The Winter of Our Discontent

The Winter of Our Discontent was book #26 and John Steinbeck book #2 and on my 2005 50 book challenge. Published in 1961, this was Steinbeck's last major novel. The book originally received luke warm reviews from the press, but despite the initial poor reviews it was chosen for a Noble Prize for Literature in 1962.

The novel tells the story of Ethan Allen Hawley, a Harvard educated descendent of New England shipping captains. Hawley has lost his family's fortune during the Great Depression and is now working hard to support his family as a small town grocery clerk. Hawley is an honest man who seems content with his lot in life, but the people around him convince him that his high morals are holding him back and that if he were just more ambitious he could regain the wealth that he deserves. As he attempts to regain his lost legacy, Hawley is led down a path of morale destruction which eventually leads him to plot a potential bank robbery, betray his best friend, and turn his mentor/boss over to the INS.

Of the Steinbeck books I've read, this was probably my least favorite. The story is interesting and Steinbeck always does a great job with characters, but at times I found the plot wondered a bit. Overall it's still an enjoyable read, but I would recommend Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, or Cannery Row as better starting points.

Irony Alert! While browsing around, I found a site which offers 'free' essays about the book. It cracked me up since in one of the side plots in Steinbeck's story Ethan's son Allen enters an essay contest and gets caught for plagiarism. I'd love to be a teacher and catch some unsuspecting cheater who tried to pass one of these 'free' essays off as their book report :-)