John Steinbeck
Many of this authors books are required reading in American schools, so he probably does not need much introduction. Steinbeck was an
author whose grimly realistic stories sympathized with the plight of poor, downtrodden people. It seems impossible that you could read one
of his books and not be moved by the fate of its characters.
Ive lost track of all the Steinbeck works that I have read over the years, but a few stand out in my memory.
Of Mice and Men is a tale that I particularly cherish, because I once lived near the part of California where it is set. Every time I
drove down those dusty highways, lined with enormous walls built of bales of hay, I thought of this books two friends on the run from the
law, trying to make a living as migrant farm workers. One of them is a very special (dangrously special) man named Lenny, whose fate you will
never forget.
The Pearl is about the tragedy that befalls a young, Mexican pearl diver and his family, after he finds a pearl so big that it seems
(at first) that their fortune is made. Its amazing how costly a little success can be.
The Grapes of Wrath, compared to these other stories, is a huge novel about a family escaping starvation in Oklahoma during the time
of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. You will feel every throb of the agony of these poor people as they try to find a fresh start in
California. How many kinds of heartbreak would you like to read about? Stillborn children? One son running from a shotgun wedding, the other
on the run from the law? A vivid depiction of what the Johnny Horton song means when it says, I owe my soul to the company store? Or even
the remarkable chapter devoted to a tortoises attempt to crawl across the highway?
One of the ways literature is supposed to help young people grow is by teaching them to sympathize with the plights of others. These books
will do that, definitely. They may even prompt some of you to grow up into political activists (though, for the record, I am not
recommending them for that reason). Whatever else they teach you, though, I hope these books will prove to you that a story doesnt have to
be about a magical world to grab you.
Robbie Fischer
USA
Recommended Age: 12+
3/5/06
If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.
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