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November 26, 2006
Steinbeck
I’m in the middle of reading John Steinbeck’s “The Winter of Our Discontent”. There is a throw away paragraph where the protagonist asks a local cop if anything has happened the previous evening.
“It’s pretty quiet.“ he said. “Some kids wrecked a car at the bridge. But, hell, it was their own car. Judge’ll make ‘em pay for repairing the bridge.”
It struck me as I read it, that if it happened today, it would read more like this…
“It’s pretty quiet.“ he said. “Some kids wrecked a car at the bridge. But, hell, it was their own car. Their parents are pretty pissed about the location of the bridge and will be suing the city for damages.”
Sad.
Comments
I agree 100% with your Steinbeck assesment, but I promised myself I would read all of his books, so I working on "Discontent".
Posted by: Scott Harris at November 26, 2006 02:24 PMI have "Winter of our Discontent" on my nightstand right now and it is next in the hopper to read. I loved "East of Eden", "Grapes of Wrath", "Of Mice and Men", "The Pearl" , etc. Steinbeck is one of my all time favorite American authors and someday I'm going to take a road trip to Salinas to see his Museum. I still need to read "Travels with Charly" and I think the "Sea of Cortez". "East of Eden" is my favorite.
It is interesting that "Grapes of Wrath" was banned many places in California when it was first released. I suspect a lot of farmers/ranchers/growers don't really like him because of that book. I need to read his biography, really don't know that much about him but I've sure read most of his books.
Posted by: Katie Teague at November 27, 2006 04:24 PMHaving been to the Museum in Salinas I can tell you that it is well worth the trip, and on your list of what you still need to read you should Tortilla Flats and The Red Pony, as both are quick and amazing reads.
Posted by: at November 28, 2006 07:57 AMGood to know that the Museum trip is worth it! I have read "Red Pony" and "Tortilla Flats" - both good but I think "Red Pony" left more of an impression. He wrote so vividly.
After posting earlier, I went to Amazon and bought one of the biographies on him. Need to learn more - so much to learn - so little time!
Posted by: Katie Teague at November 28, 2006 08:16 PMding
Posted by: aaa at December 13, 2006 11:44 AM
Anyone in this country has a right to make a fool of himself with a day in court and pay all court costs when they do - and the jury usually makes sure that they do!
One additional point: As a Steinbeck fan, I recommend "East of Eden", "Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men" by a wide margin over "The Winter of Our Discontent". These first three are all truly great novels which are worth reading and reading again.
Posted by: Garibaldi at November 26, 2006 01:50 PM