The only reason i shouldn't give this book 5 stars is because i already gave 5 stars to The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck's crowning masterpiece. Oh heck, I'm giving it 5 stars anyway, I loved this book. The Winter of Our Discontent is a wonderfully told story with deep meaning and authentic characters, places, and situations. Steinbeck was a master storyteller. Ethan Allen Hawley's story captures what so many people have experienced at some point in their life. The conflict of right and wrong and the infinite area of gray rationalization in between is brilliantly laid out in this story. This was Steinbeck's final novel, published in 1961. As i look over the Steinbeck canon, i am saddened that I have nearly reached its end. But with the end will also come a beginning of re-reading my favorites, of which this is surely one.
