The saga of the Joad family, who leave Oklahoma for better lives as California migrant workers, is an American ode to the plight of Dust Bowl farmers who were forced to leave their farms during the Great Depression. Sometimes crisply real and journalistic—others romantic and cruel, in its prose a vivid and poignant mural of this unique part of American history is painted. It won’t be easy to shake the characters of Tom, Ma, Pa, or Rose of Sharon Joad after you finish the book, or for years to come.