 The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck.
This is, in my never-humble opinion, Steinbeck's masterpiece. The Grapes of Wrath is the story of Tom Joad and his family, tenant farmers who lose everything during the Great Depression, and travel from Oklahoma to California in hopes of a better life. What they find is more poverty, hunger, and impossible choices. At one point they find a harvesting job at good wages, only to learn that they've been brought in as strike breakers, and the wages will go down as soon as the strike is over. I'd never fully understood the concept of "the setting as a character" until I read this book. Every other chapter, the narrative takes a step back from the Joads, and shows what's happening around them. Thousands up on thousands of houses sitting empty. Thousands of cars headed west. Untold thousands of people crammed into filthy, dilapidated "Hoovervilles." None of the Joad family's choices brought them here; they were swept up by the winds of history. The villains are mostly faceless. The man driving the tractor that destroys tenant farmers' homes is working for the bank. The bank is owned by someone, presumably, but the Joads will never meet them. One employer in California says he wishes he could pay workers more - but the other owners have all agreed on a wage, and they're sticking together. Which, Tom realizes, is exactly what workers should be doing. Steinbeck isn't shy about his politics: Tom and other characters talk explicitly about union organizing and striking. Ma Joad observes that no one will help poor people except other poor people. Of the dozen Joad family members who start out from Oklahoma, some die along the way. Others leave for a variety of reasons. When Tom has to flee the cops, his leave-taking from his mother is poetic and moving: "Whenever there's a fight so hungry people can eat - I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beating up a fella - I'll be there." And the final scene in the book is one of the most haunting I've ever read, snatching a crumb of hope in a hopeless situation. Popsugar Reading Challenge: Takes place during harvest season. 52 Book Club Challenge: Uses personification as a literary device. Booklist Queen Challenge: Reread of a favorite. Around the Year Challenge: Something edible in the title.
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