This was the last novel Steinbeck wrote. He was probably
tired of the blowback by critics; scathed by rejection and
the burning of The Grapes of Wrath, it seems he lost heart.
Steinbeck changed to non-fiction late in his career, perhaps
feeling a measure of safety there.
When he won the Nobel Prize, the judges mentioned
The Winter of Our Discontent, not The Grapes of Wrath.
This made me curious as to why, so I had to read it.
Although I had once owned it as a teenager, I for some
reason never read it. After reading it now I see why; I needed
some more years lived to fully appreciate it.
The Winter of Our Discontent sneaks up on you. At first, I
thought it was about the common man but deeper in I realized
that Ethan Allen Hawley was an extraordinary character; honest
to a fault, who takes on the pain of Everyman because he trusts
he can endure it.
Hawley’s endurance is metaphorical right up until the end, when
he is in too much real psychic pain even for himself.
As he navigates his life’s losses and contemplates robbing a local
bank to solve his money problems, suddenly fate twists and
robs him of that particular opportunity. His response is to
dive into the deep end and determine his own destiny.
The Winter of Our Discontent has been dubbed a morality play,
But it is so much more contemporary than that. Fascinating!
As I finished reading The Winter of Our Discontent. the first
thought that came to mind was; I hope there is a movie!
If you are in the mood to probe your own values, this is a great
book to read. I highly recommend it.
Raintreepoet, June 2016
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