Winter of our Discontent
A friend sent me this sales slogan which I think must have been dreamed up by a Camping Goods store - 'Now is the winter of our Discount Tents'.
To my mind this goes rather well with my review of the book by John Steinbeck - The Winter of Our Discontent'.
Joyous With Words (3 October 2013)
I've just finished reading John Steinbeck's 'The Winter of Our Discontent' - the man is joyous with words is all I can say.
I read most of his books when I was a teenager - 'The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, East Of Eden - all of which were made into great movies - in what was a 'golden age' of American cinema.
Here's a brief extract from The Winter of Our Discontent.
"In the morning the out-of-coffee Margie was set for me like a bear trap. The same evening she drew a bead on Mary. If her behind bounced, I couldn't see it. If anything was under her neat suit, it was hiding. She was a perfecct guest - for another woman - helpful, charming, complimentary, thoughtful, modest. She treated me as if I had taken on forty years since the morning. What a wonderful thing a woman is. I can admire what they do even if I don't understand why.
While Margie and Mary went through their pleasant litany, "What have you done with your hair?" ...."I like it"......"That's your colour. You should always wear it"---the harmless recognition signals of women -- I thought of the most feminine story I ever heard. Two women meet. One cries, "What have you done with your hair? It looks like a wig." "It is a wig." "Well you'd never know it."
Maybe these are deeper responses than we know or have any right to know.
Dinner was a series of exclamations about the excellence of the roast chicken and denials that it was edible. Ellen studied our guest with a recording eye, every detail of hairdress and make-up. And I knew than how young they start the minute examination on which they base what they call their intution. Ellen avoided my eyes. She knew she had shot to kill and she expected revenge, Very well, my savage daughter. I shall revenge myself in the cruellest way you can imagine. I shall forget it."
I'm due to visit the west coast of America next year - I think I'll make a point of taking in Steinbeck country - Monterey County and the Salinas Valley - which he wrote of so warmly in books like Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row.
The Winter of Our Discontent is not Steinbeck's greatest work - the story winds up in an awful hurry - but the main characters are well crafted and it's definitely worth a read.
Ed Miliband would appreciate the story line - it's all about a good solid, citizen - who turns to betraying his friends and his principles - for a fast buck - a something for nothing smash and grab.
The hero and - at times - the villain of the piece - Ethan Hawley - succeeds beyond his wildest dreams.
Until he finally realises that - in the process - he is destroying what he values most - his children and his family.
I read most of his books when I was a teenager - 'The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, East Of Eden - all of which were made into great movies - in what was a 'golden age' of American cinema.
Here's a brief extract from The Winter of Our Discontent.
"In the morning the out-of-coffee Margie was set for me like a bear trap. The same evening she drew a bead on Mary. If her behind bounced, I couldn't see it. If anything was under her neat suit, it was hiding. She was a perfecct guest - for another woman - helpful, charming, complimentary, thoughtful, modest. She treated me as if I had taken on forty years since the morning. What a wonderful thing a woman is. I can admire what they do even if I don't understand why.
While Margie and Mary went through their pleasant litany, "What have you done with your hair?" ...."I like it"......"That's your colour. You should always wear it"---the harmless recognition signals of women -- I thought of the most feminine story I ever heard. Two women meet. One cries, "What have you done with your hair? It looks like a wig." "It is a wig." "Well you'd never know it."
Maybe these are deeper responses than we know or have any right to know.
Dinner was a series of exclamations about the excellence of the roast chicken and denials that it was edible. Ellen studied our guest with a recording eye, every detail of hairdress and make-up. And I knew than how young they start the minute examination on which they base what they call their intution. Ellen avoided my eyes. She knew she had shot to kill and she expected revenge, Very well, my savage daughter. I shall revenge myself in the cruellest way you can imagine. I shall forget it."
I'm due to visit the west coast of America next year - I think I'll make a point of taking in Steinbeck country - Monterey County and the Salinas Valley - which he wrote of so warmly in books like Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row.
The Winter of Our Discontent is not Steinbeck's greatest work - the story winds up in an awful hurry - but the main characters are well crafted and it's definitely worth a read.
Ed Miliband would appreciate the story line - it's all about a good solid, citizen - who turns to betraying his friends and his principles - for a fast buck - a something for nothing smash and grab.
The hero and - at times - the villain of the piece - Ethan Hawley - succeeds beyond his wildest dreams.
Until he finally realises that - in the process - he is destroying what he values most - his children and his family.
