A story must have some points of contact with the reader to make him feel at home in it. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. As Steinbeck notes in the novel, “A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers. Steinbeck’s moral tale gave me plenty of “ah-hah” and “why, yes” moments-the kind of experience one expects from excellent literature, and the reason I recommended it in my column. When I chose The Winter of Our Discontent, I confess it was because of the title rather than the content.Īs John Steinbeck fans know, The Winter of Our Discontent tells the story of a simple grocery store clerk, an outwardly respectable man named Ethan Allen Hawley, and his moral descent into corruption and crime. But John Steinbeck’s novel is an apt expression of what I see as the winter of our discontent in the United States today, and it reflects the reality I face every day in my classroom. Recently I chose The Winter of Our Discontent, and I confess it was because of the title rather than the content. Other first edition points for books by John Steinbeck include: The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice And Men, The Pearl, Sweet Thursday, East of Eden, The Wayward Bus, Cannery Row, The Moon is Down, The Short Reign of Pippin IV, Tortilla Flat, The Long Valley.I’m a small-town high school teacher and newspaper columnist, and every month I pick a new book, usually a literary novel, to read and recommend to my followers, who seem to enjoy what I have to say. Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of The Winter of Our Discontent. Picture of dust jacket where original $4.50 price is found for The Winter of Our Discontent.
Picture of the first edition copyright page for The Winter of Our Discontent. Picture of the 1961 first edition dust jacket for The Winter of Our Discontent.
Back of dust jacket has photo of Steinbeck with blurbs by Saul Bellow, Edward Weeks, and Lewis Gannet above the photo. Solid blue cloth boards with blue top stain, page edges evenly trimmed, and no deboss on rear boards by the spine. First published in 1961 stated on the copyright page with no statement of other printings. Heavy blue cloth with beveled edges.īelow is the first trade edition.
Limited Edition is stated in red letters on a special clear mylar protective jacket placed over the regular dust-jacket. Pages: 311 The true first is a signed edition limited to 500 copies specially printed and bound for friends of the author and publishers - as stated on a special leaf in the book. First Edition Points and Criteria for The Winter of Our Discontent
0 kommentar(er)
