Devouring Books: Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

I thought that I'd really like Interview With The Vampire. I mean, I really like the film, where Tom Cruise's hilarious, nihilist Lestat is the perfect foil for Brad Pitt's uptight but kind of soulful Louis, and then Antonio Banderas is also there, being all hot.

The point is, anyway, that I come away from the film with a sense of enjoyment and amusement, and just a general 'that was good!' ness. I can't say the same about the book.

At first I thought it was just a combination of personal preferences. The language is a little bit... overdone and tries SO hard to have 'Meaning' that I think a lot of the time it falls flat. I've also come to understand that I enjoy my vampires to be ever so slightly bloodthirsty and, well, non-apologetic about who they are and what they have to do. It's why I prefer Eric Northman to Bill Compton (well, not the only reason), Dracula to, I don't know, that Edward guy (again, not the only reason. Obviously). Essentially I like my vampires to be what they are instead of being fucking tortured all the time, which is, I guess, the difference that Rice tries to set up between Louis and Lestat.

A note: I feel like, in the vampire canon, this is somewhat of a first in creating vampires that are sympathetic, rather than utterly evil creatures. I think, therefore, that it can be respected for a shifting in the vampire tide from the monstrous side of vampires to the human, and its influence can't be underestimated. No Interview With The Vampire? No Twilight. Ok, that's a bad example- no True Blood? No Angel in Buffy. No sort of nice, identifiable vampires, ever. So it's got that going for it, at least.

But getting back to its problems. I couldn't quite figure out why I wasn't enjoying the book, since all the same things as in the film were happening and, you know, Brad Pitt was basically constantly in my head! I thought it was maybe the language (SO overdone. I can't emphasise that enough) or the location of the reading (the majority of which happened on the tube on the way to and from London. Which wasn't the MOST fun I've ever had...) but somewhere in Part 3, it hit me: the book is completely and utterly humourless. I'm not even kidding (just as NO ONE in this book was, ever): As the narrator, Louis is unbelievably miserable and guilt ridden and regretful, and that's all he is. I mean, I get it- he's in a state of being where he has to kill humans to live and he feels bad about that, his maker is an unthinking moron and he accidentally causes a child to become a vampire. He's got a lot to be unhappy about, but NO ONE is that unhappy, all the time! I mean, come ON, Louis, crack a joke every once in a while, why dontcha?!

Louis' default facial expression. Miserable bastard.

To be entirely fair, if I'd read this when I was about 15, I would have been like 'oh my GOSH, it's so DEEP!' and been kind of obsessed with it. But that's ok, because teenagers are idiots. No, I'm afraid I'm going to stick to the movie with this one, which is still acceptable because, although Louis is still doing his tortured thing in it, because we're not just in his (emo) head, it's ok to see the things Lestat does as funny, and all is well and I don't want to punch anyone for not CHEERING THE FUCK UP. And as for my vampires, I'll take them blonde and naughty, thank you very much.

Devouring Books: Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter

"She owes it to herself to remain a woman, he thought. It is her human duty. As a symbolic woman, she has a meaning, as an anomaly, none."

I swear that, before I started blogging, I had basically never read a book about a circus- now, in just over a year I've read 3, and they've all been remarkably different. One was kind of a meditation on living in the past, the next a celebration of magic, both actual and in a kind of the-magic-of-the-circus sort of way. And then there's this, which is something else again. Exactly what, I'll try to explain.

Nights at the Circus is the first Angela Carter book I've read, due to a kind of... I don't know, fear or something that I wouldn't fully 'get' her, which I considered a bit of a problem since Frances wrote her whole dissertation on Carter's books, and, well, I didn't want to show myself up! I still can't exactly say that I 'get' Angela Carter, but then I'm not sure anyone can have ever said that they completely do with much conviction. No, I'm afraid you pretty much just have to hang on and go along with the ride. It's a fun one!

Clearly what Angela Carter said ALL THE TIME.

So, this book. It's separated into three distinct sections (as in, you know, they're literally labelled parts one, two and three. So this wasn't that tricky to figure out!) all of which are very different story-wise, but all contain elements of magical realism, and, as a result, are kind of insane. In a good way! Part one takes place over the course of an evening, as an interview between Fevvers, the apparently winged star of the circus, and Jack Walser, a journalist who's just trying to figure out if she's a hoax or not. And just in this first section, there's SO MUCH to think about- whether or not Fevvers is a fraud, and if she isn't, then how she almost has to pretend to be one to fit in, how the only work for women (apart from the circus, I guess) is a variety of sex work, and just what it meant to be poor and a woman in those times. 

I feel like this first section really endears Fevvers to the reader, or at least, you know, to me. While at times she definitely seems stand-offish, there's a really sensible core to her that doesn't allow for any bullshit. Example: She was sold to this guy who insisted on seeing her as an angel (winged being and all) and spouts off all this philosophical-religious talk, about which Fevvers sensibly says 

"'Which is all very well, no doubt, but I thought, in that case, the least he could do was ask me to sit down and he never thinks of that, nor does he even offer me so much as a cup of tea after the very trying journey I've had of it.'"

In spite of her wings, she's maybe the most down to earth character in the book!

So the first section introduces Fevvers' life history, and then the second part shifts the focus away from her entirely and looks towards the circus as a whole. Which, I have to admit, is slightly jarring and frustrating to a certain extent, in that you've just become really invested in this one character and now she's become entirely secondary, but it's also really interesting because you get a wider view of the circus and its people and weird interconnectedness. It also means that when Fevvers DOES show up, oh man, do you pay attention! This wider view also allows for many subplots to crop up, which means, I'm pleased to tell you, a lesbian relationship because, in a book with this many women, there had to be at least one. And there is. At least one.

Seriously, though? SO many women. There are basically about 3 male characters, and everyone else is a woman, which is GLORIOUS because it means that such a wide tableau of women's stories can be told. There's the self-assured former prostitute, the woman who's been abused all her life but, with the help of others, manages to break the cycle, the prisoner, the prison guard... And so many others. And all of them feel real, not like tired stereotypes of a 'type' of woman, but actual living, breathing women that you could meet, wings and all (because of course all of this goes doubly for Fevvers).

It's sort of amazing, is what I'm saying.

And, along with all of these things, it's got some fairly breathtaking writing:

"Brisk, bright, wintry morning, under a sky that mimics a bell of blue glass so well it looks as if it wold ring out glad tidings at the lightest blow of a fingernail. A thick rime of frost everywhere, giving things a festive, tinsel trim. The rare Northern sunlight makes up in brilliance for what it lacks in warmth, like certain nervous temperaments. Today the Stars and Stripes billow out bravely, as if they meant it, above the courtyard of the Imperial Circus, where the courtyard is as full of folk and bustle as a Breughel- all in motion, all hustle-bustle!"

I mean, that just actually makes me feel chilly! And sort of breathless and impressed and amazed.
And then there's also one of the best things I've read on what it feels like to be objectified:

"In [his] eyes, she saw herself, at last, swimming into definition, like the image on photographic paper; but, instead of Fevvers, she saw two perfect miniatures of a dream. She felt her outlines waver; she felt herself trapped forever in the reflection in [his] eyes. For one moment, just one moment, Fevvers faced the worst crisis of her life: 'Am I fact? Or am I fiction? Am I what I know I am? Or am I what he thinks I am?'" 

Basically, I have a lot of feelings about Nights at the Circus,

pretty much all of them positive, some of them just me sitting there going 'What the ACTUAL fuck?', but really all you need to know is this: I seriously enjoyed this book. I don't think I even knew how much until I wrote this, but now I know it's a LOT. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for more Angela Carter mentalness now, and if you have any Carter-recommendations, please let me know!

The Grapes of Wrath, Part One: "'You're bound to get idears if you go thinkin' about stuff.'"

Good lord. I haven't read The Grapes of Wrath for 3 years (basically exactly, the last time I read it in October too) and returning to it is always a teeny bit nerve-wracking- is it going to be like I remembered it? Will it toy with ALL my emotions? Will I still want to hug all the Joads and tell them it'll all be ok, even if I'm not sure it will be?

Well, in a word, yes. I'm so... I'm still BLOWN away by the writing, even on this, what, fourth or fifth reading, and I'm still in love with everything about it! And I'm only a quarter of the way through, with SEVEN pages of quotes under my belt. And it's not like I can just write down little sentences, it's like, massive chunks of text that I just find completely perfect. DAMN Steinbeck, just show everyone else up, why don't you?!

I really am. And now I have to say more things about it? Whuuuut?!

Ok. So, to take it from the beginning-esque, I really love how Tom is introduced, in that for that entire chapter, you don't know anyone's name and the story could equally be about either Tom OR the truck driver, and THEN you find out Tom's a murderer and it's like 

Oh SHIT, now I have to have sympathy for a murderer? But obviously it's all ok because, you know, self-defence and all. And he wasn't even carrying a weapon! The 1930s prosecution system is a JOKE!

And then we meet the Preacher. Or rather the former Preacher. And I have to tell you, I kind of love Jim Casy! In spite of his... not so good activities with what seem to be kind of young girls (I mean, not like the KIDS. But maybe still-in-their-teens girls, when he seems like he's more like Tom Snr's age) he's clearly the philosophical centre of the book, the character who wants to make things different, and who has stopped looking at the heavens so he can focus on things actually happening on earth. I, of course, love his new found kind-of-atheism, but also that, in spite of this, he's also the most deep thinking, and, in his own way, moral character. It's never really occurred to me before (or it has and I've forgotten) but Casy seems kind of like a substitute for Steinbeck for me at the moment- he wants to help do something for all the displaced people, which is exactly what Steinbeck was trying to do with this book.

And I'm sure the Cult-of-Wilkie ladies will agree, Casy is clearly a hottie:

"[His] was an abnormally high forehead, lined with delicate blue veins at the temples. Fully half of the face was above the eyes."

 Amazing.

Can we talk about some of Steinbeck's descriptions please? Because, honestly, I was swooning all over myself while I was reading Grapes, because I've apparently been starved of Steinbeck for a long time! And by, 'can we talk about it', what I really mean is, here are some quotes from this first part that I really really liked:

"It was a long head, bony, tight of skin, and set on a neck as stringy and muscular as a celery stalk."

"Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into a high calm and a superhuman understanding."

"And her joy was nearly like sorrow."

Jesse is excited by your awesome writing.

There are so so so many things that I haven't even brought up yet, so I sure hope everyone's focused on different things as we normally do so that everything gets said! For my part, I just want to talk about two more things: Ma, and those teeny chapters that aren't exactly about the Joads.

I love Ma. I think she's fantastic, and even though the men think they're in charge, and do get to make the decision, Ma is the one who turns their decisions into actions. About the only quote I didn't write down is something like 'women are always tired', which is not said so much as a criticism as a compliment to all that they do to keep their families working, and together. She seems like the paradigm of a mother figure, and I know that this:

"She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone."

Kiiind of makes me think of my own mother, so... She's pretty important! 

And now, the teeny chapters. I think it would be really easy to read them and go '... well, how is that relevant?' and it's true that these chapters aren't exactly about the Joads, except that they ARE about the Joads, as well as every other family and people displaced by the actions of evil capitalist overlords. Whilst the chapters about the Joads mean that you can be empathetic to one particular story, these in-between chapters mean that you can be FURIOUS about the entire situation. Especially the capitalist overlords.

I also think that they contain some of Steinbeck's BEST writing, but that's neither here nor there. Unless you're reading a book, which oh look, we are! 

"How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.

They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories. How'll it be not to know what land's outside the door? How if you wake up in the night and know- and know the willow tree's not there? Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can't. The willow tree is you. The pain on that mattress there- that dreadful pain- that's you."

 There is SO much more to say, but if I don't stop here, I almost definitely never will. Link up your posts below, pretties, so I can say more in excruciatingly detailed comments, probably involving quotes. Don't say I don't do anything for you!

Sunday Sundries: There Is No One Way To Define This Week

This has nothing to do with anything, but I think it's an important thing to remember.

Really, this week has kind of gone from 2 hospital trips in one day (BOO) to a day where I felt incredibly shattered (more boo!) to the glorious CAITLIN DAY (biggest YAY ever!) to kind of two more days of feeling a bit rubbish. Let's see what today brings! But seriously, I think the feeling rubbish thing is kind of a thing where I have tonsillitis (still) and haven't really rested much because I'm like 'hey! I can handle travelling up to London all the time!' and kind of FORCING myself to feel ok whilst doing so, and... Yeah, these are not really good things to do.

ANYWAY! Mum only has two more radiotherapy sessions to go! YAY! I honestly felt, at the start of the three weeks, like it would NEVER be over, so I'm really glad that it nearly is. For mum's sake more than mine, OBViously, but still. It hasn't been much fun. In other 'my family's health' news, my nan was released from the hospital on Tuesday, a mere 5 days after she went in, which is a way good thing, and a result of her heart not having any damage from the heart attack, and from it being caused by, probably, a little blood clot. Which obviously is still not great, but, you know, it could be way worse.

*Shakes self off* BLEURGH, medical issues, BORING, amiright? Unfortunately it's really about all I have to talk about this week, because when I wasn't in a hospital I was laying down OR meeting Caitlin Moran, and BOY do I feel like I shot my wad by writing about that experience already. Dammit, me, save the interesting stuff for Sunday posts! I am such a FOOL!

Shall we have a chat about books? (Fall back topic, always.) I got my hands on a copy of The Casual Vacancy this week, courtesy of my local library (try to take THAT away from me, Cameron) and have read about 5 pages of it, which means NOTHING other than that I'm also reading, let's say five other books, which is actually slightly a lie and it's more like 7. Except that really I'm not reading anything much at all, because, you know, reading requires energy that I don't really have at the moment. Having said that, I did re-read To Kill A Mockingbird and the first Shopaholic book this week, because re-reading is kind of soothing and also kind of requires less attention. And effort. Which is good cause those things are hard.

As well as The Casual Vacancy, I also acquired another book this week through... possibly less than ethical methods. What I am about to tell you may shock you, so if you're of a sensitive nature you may want to look away now. Or at least sit down (why would you be standing?!) So, on Tuesday, mum and I discovered the joys of the books the hospital had to offer (they have about two shelves full in the radiotherapy department) and I found a collection of poetry (Poems For Life) that I was a bit enamoured by, and which I sort of might have stolen. A bit.

IN MY DEFENCE- we totally replaced it with another book that was actually something people might want to read, as opposed to poetry, which nobody ever wants to read. Especially me. Except for this time. It's actually a weird choice of a thing for me to steal, I have to admit, but it's a pretty good collection of poems.

So there! You got my dirty little secret out of me! Are you happy now?! It's possibly my weirdest book acquisition, in many ways, but it isn't even my most memorable of the week since, did you not hear me when I mentioned the CAITLIN DAY? That was the besssssst... Anyway... My aim for today is to read that section of The Grapes of Wrath I set everyone so that I don't put on a poor show on Tuesday and, you know, have no idea what everyone's talking about (or at least... very little idea.) So there's that. And then also more resting so that I can actually feel properly better for once. Which would be very nice indeed!

So, reading and healing. What's everyone else going to be doing this fine Sunday?

CAITLIN DAY!

Photo via NY Times

Yesterday, I met Caitlin Moran and it was glorious. I could just end the story here and leave you with the tantalising notion of just how awesome it would be to meet Caitlin (it's FAB) but I'm nicer than that so I'll try to recall some things that happened, even though they seem almost dreamlike and surreal now. Because being in the same room with one of your current favourite people doesn't REALLY happen, does it?!

Ok, firstly the event was in this teeny little bookshop in North London, which was at once both excellent because hellooooo intimate venue, but also sort of terrifying in a 'argh! I am going to be super near Caitlin, I hope I don't throw up on her Doc Martens' kind of way. Because about this whole thing I was both SUPER excited and yet SUPER nervous (for no good reason!) all of which combined to make me feel like I was going to throw up a tiny bit.

I did not throw up. That's not how this story goes.

So we got there and it was already sort of full, and the options for seats were either sitting on these weird uncomfortable looking stools near the back, or sitting on a nice looking chair (that unfortunately also turned out to be uncomfortable, but by that point did I care? Not really!) right at the front. I mean, the FRONT. I could have easily reached out and grabbed Caitlin's leg or something (but that would have been weird, and why would I?!) and Frances did, in fact, kick her a teeny bit. Not on purpose, obviously! So there we were at the front, glancing back at Caitlin just standing there in the back of the shop, looking all awesome and sort of other-worldly, in a 'I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE'S IN THE SAME ROOM AS US!' kind of way. And then she came to the front of the room and was inches away from us and it was the BEST THING EVER!

The format of Caitlin saying things was basically a Q&A thing between her and this other lady whose name I can't remember now (which I feel really bad about because she was really good! A good foil for Caitlin), although, if you've seen this piece of wonderfulness then you'll know that a Q&A session with Caitlin kind of turns into 'A question is asked. Many things are said. Half an hour later, the question is answered' which, really, is my kind of interview to watch! And many many many things were said- if it felt really surreal at the beginning, after a while, I was so massively agreeing with basically everything Caitlin said that I kind of forgot who was saying it!

One of the most interesting things, I found, was her discussion of the working classes, and the idea that, the way everything is at the moment, with people expecting to get news and music and movies and everything for free, means that working creatively is something that isn't really open to working class people, which means that everything is becoming really homogenised and boring and almost back to before the 60s when there was a massive BOOM of working class people being creative. And it's not like working class people aren't being creative now, but that they can't really afford to be, and that if you have to get a job to be able to afford to eat, then you can't concentrate on being creative full time and you can't really reach your full potential in that way, and the only people who can, really, are those with rich parents.

You can guess whether or not my parents are rich...

And then many many many other things were discussed, serious things like feminism and socialism and politics, and fun things like My Little Pony and Dalek porn (possibly the funniest moment: when Daleks having sex was being discussed, and the question asking lady went 'I wonder if there is Dalek porn though' and this woman in the audience went 'oh, there's LOADS of Dalek porn!' How does SHE know, huh?!) and Caitlin's confusion about whether she wants Paul McCartney to be her dad, or whether she wants to fuck him. Which I get. AND, maybe most interestingly, she hinted that she thinks Eddie Izzard might run for London Mayor (!) and that she has an idea for an episode of Dr Who but 'isn't really allowed to talk about it' which sounds EXTREMELY exciting! And, finally, of course the picture of Bruce Springsteen that she always posts on twitter came up. Which is always awesome. WHICH picture, I hear you cry? Why, this one!

You're welcome.

So all that was awesome, and honestly would have been enough, but then we queued up and waited to speak to Caitlin and get her to sign our books! Cue more nervousness, OR SO I THOUGHT, but I actually felt pretty relaxed because she's just that kind of person, you know? Except, apparently, not for the people just in front of us in the line who she told should be having sex (they were a boy and girl, both single, in their early twenties, friends... I saw her point!) and when she appealed directly to our giggling faces for our agreement, we obviously gave it without hesitation! And they slunk off embarrassedly, and hopefully to, you know, get it ON (but probably not.)

And then we stepped up to her and she was so lovely and friendly and things were said and it's all kind of a blur now, but she definitely misheard my name and wrote Nora in my book and I had to correct her and OH the misunderstanding! And then she told Frances that she had lovely boobs and a lovely dress and there were more things I can't really remember and then said it was really nice to meet us and SHE TOUCHED US and then I died because it was so wonderful! But then I revived, and now I'm probably going to change my name to Nora, because unlike that non-couple, I AM inclined to do anything she says.

I'm kidding! Probably. You probably definitely shouldn't let me change my name.

See? Nora! 

So, that was my very first book signing experience, and I'm pretty sure they don't get much better! I am just this minute slightly regretting that I didn't ask if we could have a picture taken with her, but hey... We all know where we were! And I have this completely surreptitious but actually not that bad photo that I took actually pretty far back in the queue, which should give you some idea of how small the place actually was

So that's good enough for me! And now, after literally WEEKS (like, 3) of waiting, I can finally read Moranthology! And I shall, of course, report back in due course.

Top 5 TV

I realise that no one expects consistency from me (or you shouldn't cause, you know, you're going to be disappointed) but LOOK! Another Top 5 TV post! This is becoming an almost fortnightly thing, kind of! PLUS I have ideas for at least three more, so... Go me with the consistency and all!

This time, I'm thinking about inappropriate crushes, and by inappropriate, I obviously mean 'crushes on cartoon characters'. Look. The majority of TV watching IN MY LIFE has been cartoons, and that goes doubly for when I was younger, so... who else was I supposed to be attracted to? Kids TV presenters or something (ICK)? I'm refusing to defend this (even though I just did) anyway, so here's the list...

Top 5 Inappropriate TV Crushes

1. Trent Lane from Daria

I love Daria so very very much, and therefore, anyone she thinks is worth having a crush on, I agree with. It doesn't hurt that Trent is a musician (hot) and has the holy trinity of facial hair, tattoos and piercings (double hot) and just that, for a dude who's 2D and basically just a bunch of lines? He's pretty awesome looking. Whilst Tom was clearly a better match for Daria, I'll always be a tiny bit sad that these two never got it together.

2. Aladdin

Did I want to be Princess Jasmine and live in a palace and have a pet tiger and a teensy waist? ... Yes. But mainly, I kind of wanted Aladdin to be my boyfriend. He's got a pet monkey, and a buddy who's a GENIE (with the voice of Robin Williams) and mainly? He's really hot.

3. Fry from Futurama

Ok, so Fry is an idiot. But he's also so so sweet and tries his best, and also you know he'd be a good boyfriend if your standards weren't as ridiculously high as Leela's seem to be. Also, the dude's got the mooooves! (see above)

4. The Beast from Beauty and the Beast

Maybe the least physically (not physically. Erm... least fanciable drawing?) attractive character on my list, but THE BEAST LEARNS HOW TO LOVE AND ALSO DON'T FORGET THE LIBRARY! I don't think I'm the only person who finds it weird when the Beast becomes human again, and definitely not the only person to think that the drawing of that guy? So not cute. The better choice is almost (almost) to stop watching when you think the Beast is dead, because at least he stays attractive. In his own special way, which, I guess, is non-attractiveness.

5. Robin Hood. The Fox.

I like Robin Hood as a folk hero, so most incarnations of him it's just like 'yessssss, you take the money from those rich people!' but the fox from the Disney version? Incredibly hot! Look, it's ok to find animals hot if they wear clothes, guys!

Bonus Inappropriate Crush, With Added Inappropriateness

Young Stalin- I feel kind of icky about this crush, but the thing is... Obviously Stalin ended up being kind of bad, and you know, sort of caused the deaths of millions of people, AND in his later years looked distinctly walrus-like, but in his younger days? He was kind of delicious. JUST LOOK AT HIM:

Just imagine him, with his beautiful ideals and lack of having had anyone killed yet, and him whispering sweet nothings about being comrades and stuff. And would you LOOK at those eyes?!

Ahem. So young Stalin. He was hot, guys! Now tell me your inappropriate crushes so I don't have to feel kiiind of ucky anymore...

My Steinbeckian Feelings, Laid Out For You In A Blog Post

Ah, Steinbeck. I'm not sure that I've ever fully expressed my love for Steinbeck here, other than maybe in Top Ten Tuesday posts, and in every single mention I've ever made of this readalong, but I love the dude SO HARD.

Because the thing is, he can be SO funny, and then also really sad, and just kind of, you know, covers the entire range of human emotion, whilst also stringing together amazing sentences AND creating characters that have the perfect mix of good and evil, or that are, in other words, just like real people. I've read a LOT of his books, and I haven't read one that I didn't like- even his book about war was excellent; his Journal of a Novel really gave an insight into how the creative process, or at least his creative process, works; and I can tell you, having read a thousand pages of his letters, that I can't think of anyone I'd rather have received a letter from. Plus, you know, he was kind of dishy

Although it's possible I just think that because I like his books so much. You tell me! (Repeat above gif)

So anyway. Like, I suspect, a lot of people, I oscillate between thinking that East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath is my favourite Steinbeck. All I know is, I've read The Grapes of Wrath a lot more, but that doesn't really mean much. Either way, this is my revelation that I have, indeed, read The Grapes of Wrath before. So obviously my posts about it aren't going to be 'OMG this happened!' but, short explanation, I reviewed East of Eden on here and one post was really not enough to get out all I wanted to say about it, and then when I learned that readalongs were a thing, I thought 'oh heyyyy, that's a good way to talk about The Grapes of Wrath loads!' And I'm taking you all with me!

Possibly above all things, I love his politics. I believe that he's the leftest leftie that I can think of (ok, maybe not that I can think of. But he's pretty left wing-ish) and hopefully these are your politics too, because there's going to be a bit of that in The Grapes of Wrath (and also because otherwise I probably can't talk to you anymore. Sorry). But his politics are really motivated by the way he feels about people, and how unjust the world is, and how he just wants everything to be better and OMG Steinbeck just hold me! And so he is the loveliest lovely.

The End. Except to say, hey, link up your posts below please! And then we can all visit and get our Steinbeck feels out in the open. And I can defend him to anyone who dares besmirch his name!