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The Winter of Our Discontent
The Winter of Our Discontent
Author: John Steinbeck
Ethan Hawley, a descendant of proud New England sea captains, works as a clerk in the grocery store owned by an Italian immigrant. His wife is restless, his teenaged children are troubled and discontented, hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday fr...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780140187533
ISBN-10: 0140187537
Publication Date: 4/1/1996
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 58

3.5 stars, based on 58 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Tony500 avatar reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on
Helpful Score: 5
The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck

Ethan Allen Hawley

Sometimes a character comes along that rings out in your head. He's so identifiable that you almost assume the character was modeled after your own soul. Never mind the fact that the character was created 10 years before you were born, he's you... or maybe you're him.

These characters are so real that you forget that the author is the one narrating the story. The author is transparent. The narrator is your own heart, a characterization of yourself. His narration is raw and truthful. The prose may be nearly 50 years old, but it paints a portrait of American life that transcends all the days from this to that.

That's Steinbeck's prose. Steinbeck's prose, but Ethan Hawley's words. Ethan is the lead character in Steinbeck's, "The Winter of Our Discontent." Ethan is Steinbeck's creation; Ethan is my character. I listen to his thoughts, to the ideas in his head and I recognize them as the thoughts I so often find myself working through. His struggles, his emotions and, indeed, his proposed solutions are a facsimile of the very ones I carry with me. Every man must consider his fate. In your heart, you find your answers, however right or wrong. Ethan found my answers... not that I'm gonna start robbing banks or anything. But, sitting in the Place, out of the wind, seeing under the guardian lights, I find the answers that Ethan found so long before I knew I was looking. "No nonsense of Madison Avenue then or trimming too many leaves from cauliflowers." Here, a man can breathe.

-Tony
Tony500 avatar reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on
Helpful Score: 2
The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck

Ethan Allen Hawley

Sometimes a character comes along that rings out in your head. He's so identifiable that you almost assume the character was modeled after your own soul. Never mind the fact that the character was created 10 years before you were born, he's you... or maybe you're him.

These characters are so real that you forget that the author is the one narrating the story. The author is transparent. The narrator is your own heart, a characterization of yourself. His narration is raw and truthful. The prose may be nearly 50 years old, but it paints a portrait of American life that transcends all the days from this to that.

That's Steinbeck's prose. Steinbeck's prose, but Ethan Hawley's words. Ethan is the lead character in Steinbeck's, "The Winter of Our Discontent." Ethan is Steinbeck's creation; Ethan is my character. I listen to his thoughts, to the ideas in his head and I recognize them as the thoughts I so often find myself working through. His struggles, his emotions and, indeed, his proposed solutions are a facsimile of the very ones I carry with me. Every man must consider his fate. In your heart, you find your answers, however right or wrong. Ethan found my answers... not that I'm gonna start robbing banks or anything. But, sitting in the Place, out of the wind, seeing under the guardian lights, I find the answers that Ethan found so long before I knew I was looking. "No nonsense of Madison Avenue then or trimming too many leaves from cauliflowers." Here, a man can breathe.

-Tony
Tony500 avatar reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on
Helpful Score: 1
The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck

Ethan Allen Hawley

Sometimes a character comes along that rings out in your head. He's so identifiable that you almost assume the character was modeled after your own soul. Never mind the fact that the character was created 10 years before you were born, he's you... or maybe you're him.

These characters are so real that you forget that the author is the one narrating the story. The author is transparent. The narrator is your own heart, a characterization of yourself. His narration is raw and truthful. The prose may be nearly 50 years old, but it paints a portrait of American life that transcends all the days from this to that.

That's Steinbeck's prose. Steinbeck's prose, but Ethan Hawley's words. Ethan is the lead character in Steinbeck's, "The Winter of Our Discontent." Ethan is Steinbeck's creation; Ethan is my character. I listen to his thoughts, to the ideas in his head and I recognize them as the thoughts I so often find myself working through. His struggles, his emotions and, indeed, his proposed solutions are a facsimile of the very ones I carry with me. Every man must consider his fate. In your heart, you find your answers, however right or wrong. Ethan found my answers... not that I'm gonna start robbing banks or anything. But, sitting in the Place, out of the wind, seeing under the guardian lights, I find the answers that Ethan found so long before I knew I was looking. "No nonsense of Madison Avenue then or trimming too many leaves from cauliflowers." Here, a man can breathe.

-Tony Hamby
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reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on + 16 more book reviews
A must read for any Steinbeck lovers!
reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on + 56 more book reviews
Author of GRAPES OF WRATH and winner of the Nobel Prize.
reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on + 26 more book reviews
Touching, thoughtful classic by Steinbeck.
reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on
A must-read for everyone
reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on + 11 more book reviews
"Not since 'East of Eden' has Steinbeck engaged a theme of such broad social significance...A highly readable novel which bristles with disturbing ideas." The New York Times
reviewed The Winter of Our Discontent on + 244 more book reviews
The classic Steinbeck novel.


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