THE GRAPES OF WRATH

John Steinbeck

On the back of my Penguin edition of The Grapes of Wrath, the promo copy reads, "A landmark of American literature -- the powerful story of the survival of human dignity and spirit under the most desperate conditions."

Then it trots out the Quote by a Famous Author:

The Grapes of Wrath is the greatest American novel I have ever read.

-- Dorothy Parker

Well. As we all know, Dorothy Parker had a rather well-defined sense of humor. And she was drunk most of the time, too.

If I were going to write my own piece of promotional copy for the back of the Grapes of Wrath, it would read, "An incredibly long and dialect-blighted lecture -- the not-exactly shocking story of how, in a capitalist economy, a few rich people have most of the stuff and everyone else gets screwed."

Then I would trot out my own Quote, albeit not from a Famous Author:

The Grapes of Wrath was an unpleasantly arduous read with a bad ending. I hated it.

-- Judi Capps

Yes I know that John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for literature and I'm lucky if I receive an occasional check for writing copy about steel-belted radials, but I know what I like and the Grapes of Wrath isn't it. If I want to read about social inequity, I'll pick up the newspaper, which is still proving 63 years later that writing passionate diatribes about fucked up social conditions doesn't do anything for anyone, unless you count the fat royalty checks that the author gets. Hmmm.

Tony Simon will die. Very soon. His blog demands it.