The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The book follows the Joad family, Oklahoma farmers displaced from their land during the Great Depression. The family, alongside thousands of other "Okies," travel to California in search of work and a better life. Throughout their journey, they face numerous hardships and injustices, yet maintain their humanity through unity and shared sacrifice. The narrative explores themes of man's inhumanity to man, the dignity of wrath, and the power of family and friendship, offering a stark and moving portrayal of the harsh realities of American migrant laborers during the 1930s.
The 25th greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 4384
This book was first published in 1939
91 Lists
- score: 201 -- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) - 1991 (Weight: 190)
- score: 201 -- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers - 2024 (Weight: 190)
- score: 190 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 171 -- The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time - 2007 (Weight: 160)
- score: 150 -- What are the Goncourt Winners’ Favorite Books? - 2023 (Weight: 150)
- score: 146 -- The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century - 1999 (Weight: 140)
- score: 139 -- 30 Books Every Adult Should Read Before They Die - 2006 (Weight: 130)
- score: 137 -- 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2020 (Weight: 130)
- score: 132 -- A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life - 2019 (Weight: 110)
- score: 127 -- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years - 2005 (Weight: 120)
- score: 122 -- All-Time Classics, According to Academics - 1985 (Weight: 110)
- score: 116 -- 100 Life-Changing Books - 2006 (Weight: 110)
- score: 110 -- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature - 2021 (Weight: 110)
- score: 95 -- Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century - 1999 (Weight: 80)
- score: 94 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 89)
- score: 94 -- The Great American Novels - 2024 (Weight: 89)
- score: 91 -- Books Of The Century - 1999 (Weight: 80)
- score: 84 -- Taking off the Reading Gloves - 1998 (Weight: 70)
- score: 81 -- Best Books Listed for High School Students - 1984 (Weight: 89)
- score: 74 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 70)
- score: 71 -- Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels - 1998 (Weight: 60)
- score: 70 -- Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century - 1999 (Weight: 60)
- score: 69 -- The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels - 1999 (Weight: 60)
- score: 69 -- The Celebrity Reading List - 2007 (Weight: 60)
- score: 68 -- Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 60)
- score: 63 -- 50 Books That Defined Their Era - 2011 (Weight: 60)
- score: 63 -- 100 Best 20th-Century American Books - 1999 (Weight: 60)
- score: 60 -- 4chan’s Literature Board’s Aggregate Top 100 Books for the Decade 2014 - 2024 - 2024 (Weight: 60)
- score: 59 -- Edmonton's Top 100 - 1998 (Weight: 50)
- score: 57 -- The Big Read - 2003 (Weight: 50)
- score: 54 -- The 101 Favorite Novels of 'Le Monde' Readers - 2019 (Weight: 50)
- score: 54 -- My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read - 2004 (Weight: 50)
- score: 53 -- 125 Books We Love for Adults - 2020 (Weight: 50)
- score: 53 -- Books that Shaped the Century - 2020 (Weight: 50)
- score: 52 -- 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers - 2022 (Weight: 50)
- score: 52 -- 150 Great Reads - 1988 (Weight: 50)
- score: 52 -- Top 100 Books, As Chosen By Canadians - 2005 (Weight: 50)
- score: 51 -- The Books That Built The French - 2004 (Weight: 50)
- score: 50 -- America’s 100 Favorite Books - 2024 (Weight: 50)
- score: 46 -- Waterstone's Books of the Century - 1997 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- Top 100 Books - 1999 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- 100 Most Influential Books of the Century - 2000 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- Inteliquest's World's 100 Greatest Books of All-Time - 1993 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - 1996 (Weight: 40)
- score: 40 -- The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians - 1999 (Weight: 40)
- score: 40 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 40)
- score: 40 -- Kanon na koniec wieku (Canon at the end of the century) - 2002 (Weight: 40)
- score: 34 -- The Great American Read - 2018 (Weight: 30)
- score: 34 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 30)
- score: 31 -- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher - 2005 (Weight: 30)
- score: 22 -- The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Readers' List - 1998 (Weight: 20)
- score: 21 -- The Great Books Podcast from John J. Miller - 2025 (Weight: 20)
- score: 21 -- Gabriel García Márquez’s Formative Reading List - 2003 (Weight: 20)
- score: 19 -- Have You Read 100 Great Books? - 1950 (Weight: 50)
- score: 15 -- Everything You Should Read without Being a Library Rat - 1972 (Weight: 20)
- score: 10 -- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- 100 Best Novels in English Since 1900 - 2014 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Books That Shaped America - 2012 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Masterpieces of World Literature - 1991 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Select 100 - 2015 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime - 2023 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - Yearly Book Award (Weight: 50)
- score: 1 -- 100 Best Western(United States) Works of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Complete 500: OCLC - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 500 Must Read Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Best Books Ever - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Graphic Canon - 2012 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Best Novels Written in English - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers - 2002 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Best Classics - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- IWU Select 100 Must-Read Books - 1991 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics - 2001 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Nancy Pearl's 100 Good Reads, Decade by Decade - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Recommended Books - 2017 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50 - 2012 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Great Books - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 80 Books Every Man Should Read - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Dream of the Great American Novel - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2007 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Top 50 Books - 1997 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 101 of the World's Greatest Books (1950) - 1950 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- One Hundred Best American Novels, 1770 to 1985 - 2014 (Weight: 1)