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Book Review By P Cohen
The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

Ethan Hawley is the scion of a once-wealthy family in an old New York whaling town; but the money disappeared when oil replaced whaling. Ethan is educated and well-spoken but he is reduced to working as a clerk in the local store: the very store he and his family once owned. He has an attentive and doting wife and two children but he is not satisfied with his life.

He is honest, mostly, until he one day dreams up a scheme to win back the family fortune. At first he considers robbing the local bank- on a slow day he can be out the back door of the store and at the bank and back again before anyone notices. But at the last minute he gets a bigger idea. The store owner is a nice old Italian fellow (he calls Ethan "kid") and Ethan hatches a plot to have him deported. He convinces the old man to sell the store to him at a bargain rate just before he heads back to Italy. Ethan then learns that a large corporation wants to buy some property in town and he convinces the current landowner (his alcoholic friend, Danny) to sell that land to him so that Ethan becomes rich. Meanwhile, Danny drinks himself to death on the wine Ethan gives him. Ethan's family life is looking up as their fortunes change; his son even wins an award for writing an essay and the family prepares for the award ceremony as the police come calling.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's
Strong "rags to riches" component? Yes
Crime & Police story Yes
Story of
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee

Writing Style
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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