Book 33 : Now In November - Josephine Johnson

This book was easily the best book I've read this year. It's hard to say, so soon after having read this book, how much it will still be with me in the long run but I do believe it will remain as one of my Top 5 books ever read.

If you like The Grapes of Wrath you will love this book. In fact, TGoW is my all time favorite book and yet I still think that Johnson did a better job of telling the story of the Great Depression.

Now in November won the Pulitzer in 1935, 5 years before The Grapes of Wrath won it. It tells the story of a family on a farm in Nowhereville, America who is having trouble making their mortgage. People starve to death. People are evicted from their land. People die choking on the clouds of dust. The local teacher lady goes crazy. It's all very depressing and very touching and extremely moving.

The writing style is very simple. I found myself reading this book much more slowly than I normally do, as I wanted to give the words time to drip down and seep in. That sounds retarded but no one reads this anyway so that's fine.

In summation : This book should be required reading in every American high school.

'"The things we felt most are hardest to put into words. Hate is always easier to speak of than love. How shall I make love go through the sieve of words and come out something besides a pulp?"

10/10
YTD:
Books read : 33
Pages read : 9,641
Currently reading : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson & Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes / Sophocles