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Sep 02, 2017Curious_john rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I became a Steinbeck fan when I was in high school (1994-1998) and re-read his novels every few years. The Winter of Our Discontent was probably my favorite novel of his. For some reason I was drawn to the main character's downward spiral. Maybe I saw it as a warning. As a child of the 80's, having watched so many public service announcements, I understood the pressures of always being good and how easy it is for someone to want to give up. If I remember correctly critics at the time didn't like it because it felt heavy handed, story implausible, characters written just to illustrate Steinbeck's opinion of moral decay in America. Was he wrong? I don't think so. I still consider him to be one of the best when writing about the strengths and weaknesses of human nature. We've seen so many corrupt and evil things done just for money. The story and change in Ethan is definitely over the top but it's nothing we haven't seen in other works. Doesn't a chemistry teacher become a drug dealer in Breaking Bad? The Winter of Discontent isn't as epic as Grapes of Wrath but still a great read.