The Winter of Our Discontent
By John Steinbeck & Susan Shillinglaw
- Release Date: 1982-06-24
- Genre: Literary Fiction
Description
The final novel of one of America’s most beloved writers—a tale of degeneration, corruption, and spiritual crisis
A Penguin Classic
In awarding John Steinbeck the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel committee stated that with The Winter of Our Discontent, he had “resumed his position as an independent expounder of the truth, with an unbiased instinct for what is genuinely American.” Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of Steinbeck’s last novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With Ethan no longer a member of Long Island’s aristocratic class, his wife is restless, and his teenage children are hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday from his own scrupulous standards. Set in Steinbeck’s contemporary 1960 America, the novel explores the tenuous line between private and public honesty, and today ranks alongside his most acclaimed works of penetrating insight into the American condition. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction and notes by leading Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Reviews
The winter of our discontent
5By Happycat1946I read this book about 20 years ago but just reading the title brings back the pleasure of reading it. I think I'll read it again. I have a first edition on my shelf. All of you please read it. You won't be sorry. CarolThematic
5By DwardengSteinbeck's last classic. Fresh from reading this, I'm astonished by the man's epic story telling ability. All Americans need to read all of this man's books. What an exceptional talent he was.If you don't like this, you you don't know what a good book is
5By spitshinedThere are to many books out there waiting to be read. So I don't make it a habit to reread books. In fact I can count on one hand, books that I've read more than once. And this falls into that category. One of my favorites.
