Versions of stories: Why do you vote "no," Joe? (It rhymes!) I'm curious.

And a matter for Joe, Crystal, and any others familiar with Moby Dick. Both of you mentioned references in the book. Care to discuss any?
  posted by jnuh @ 9:40:00 AM

 
I vote that a story does have as many versions as it has readers--in fact, I think it has even more versions. Each of us is reading this story through a slightly different lens colored by our own experience; moreover, if I reread this book, I'll probably interpret it differently than I do now.

I've finished Part One, and I feel that my reading of Hawley has been influenced by my grandfather--both men were very intelligent, well-educated, but voluntarily spending their lives in menial positions. My grandfather was a milkman whom his company wanted to promote to management, whom the town wanted as mayor, who was one semester shy of earning a BA in accounting (and this was after WWII, when a BA actually meant something)--but he stayed a milkman until retirement. Why? According to my mother, he had this odd pride in doing humble work, and felt contempt for ambition. Ethan Hawley meanwhile claims he hasn't a head for business, but is shrewd enough to recognize opportunity when he sees it; he stays out of investing because he thinks it goes against his moral code. So this book is hitting a little close to home--unfortunately, my grandfather never felt Hawley's need to maintain social status.

So who does Hawley remind you of?

  posted by Maureen @ 6:37:00 PM

 
(Some of us thought The Winter of Our Discontent was a long title.)
  posted by jnuh @ 2:13:00 PM

 
ALTERNATIVE CONNECTIONS: Steinbeck-Springstein (SPOILER chapter 4)
Good morning People,
How about this new blogger, ain't it shiny?
Last night I was on the train and an interesing thing happened, some guy just started ordering spare ribs like he was at a restaurant, and another thing I was reading "WOOD" and I thought of Bruce Springstein, the way his songs are awkwardly optimistic and full of this energy like "we've been stuck in new jersey all this time but soon its all gonna change and we're gonna get the hell-outa here" (those aren't the actual lyrics) just the way Ethan is feeling everything change and become new just for a day and for no good reason but his back being pressed against the wall. Just like in Born to Run or Thunder Road there is a feeling of entrapment like everything is closing in around him, but he can still get out if he makes all the right moves. Anyway if anyone likes springstein and knows more about him or about steinbeck please comment.
  posted by Feliks @ 12:40:00 PM

 
Debate over WOOD/Steinbeck in general:

I found an interesting editorial here: http://donswa.home.pipeline.com/writers.steinbeck.html

But here's an excerpt I found amusing (grumpy Westerners ... hehe):

If the Western United States ever declare open hostilities against the East, what the New York Times did to Steinbeck in December 1962 will have to rank at or near the top among our articles of war. That's when the Times suborned a hit piece on him from a Princeton professor named Arthur Mizener and ran it on the day Steinbeck was to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

What were Steinbeck's crimes, that the most influential paper in the country picked the moment of his greatest triumph to take him down a peg? For one, he was political. Though not a Communist, and though his fiction could be surprisingly nuanced on the subject of unionism, Steinbeck made no secret of his sympathies for workers over their bosses.

For another, people made a habit of reading Steinbeck without the Times telling them to. They still do. Steinbeck has something most writers of renown can only dream about, what Parini, a syllabus-compiler of several semesters' experience, refers to as "actual voluntary readers."

Finally, Steinbeck was a Californian -- from New York's perspective, a not- one-of-me. Some contend that if it weren't for the championing of Joseph Henry Jackson, The Chronicle's book critic from 1935 to 1955 and a book commentator on the Mutual Radio Network, Steinbeck might never have gained a national reputation.
  posted by jnuh @ 3:07:00 PM

 
Thanks for the Scripture, Jenna. When I was reading the verse, I realized that "I will make the sun go down at noon/ and darken the earth in broad daylight" foreshadows (SPOILER--p. 19)
*
Hawley's closing of the store from 12 to 3--especially the closing of the blinds, "for no reason except that a darkness fell on the world and on him"
(end spoiler)

Regarding Chapter One--what do you guys think of the temptations that Hawley faces? I can think of four temptations (the banker's urging investment, Margie Young-Hunt's unspoken desire, Mr. Morello's attempt to get Hawley to practice "business", and the salesman), are there any others?

BTW, this weekend I realized that we screwed up. We should have totally made "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" the selection for the first two weeks... admit it, you all read it/ are reading it now.
--Maureen C.
  posted by Maureen @ 11:10:00 AM

 
Social/Biblical Contexts

Way to rock that scripture Jenna!
The jacket of my version of "WOOD" says that the first draft was written between good friday and fourth of July of 1960 (the time-span of the story itself). It looks like we've got the Good Friday (religious) concerns well covered. Is there anyone who can give some background on America in the 60's, the northeast in particular.
I know that as a history major I should really know something about this, but I don't. So if someone can say something witty about the social context that would be swell. If no one posts for a couple of days I'll take that as a sign that I ought to do some research.
Esther's introduction mentioned the debate over the significance of the book in the time it was written. I figure we should find out what's up.
  posted by Feliks @ 11:50:00 PM

 
This is the closest match I found ... It seems modified quite a bit, but it's the same apocalyptic kind of theme.

Amos 8
8 "Will not the land tremble for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt.

9 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD ,

"I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your religious feasts into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.
I will make all of you wear sackcloth
and shave your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son
and the end of it like a bitter day.

A commentary I have on Amos likens the symbol of darkness in the Bible to a reversal of creation. Also interesting to note: Amos's main concern as a prophet was with social justice as the evidence of piety. Which seems fitting given Steinbeck's social concern/criticism.

  posted by jnuh @ 9:03:00 PM

 
In response to Esther:

I have read The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. In May and July of 2001, respectively. Unfortunately, I don't remember either very well, and the notecards I wrote after reading them (from the big, dorky catalog of books) are not very informative. All I remember about East of Eden is some whore ... who's somebody's mother ... Anyway, from the 70 pages I've read, the style of WOOD (hehe) seems familiar enough, as does the clever, good guy with the long name. But where are the whores? And the rotting fruit? (This is pathetic. Someone else really needs to post.)
  posted by jnuh @ 8:23:00 PM

 
Since the LD jumped the gun a little, I've waited until 11:25pm EST to officially kick off summerbooks (which, it seems, has become the title by popular demand. one word. no capital letters. works for me.) I know a lot of you have probably started our first book already. I haven't, but I think I will put on some jammies and start right now. I'm hoping that, by tomorrow, some of you will begin posting your first impressions and maybe we'll have a little guidance from Esther. Before we begin, here are a few guidelines for your posts:

1. First, tells us roughly how far you've read. This is both for interest's sake and also so that, should someone fall behind, they can skip your post if they don't want to stumble across any "spoilers".

2. Discussion topics are wide open ... here are some suggestions to get you started: Are you finding the book interesting or no?, How does this compare to other books you've read by the author (if you've read any)?, Does the book remind you of another author/book?, Interesting themes in the book?

3. With any comment you make, try to open the topic for discussion by others ... end posts with questions, preferably something more specific than "What do you guys think?"

4. If you're posting in response to someone else's post, please note this at the beginning of your post. For example, I might begin my post: In response to Alex Pile's question about eerie similarities between Steinbeck and the cartoonist who draws B.C.

5. As you may have noticed, our time with Stein(beck) ends Sunday, July 6th. This is to ensure that new books always begin on a Monday. Because you can't trust that day. I have yet to come up with a good grand finale for the book, a wrap-up sort of thing. I'm open to suggestions. But you better believe there'll be one. And it'll be grand.

I promise not to post anything that long and instructional ... maybe for the rest of the summer! Hooray!
  posted by jnuh @ 10:29:00 PM

 
Hola Boys and Girls!
I bet. like me, you've all been patiently starring at this sloth of a blog for the last week, and eagerly awaiting the beginning of summer books. Jenna can you officially begin us please?
I've spent days hunting this steinbeck all over the liberries of new york, so this better be good.
I also have some questions for Esther. Are we going to set any pace for reading or are we to finish the book in the first week and talk about it in the second. Did we already decide this before?
Ok. Let's come alive now.
  posted by Feliks @ 2:09:00 PM