Our summer read begins Monday
Dearest reader,
Happy Friday!
On Monday, we embark on our close read of The Grapes of Wrath.
Week one opens with historical context — before we start the novel itself, we’ll start with the introduction of Working Days, a collection of John Steinbeck’s letters from the time period in which he wrote the novel.
→ See our full reading schedule here
I went back and forth on the decision to start the reading experience of the novel with a text other than the novel, but after reading the Introduction, I realized it was exactly the context I needed to really get “into” the novel with the right mindset.
Maybe you’ll feel the same.
As gentle warning: the introduction includes one clear plot spoiler (but I don’t know how much of a spoil it really is), and it also clarifies a lot of the novel’s themes and tensions.
If you want to discover those all on your own, feel free to put off starting Working Days for a few weeks (or altogether). It’s certainly not required reading — more of a paired text, for those who like deeper author context and history with their fiction.
Recommended editions
→ The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck Centennial Edition: deckled edges!)
→ The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classic: normal page edges!)
→ Working Days
Tell me what you’re most looking forward to in this summer read-a-long.
As we get into Working Days early next week, I’ll share my thoughts and themes from the introduction, and I’m eager to hear yours, too.
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