Funk Rating: 8 out of 10
Well, I took a brief detour from the NYT Bestseller list to read this classic that was highly recommended by a friend. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the character development. I haven't read much Steinbeck, but boy do I respect his ability to work his craft! I felt the characters and the scenery come alive in ways that few authors accomplish. On that front, call this a 10+!
That said, there was a little too much tragedy, and not enough triumph in this book. I felt the plotline and general story thread got a little trumped up, a little too obvious, and a little too tragic for my tastes. I know he had a reason for doing that, but I would push back on Steinbeck (if he were alive) and say "Thou mayest" in terms of his plotline. If free will and choices do exist, and if we can craft our own destiny, I humbly suggest he could have put a few more positive outcomes in this book...
But, I'm quibbling, and God knows I'm not an actual critic or accomplished reader of "literature". It's a heck of a book, and I'm glad to have added it to the archives...
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