The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeckby John Steinbeck
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 10 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended as a powerful, heart-wrenching American novel about hardship on the land that still feels relevant today.
Recommended as a powerful, heart-wrenching American novel about hardship on the land that still feels relevant today.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 15
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Great American literature
“it's one of the few great books I've read and felt was genuinely great”
Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Bankruptcies Increase 11.9 Percent” “I think his novels capture the uniqueness American spirit”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?” “holy cow, this is an impressive piece of literature”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” - Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “Text Is King”
- Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?”
Emotionally powerful, heart-wrenching story
“This passage had a profound impact on me when I first read it in high school.”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “A Cali. farmer is giving away tons of nectarines that he's not allowed to sell” “It's definitely the most heart-wrenching book I've ever read.”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” Still relevant to current issues
“The Grapes of Wrath is frighteningly relevant now even almost 100 years later”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?” “which is a great book on the effects of automatization in an industry”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “US Job Market Visualizer – Andrej Karpathy”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Grapes of Wrathby John SteinbeckThis page | 15 | 2 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
All 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“He said it was an exaggeration, as was most of Steinbeck's work.”
“I read the Grapes of Wrath many years ago. I think Steinbeck is more effective in his shorter works.”
“Grapes of Wrath is my Everest. I've started it ~7 times and never made it past 120 pages.”
“I think his novels capture the uniqueness American spirit”
“The Grapes of Wrath is frighteningly relevant now even almost 100 years later”
“one of the best books i've ever read”
“This passage had a profound impact on me when I first read it in high school.”
“Maybe everyone should re-read The Grapes of Wrath.”
“Chapter 5 is my favourite, and it's about how the big banks tractor people off the land.”
“Amazing. I hadn't read the book in years, but immediately could remember the style.”
“I loved reading Grapes of Wrath in high school”
“it's one of the few great books I've read and felt was genuinely great”
“which is a great book on the effects of automatization in an industry”
“Grapes of Wraith is a good read if you're looking for something to distract yourself with.”
“one of the finest texts humanity has imo”
“holy cow, this is an impressive piece of literature”
“It's definitely the most heart-wrenching book I've ever read.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.