I finished -the grapes of wrath, Steinbeck-this afternoon. It
was raining outside, it was flooding in the little camp where the family in the
book were living. I have to say, I haven’t read such a moving book in a while. It took me a month to
finish. The only other book I took so long to finish was – Gone With the Wind-
It’s about a family, families that get displaced from their
homes by the land owners, and as they try to find their way to California to get work
in the farms, the troubles they face will make you shiver. The reader complements
the writer. He can take up different voices with so much ease, it’s like
listening to a play with closed eyes.
I got some favourite lines like this dog that got
embarrassed at barking for no reason and-it looked around for something that
could honorably distract him-
I have to say, the mother in the book was the character I
admired most, she’s described at one point- it was up to her to build laughter
from inadequate materials-
And the description of the son in law that escaped when
problems increased- he thought, when it was required of him, sat quietly in a
gathering and still managed to be there and be recognized.
When the narrator goes on about the situation in general,
it’s amazing, he’ll tell about the clouds, the air, the turtle wandering off
going somewhere. Guess it made more sense coz I could relate in two ways. I
understand what he means by- the smell of burned dust was in the air- reminds
me of going home from nursery school at midday.
The theme of family stuck out most. I was never much a family
person. From the start I just wanted to get out the first escape route I got, start
my own clan somewhere I thought.
Tried it. Then realized that I actually loved those guys.
Tried to go back but it was past due date, guess in my generation there is an
expiry date to be in family. If you are in the village, you’re expected to get
a job in town. If you’re in town you are expected to move to a different estate,
then that will mean you are progressing. Maybe down inside I am South American, or Indian.
There’s a young deaf girl I discuss the Bible with, her
brother joins in, he knows most signs
which is really cool. So one day we were coloring a picture of Noah and his
family building the Ark. When done, I was amused that the boy had colored all
the men black. Well, if you live in Dandora, that’s what you see, and then TV
isn’t that real to you.
But as I was reading the book, in my mind, the Joad family
were all black, apart from Cornie, the son in law, despite the mention of
niggers, not in context.
I played some of the last chapters on an updated version of
VLC and it showed the cover of the book. It was a white family. But I’ve never
seen a white family have to eat ugali(maize meal mash they called it) with
coffee because that’s all they got you see.
Books, unlike shows leave
your mind to imagine the people any way that make sense to you.
Fiction affects you, subconsciously. In the book, they
accompanied their meals with coffee. Found
out that I started drinking coffee like a normal drink. So as I work in the
evenings, I find I am drinking at least 3 cups of coffee in a week. Weak
coffee, and unlike tea, I prefer it cold, it doesn’t make me jumpy and I like
the taste.
The Grapes of Wrath, disc 17…. I’ll miss that : )
