck is such a great writer and really captures the people and the time. Jackassin' is going to be a word I start using lol. When you read East of Eden you'll have to share your thoughts!
@dimkilago2958
Жыл бұрын
Fun fact:Steinbeck preferred the film from the book and was friend with Fonda. "John Steinbeck loved the movie and said that Henry Fonda as Tom Joad made him "believe my own words" Zanuck (the producer) ,Steinbeck said, has more than kept his word. He has a hard, straight picture in which the actors are submerged so completely that it looks and feels like a documentary film and certainly it has a hard, truthful ring. No punches were pulled -- in fact, with descriptive matter removed, it is a harsher thing than the book, by far. It seems unbelievable but it is true."
@WhytheBookWins
Жыл бұрын
it's definitely a great adaptation!
@RandallGriffithLCSW
Жыл бұрын
Love the trivia tidbits from the movie. And the problem of separating art from those who make it might be worth a video one day. This is another excellent comparison.
@gregoryholstein4224
Жыл бұрын
Randall Griffith. Do you mean for instance Woody Allen (and his movies) and his behaviour in his personal life? What do you think?
@WhytheBookWins
Жыл бұрын
Thanks! And yeah that would be a really interesting topic to discuss!
@spencernielsen392
6 ай бұрын
John Ford is one of the most fascinating assembly of contradictory beliefs. He was a registered Republican, but functioned as a New Deal Democrat. He was the progenitor of the modern myth of the American West, and all the hallmarks that come with it (Indians as noble savages, the good guy with a gun, manifest destiny, etc.) but held a deep respect for Native Americans, who in turn embraced him. He captured humanity as beautiful despite being a misanthropic, combative, drunken asshole. A great artist, and a true original.
@WhytheBookWins
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for sharing!
@sierra1513
4 ай бұрын
A very Human Human
@JulioLeonFandinho
2 ай бұрын
He propelled the western genre and pushed it further with his late revisionist westerns, he was a mysoginist but his last movie, 7 women, is one of the most powerful feminist films ever made, he was a conservative but made the grapes of wrath and how green was my valley, he denied many times he was an artist but he was the greatest poet in film history.
@ryan__5661
14 сағат бұрын
It annoyed me in the film that Al was comic relief and Noah was basically forgotten. Otherwise it was so good
@carolinebenforado
3 ай бұрын
I appreciate your passion about the book. I just finished it, my first John Steinbeck novel. You're right, he's a master writer. The characterization, the plot, the details reign, but my favorite parts were the lyric "inter-chapters." Now I'm eager to see the film. It was interesting to see that you introduced yourself as incompetent -- and spent lots of airtime on that. You almost convinced me to click on a different video. I'm glad I didn't.
@WhytheBookWins
3 ай бұрын
Yeah I agree! I loved those segments of the different people along the way. Glad you loved the book just as much as I did ☺ I shouldn't have sounded so insecure in the beginning. If I could edit videos after uploading, I would get rid of that part lol. Glad you didn't click away!
@highschoolbigshot
4 ай бұрын
I didn't like the way they changed the ending in the movie The Book didn't have a happy ending
@WhytheBookWins
4 ай бұрын
Yeah, very typical of Hollywood to make changes like that.
@Soundwave_961
9 күн бұрын
Good endings sell better, that’s why some producers can be pressured to make them good
@scx493x
4 ай бұрын
Only book that has ever made me cry.
@margaretjohnson3876
Жыл бұрын
Excellent review and now i will reread Grapes of Wrath and watch the movie again. Your reviews motivate me to read the books. Thank you.
@WhytheBookWins
Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@frankm2588
4 ай бұрын
I read the book in my teens then saw the movie, both are great. Tom saying goodbye to his mother at the end is the saddest scene I ever saw.
@creativelytorn
Жыл бұрын
Man, this was really a good book. I haven't seen the movie yet.
@lilmelvin11
Жыл бұрын
I just re-watched Kenneth Branagh's "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein", the movie most faithful to the novel. No Boris Karloff or Hammer Studio bs.( yes, Frankenstein's creature speaks quite philosophically. Read that book as well as "The Invisible Man" and "Dracula" when I was 13 and 14, really amazed at the depth . Same with Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men".. Different classic cinema versions are fine, but yep, "the Book always Wins"!. Reading is more interactive, and Movies are mostly passive consumer stuff. I learned and understood Empathy for others thru books. But some movies are equally powerful. I just re-watched "Hunchback of Notre Dame" movie with Charles Laughton. I still cry.....
@WhytheBookWins
Жыл бұрын
I just finished the 1994 Frankenstein and loved it! When my book vs movie for it goes up beginning of November you'll have to let me know what you think
@diondredunigan5282
3 ай бұрын
thank you for this video!
@WhytheBookWins
3 ай бұрын
You're welcome!
@angelaholmes8888
Жыл бұрын
Would you ever do a book vs movie on east of eden by John Steinbeck and the 1955 movie starring James dean or the miniseries starring jane Seymour 🤔
@WhytheBookWins
Жыл бұрын
Yes! I definitely will be covering East of Eden and want to watch the mini series as well as the movie!
@angelaholmes8888
Жыл бұрын
Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the book but I did like the film adaptation starring henry Fonda he was really good in the film
@huntercoleman460
Жыл бұрын
I’m kind of surprised they didn’t remake Grapes of Wrath. Why do you think that is Laura?
@WhytheBookWins
Жыл бұрын
Not really sure, this one is pretty iconic so maybe that is partly why. Could also be that they don't think a movie like this would do well at the box office because these days it's all about the action packed movies with mass appeal
@douglasvoice2268
Жыл бұрын
Word is that Robert Redford wanted to do it as a mini-series (which makes more sense in my opinion) but then Steven Spielberg optioned it to make a film which scared them off, but neither has materialized.
@huntercoleman460
Жыл бұрын
@@douglasvoice2268 I also think a remake in color would definitely appeal more to a modern audience.
@zcounts
Жыл бұрын
blessings!
@TheJoaofrancocosta
Ай бұрын
The film was a disappointment for me! When reading the book we imagine the characters and the environment of the story that is not well told in the film.
@WhytheBookWins
Ай бұрын
It's hard to compete with such an amazing book!
@cakecogito
Жыл бұрын
Winning!
@patrickmulroy7462
Жыл бұрын
Don’t spend the first five minutes of your book review with self deprecation
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