Subjects:  1. Chinese   2. Europe   3. History   4. Emigration and immigration   5. Ethnic relations   6. Sociology   7. Social Science   8. Emigration & Immigration   9. Anthropology - General   

Subjects:  1. Migrant labor   2. United States   3. Fiction   4. Popular American Fiction   5. Fiction - General   6. Sagas   

Customer Reviews (3)

Can't I give this book more than 5 stars?
This is my 3rd Mindy Starns Clark book and the 3rd time I dropped everything to read a book.

(The 1st time was with "Penny", during my 25th anniversary trip to Bermuda, which did not sit well with my husband).

This is a great pass-along book; I have already passed "Penny" and "Nickels" along to my mother, an aunt, and a cousin.
They have all been anxiously awaiting the arrival of "Dime", in fact, my mother has been asking me almost weekly "when are you going to get me that next book?".

It's too bad Mindy doesn't write faster, although nothing would get done at my house - and I'm sure, at her home as well- I could read one of her books every day!

We're all anxiously awaiting the next book of the series and especially looking forward to seeing Callie find happiness with Tom. My mother is a self-confessed romance novel addict (has read thousands of them) and I never thought I could get her to open a book of another genre. My own mystery experience has been more on the line of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes.
"The Million Dollar Mysteries" have bridged our literature gap and we are delighted to share them with each other, the people we know, and now, through this review, to the reading public.

Buy it - Read it - Enjoy it - You'll love it!

Thanks, Twnkls28

Dime a Dozen - Adventure Around Every Corner
I really enjoyed this book. Every where you turned, there was another side to look at the investigation.This book made you really think. Yes there was a lot to keep track of, but that is what it made it so fascinating wondering what would come next.

I have had a hard time putting her books down once I start them.
All three books are very quick reads. I could see these stories in a Hallmark type movie. Read the entire Million Dollar Series. Mindy keep writing.

Worth the read?
I was disappointed in this book. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. I feel Mindy Starns Clark got lost in this novel. There are just too many things happening. Things I was bored by and found farfetched. I found myself reading the last few pages to see if the book was worth finishing. I never read the end early! The end was good, but the rest of the book did little to hold my interest. I am, however, excited to see where the author will take this series. I feel the series concept is original. The mystery and faith woven in these books is something needed in Christian fiction. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Women philanthropists   2. Fiction   3. Nonprofit organizations   4. Migrant agricultural laborers   5. Great Smoky Mountains (N.C. an   6. Popular American Fiction   7. Fiction - Religious   8. Religious - Mystery   9. Religious - General   10. Mystery & Detective - General   

Customer Reviews (1)

migration and rural development
Rachel Murphy's important and well written volume greatly expands our understanding of the major changes in rural China from 1996-2001 that were induced by rapidly expanding rural-to-urban migration. Other scholars have analyzed experiences in the cities (ex: Dorothy Solinger, Delia Davin, Li Zhang), but Murphy shines the light on the impact of migration on the socio-economic life of the migrant's home village, both during the away-from-home period and after return. She does this through interview-based case studies of several villages in Jiangxi province, an interior province in the southeast of China. Her well researched analysis of migration's impact is very balanced. She makes a convincing case that migration is, on net, a positive phenomena, facilitating rises in the standard of living, social mobility, and expanding horizons, but she also explores some of its negative sides.

There are 8 chapters (not counting the conclusion) in the book.

Chapter 1 is an overview of the literature on rural migrants in the developing world, mainly anthropology theories; "push" vs "pull", etc.

Chapter 2 lays out the background material for her case study area in Jiangxi.

In Chapter 3 Murphy investigates the impact of migration on intra-village inequality, household composition, local off-farm employment, agricultural investment, and land tenure patterns. She explains how migration, and the remittances and reallocation of labor responsibilities that result from it, increase family incomes substantially but also can enhance intra-family tensions and create inequities. She also discusses how the local state coordinates investment of agricultural remittances.

Chapter 4 is on the education, house-building, and marriage goals of migrants, and how migration alters the situation. Murphy finds migration has dual-edged impact on the desire for education by villagers, but on net a positive one. This chapter includes extensive discussion of gender issues, such as how womens' life choices can be expanded by migration and how it can improve the marriage prospects of both men and women.

Chapters 5, 6 and 7 form the heart of the book. These chapters discuss returning migrants, drawing from managerial or other skills they learned during their migrant experience, who become local entrepreneurs in the village or in the connected market towns.

Central to chapter 5 is discussion of the actions by local governments to try to encourage returnee entrepreneurship in order to create the pool of talent needed for rural industrialization, and how the successful return migrant entrepreneurship cases were usually from areas where the local government assists returnees. Chapter 6 discusses the nature of the returnee businesses. It also includes some interesting comments by peasant migrants on their work culture preferences. Many migrants return to gain relief from the extreme subordination to management in the wage-labor urban sector, and return to the relative autonomy of individual entrepreneurship. Related, Murphy mentions how returnee factory owners are increasingly bringing in labor from poorer villages that intensifies the working environment and reduces welfare benefits. This chapter has important analysis of gender discrimination related to returnee enterpreneurship and skill acquisition. Chapter 7 discusses attempts by government to create a good business environment, the contribution of returnee entrepreneurship to absorbing surplus unskilled labor (less than one would think it turns out), and the general modernizing impact (both economically and culturally) of returnees.

Chapter 8, titled "Returning Home with Heavy Hearts and Empty Pockets" examines the negative side of migration and the return experience. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Migrant labor   2. China   3. Politics - Current Events   4. Political Science   5. Labor & Industrial Relations - General   6. History & Theory - General   

Customer Reviews (36)

A history of the working men's struggle
Efforts of workers in this country to organize and to fight for fair wages and decent working conditions have been long and extremely arduous. The history of the labor movement has been fraught with violence and bloodshed. It was not until Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal that Congress passed laws allowing workers to organize and to strike for the conditions which should have been rightfully theirs all along.

Set in California in the 1930s, _In Dubious Battle_ accurately depicts individuals who strike when the owners of the orchard in which they pick apples decide to reduce their pay. The book documents these workers' extreme poverty and hunger, as well as their fears of bodily harm or even death at the hands vigilantes and police with whom they must contend during the strike. Their leaders, some of whom are on the extreme left political fringes, are men of fervor and dedication who are willing to sacrifice their own lives in the struggle. Steinbeck who often wrote of the sufferings of the common people, to his credit, presents a balanced portrait of these men. Bullying unarmed strikers into a fighting frenzy against men who possess deadly weapons, exploiting the martyrs in their ranks, and stealthily committing arson as methods of gaining them sympathy, were considered ethical acts that justified their worthy ends. One of the book's great strengths was its non-fictional, documentary feel. Admittedly, Steinbeck's matter of fact approach and dialogue sometimes dulled the book's dramatic impact. On the whole, though, I felt as if I were living amongst very realistic people, experiencing their disappointments fighting a dubious battle in an ultimately successful war for economic freedom of all working people.

Realistic account of orchard strike
"In Dubious Battle" is basically the first of Steinbeck's socially-engaged novels, in which he portrays a strike staged by itinerant fruit-pickers against price-cutting orchard owners. This is hardly a pamphlet for the labor movement or the Communist Party, though, as Steinbeck is less interested in pontificating than showing the frustations of the workers and the toll that their resistence actually takes on them and the local community. It also shows the organizational difficulties involved in getting a diverse group of dissatisfied workers to work for a common cause. The characterization is vivid and brilliant. Aside from its obvious literary value, this novel also has historical value, for like Sinclair's "The Jungle" (although with greater realism and much less pathos) it provides a powerful description of the plight of working people in America earlier in the 20th century. "In Dubious Battle" gives readers a good idea of the type of courage it took, and still does take, to fight for positive change and social justice.

Classic Steinbeck - Don't Pass This One Up
I'm disappointed to read that some folks regard the characters in this great book as caricatures - rather, they reflect the hard-working, strong-willed people that struggled so during the Great Depression, and made huge headway in business, that we today benefit from. With this in mind, I want to sing Steinbeck's praises for a moment, and thank him for making a difference in his own time. He was unafraid of putting the spotlight on a difficult truth in American history, and doing so effectively.

This book is distinct from The Grapes of Wrath, in that it studies closer the reality of an actual strike, and the involvement of the Communist Party therein. As the reader follows the experience of Jim and Dan, the lead characters, their strengths and flaws come to the surface, as they struggle to keep the strike underway, and the men and women involved strong. Their trials and tribulations are realistic, and depicted in an edge-of-your-seat manner. The ending, much like that of Grapes, is a heart-wrencher, perhaps even moreso. Any reader with heart and conscience is left stunned, and provoked. Although the book is a work of fiction, it is surely not far from the truth. Truly a worthwhile read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Migrant agricultural laborers   2. Fiction   3. Strikes and lockouts   4. Labor movement   5. Apple growers   6. Literature - Classics / Criticism   7. Classics   8. General   9. Literary Collections   

Subjects:  1. Ghana   2. Relations   3. Netherlands   4. Merchants   5. History   6. History - General History   7. Africa - General   8. Western Europe - General   

Customer Reviews (2)

ANCESTORS BEGIN HERE
THIS IS A TRUE STORY OF THE PEOPLES THAT CAME TO THE ISLAND,I AM AN EAST INDIAN AND I AM SO HAPPY THAT I FINALY CAN HAVE A BOOK THAT RELATES TO MY EAST INDIAN ANCESTORS.AND IF LUCK HAS ITS WAY,KNOW THE NAMES OF MY GREAT GREAT GRAND PARENTS THAT JOURNEYED ACROSS THE VAST SEAS TO MAKE A HOME IN THE WEST INDIES.

Look Lai has produced an excellent historical text.
Look Lai has presented an in-depth analysis of Chinese and East Indian immigrants who migrated from their home countries and went to new lands in the West Indies where there worked in sugar plantations as indentured laborers. His hybridization thesis is refreshing and brings to light the different cultural experiences these immigrants had in the British colonies of Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana. I recommend this text to anyone interested in learning about the history of plantation labor in the 19th. century and about the tumultuous events that occurred. This author is the only one so far who has investigated the West Indian Chinese and East Indian cultures together and he has worked to put the text into its correct historical context. Easy to read. A must for those who want to read about how two races, Chinese and East Indians, had ethnic tensions within their own cultural backgrounds: the caste system delineated who was higher in rank and who was at the bottom for those who came originally from India, and the Hakka/Cantonese differences were pre-emminent. Look Lai proves that the precursor of events that took place, the British immigration laws, the indentureship system, the riot incidents, and the tensions among the white plantocracy and freed slaves and indentured laborers, paved the way for the political and economic problems of the 20th. century. I enjoyed the book tremendously. Henrietta Akit. B.A. Hons.in History, University of Western Ontario, Canada. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History: World   2. History - General History   3. History   4. Asia - India & South Asia   5. Emigration & Immigration   6. Slavery   7. Caribbean & West Indies - General   

Customer Reviews (3)

A selection of seven articles that Steinbeck wrote in 1936
Readers seeking a full experience of John Steinbeck's literary style won't want to miss Harvest Gypsies, a selection of seven articles that Steinbeck wrote in 1936 about the plight of migrant farmworkers during the Dust Bowl migration. Black and white photos accompany his report on conditions and experiences, weaving a masterful selection of insights which go beyond history into personal observation.

Was It Really A Novel?
Were the "Grapes of Wrath" published today, it may like other recent books, have been classified as historical fiction as opposed to a novel. I am thinking specifically of "Artemisia" that was published as both in different countries. How the work is classified is not critical, as either way it is one of the finest pieces of literature that has been written, and for many people, Steinbeck's finest work.

"The Harvest Gypsies" is a collection of 7 articles that Mr. Steinbeck wrote as a journalist. All were concerned with the issues he dealt with in the resulting book. This small volume is greatly enhanced by the photographs of Dorothea Lange, and the introduction of Charles Wollenberg.

One of the people the book was dedicated to was "Tom", actually Tom Collins, who was a manager of a federal migrant labor camp in California. The lines of fact and fiction are eventually blurred with him, as Tom Collins was the model for the character of "Jim Rawley" manager of "The Wheatpatch Camp" in "The Grapes Of Wrath". Ms. Lange's photographs could have been illustrations for Mr. Steinbeck's book, for when viewing them you can pick out the faces that could have accounted for the members of Steinbeck's epic.

This is a very brief book, but it portrays the migratory farm workers lives, as being even worse, if that can be imagined. A novel always offers the ultimate refuge of being fiction; these 7 articles and their photographs take away that solace. The brutality, random murder, and disease that was rampant, and the State of California that allowed the behaviors, are atrocious. In the context of one of the writings, one of the large growers who sanctioned the killing and starvation that was part of the agriculture industry stated that, "without a peon population the economy of California could not function". Steinbeck takes this statement of arrogance and ignorance, that is routinely spoken by any exploiter, and logically demonstrates that were this indeed the case, the state could no longer exist. For were it to continue to exist with its fascist policies, the most basic of Democratic rights would have to be absented.

Milk, that played so prominent a role in the book is spoken of extensively in the articles. Many of the most painful parts of the book were so common in reality, that the book may seem mild at times.

No matter how many times you have read the book, once this collection of articles are read, the experience of the book will not only change, I believe it will be enhanced.

. . .a prerequisite to In Dubious Battle. . .
Three of Steinbeck's social novels--In Dubious Battle, The Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men--are enhanced after reading this work. This work is the prelude to three of Steinbeck's most socially poweful novels. To fully understand what Steinbeck is striving to accomplish with Battle and Wrath, and to fully round out your history/literature lesson, it is essential to understand something about the socialist movement--birth of communisim--and the general exploitation of the fruit-pickers of California. The big businesses of that day, not much different from various big businesses of today, treated employees like machines--replacing them as needed--after being hurt on unsafe equipment, etc.--without regarding their well-being, or considering the hungry mouths of their families. The Harvest Gypsies is a crutial text in the study of California before uniouns began revolting against the machine. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Language   2. Literature - Classics / Criticism   3. Literary Collections   4. Essays   5. Labor & Industrial Relations - General   6. Migrant agricultural laborers   7. Journalism   8. Language Arts & Disciplines   

Customer Reviews (1)

This is the most authentic book on Cesar Chavez ever!
I have read this book over twenty times. One major reason is that each time I get new insights into the life and genius of one of this centuries greatest and most brilliant American leaders.

The other reason is because I was priviledged to have worked beside Mr. Chavez during the time of this books writing. Every time I read it I can still hear the author, Jaques Levy, reading it in draft form to Cesar by flashlight as we traveled California and Arizona's highways and biways.

This is truly the closest Mr.Chavez ever came to writing his own book. Jaques Levy had a rare inside look at Cesar, his movement and his family. The combination of trust and journalistic integrity between Mr. Chavez and Jacques Levy made for a great book that covers and captures his actions, thoughts, ideas, trials, ambitions, hopes and dreams. Mr. Levy, together with Cesar Chavez, captures the essence of his formative years, those leading up to his becoming the first Mexican and American hero of this century.

Unlike any other author on Chavez, Mr. Levy captures several examples of Chavez's self taught brilliance and tenacity. He also clearly shows Chavez' ability to grasp any subject and his views on American and poor people's economics. I have read many of the others and having been on the spot while they were written can add that while most err somewhat to a great deal in covering basic facts, Jacques Levy's book is on the money.

If it is possible to get this book reprinted, it should be and I bet a Spanish version would sell a million copies.

Mr. Levy spent nine years researching, writing and editing this work that over time will come to be known as the basic foundation of Mr. Chavez's life ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chavez, Cesar,   2. 1927-   3. United Farm Workers   4. Migrant agricultural laborers   5. United States   6. Biography / Autobiography   

Customer Reviews (3)

Easy read, yet sad
I write that as a title because if you look into these children's eyes there is hope and sadness. It bothers me to see how these children and their families are forced to live. I live in the N CA wine country and I see the same thing going on here. Exploitation of the workers, inadequite housing, awful pay.
I would LOVE to see a follow up book about these families now that it is 10 years later to see how they have fared. The young gang member who left his gang, the teenage mother who dreams of going to college, the little boy who wants to buy his parents a car. Did any of them make it?

Review Of Voices From The Fields
Voices From The Fields is about nine different children all of which are Mexican/Spanish. Each tells a different story about their life. All of these children have one thing in common, they work in the fields or they have a close relative that works in a field. Their stories range from being involved with gangs to the difficulty of moving up in society. As different as these nine children may be, they all care very much for their families and believe nothing is more important. Throughout the book there are photographs of the children and their families. Photographs aid the text in describing conditions and emotions of the people being discussed. Through this mix of text and photographs emotions can be amplified. Children most importantly can aid from photographs being provided since they may not understand certain things they read; yet photographs may open the doors for them. The can better see different feelings such as joy or anger as well as people of different cultures in their own environment. It can also become apparent to children who read the book just how important family is to each of the nine children. They are all care for each other very deeply and this is obvious through the photographs. Julia Hirsch says "A far more complex and elusive relationship between text and image occurs in those books which use snapshots, or other similarly dramatic image: pictures which contain some emotional charge, such as a gesture caught in midstride, an object viewed from an unusual angle, an enigmatic facial expression, a blurred background, or deep shadows and diffuse lighting."(Hirsch, 142) Manuel Araiza talks about his home in the book and such details such as the home being comprised of one room with a kitchen. Next to the text where he is discussing these conditions is a picture of the house. Immediately we feel more sympathetic towards Manuel since we are able to see with our own eyes what he is describing to us. The photographs in this book allow children readers to "experience" a minority culture that most children otherwise would never be exposed to. Hirsch later goes on to say, "Photography in recent years has also given "visibility" to yet other aspects of the human condition which have formerly been kept from most children."(Hirsch 150) One example of these "human conditions" is presented in the book for children to learn about. This condition is the life of migrant farm workers and their families. The photographs in this book depicting ethnic minorities, which also happen to be largely immigrants, provide for an excellent learning experience for children. Books focusing on different cultures and ways of life especially ones with such rich and detailed photography are good for children. These books help to educate on material that is beyond the classroom. Emotions, feelings, and different situations are better understood. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so by supplementing photographs with the text of the book children take with them a great deal more than would have been without photographs.

Picking into migrant families lives
I have recommended this book to teachers, counselors, therapists, social workers, politicians and law enforcement officials. It takes you inside migrant families lives and lets you share with them their success, sacrifice, and nostalgia. Beth Atkins captures more than images in her photographs. She captures pride, hard work, and nostalgic happy lives away from home (Mexico).

Originario de Moroleon, GTO Mexico ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Grades 4-6   2. Children's 9-12 - Sociology   3. Juvenile Nonfiction   4. Social Studies - Sociology   5. Family - New Baby   6. Juvenile Fiction   

With its remarkable illustrations and its affectionate portrait of a migrant family, Eve Bunting's latest book is a jewel. Carlos, his parents, and his sisters visit the family village in Mexico. Mama and Papa are very excited, but the kids don't know what all the fuss is about. If they really love Mexico, what could be the point of leaving for America just for "opportunities"?

As they watch their parents with the family, and sneak a peek at the two of them dancing in the moonlight to a song only they can hear, Carlos understands. "They love it here because it's home. They have left home for us." With clarity, warmth, and very few words, Bunting has explained those ever-new American dreamers to yet another generation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Eve Bunting and David Diaz do it again!
Eve Bunting takes her readers on journey with a Mexican family going home for Christmas. The text she uses is elegantly written. Through the feelings expressed by Carlos and his family you get a real sense of the Mexican culture and the importance of family. David Diaz's illustrations lead you into the journey with Carlos and his family. With the use of collaged background and inset illustrations the pages come alive. The text of Bunting and the illustrations of Diaz give you the sense of being there. This is a book that a child of any age would enjoy.

Excellent book!
This book is very touching...it sensitively portrays the sacrafices Mexican immigrants have to make to move to America for their children to have a better life. Very well done themes of parental love, long car trips, the sadness of leaving one's home country, sibling realtionships, husband and wife being romantic (tasteful and age-appropriate), and a child's growing understanding of the complexities of life. Buy and read it to every child (and adult) you know.

Good story/GREAT illustrations
This story is well told, with a nice pace and sense of language. Diaz is up to his usual standards, creating a colorful world that you just want to hop right into. Judge this book by its cover - it's beautiful! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Mexicans   2. United States   3. Juvenile fiction   4. Fiction   5. Migrant labor   6. Children's 4-8   7. Holidays & Festivals - Christmas   8. Ethnic - Hispanic & Latino   9. Family - General   

Customer Reviews (3)

A rare historical treat.
"The Journal of C. J. Jackson, a Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935" is such a great book, because I doubt many people know about the dust bowl in Oklahoma. I surely didn't, and I learned a great deal while reading this. I would have never thought that American's would discriminate American's, by calling Oklahoma residents "Okies." But, it's not much different today, if you stop and think about it. That just stuck out in my mind while reading it. The entrees were realistic (although it made me wonder, with C.J. being only 13-years-old, and with minimal schooling, how he could have written so well), and easy to read. You'll walk away with a greater sense of early American history. I recommend.

Nice historical on the trials of the Dust Bowl
Thirteen-year-old C.J. Jackson lives in the Oklahoma Panhandle where the Dust Bowl has affected everyone's lives. Years with drought have caused crops to fail and C.J.'s family can hardly keep up. Many of their close friends have already moved on west, to places where they hope there is better opportunites. For C.J.'s family the dust storms that come almost every other day makes things even worse. When C.J.'s Grandpa dies of dust pneumonia the family finally has to leave their farm and move to the San Joaquin Valley in California. As the C.J., his parents, two sister, Olive and Belle, and two brothers, Lester and Dalton travel on Route 66 they face many troubles but are finally rewarded when they reach the rich fields of California. Little do they know the hardships ahead as they find themselves working as migrant workers and scraping for every penny they can get. Will C.J.'s family survive their new environment?

A vivid picture of the time
This book captures the spirit of the plains and the perilous journey that confronted Dust Bowl migrants who headed for California. Route 66 comes to life. The characters are real, and the voice of the narrator is convincing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Depressions   2. 1929   3. Juvenile fiction   4. Dust storms   5. Oklahoma   6. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Historical   7. Historical - General   

Subjects:  1. Fort Bridger (Wyo.)   2. History   3. Frontier and pioneer life   4. Wyoming   5. Fort Bridger Region   6. History - General History   7. United States - State & Local - General   8. United States - General   

Customer Reviews (4)

Interesting, but not Insightful
I found this work diary of Steinbeck to be far less informative than I had imagined it would be. Aside from his daily ruminations that he was unsure if "Grapes" would be a good book, there was little revealed as to his creative process. How did he create his characters? Why did he use certain plot devices? Where did his inspirations come from? All this was lacking.

If you read Christopher Tolkien's works on his father's "Lord of the Rings," you see the work created before you. You can see how a character developed, how a plot changed. In "Working Days" there is none of that. It is simply repetitive admonitions to himself to work harder. It became tedious and a great many times I wondered if the editor had simply repeated previous entries and only changed their number.

"Working Days" is interesting, but don't be fooled into thinking you are going to be there at the birth of a great novel.

great book from a great writer
If you enjoyed reading Grapes of Wrath, or any other books by Steinbeck...get this book. If you want to follow a writer through the process of creating an important novel, get this book. The daily journal entries written by Steinbeck show the ebb and flow of his moods, his confidence that he was indeed writing a great book, and those days when he felt that he lacked the talent to pull it off. It is rare to get the opportunity to watch an artist create....this is pretty darn close. And a good read!

A journal of a masterpiece getting written
Working Days is for Steinbeck readers or any student of creative processes and habits of successful people. John Steinbeck wrote the beefy The Grapes of Wrath like a freight train, averaging 2,000 words a day in longhand, from June through October, 1938. He did not do this in isolation. He got up an average of five days a week, had breakfast, wrote in his journal, then went to work until early evening, while hammers from neighborhood construction pounded relentlessly, amid human intrusions of all kinds, a souring stomach and self doubt. He was a purposeful journal-keeper, using it to set the goals for the day, to talk himself into character development and plot movement. No doubt the journal also served to subconsiously swat away the distractions so he could focus on the work. Working Days is edited by Robert Demott who has seemingly devoted his career to the meticulous scrutiny of Steinbeck's life, works and habits. If there can be a criticism of this volume, it's that Demott hovers too much; his is, for instance, one of the longest critical introductions I've come across. But this does not detract from the enjoyment of crawling around in Steinbeck's mind, which the journal freely permits. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Steinbeck, John,   2. 1902-1968   3. Grapes of wrath   4. Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc   5. Migrant agricultural laborers   6. Literature - Classics / Criticism   7. Literary Criticism   8. American - General   

Subjects:  1. Chavez, Cesar,   2. 1927-   3. Juvenile literature   4. Labor leaders   5. United States   6. Children's 9-12 - Biography / Autobiography   7. Juvenile Nonfiction   8. Biography & Autobiography - Political   9. National Farm Workers Association   10. United Farm Workers   11. Biography   12. Strikes and lockouts   13. Agricultural laborers   14. California   15. United Farm Workers Organization Committee   16. Mexican Americans   17. Migrant labor   18. Social reformers   19. Biography & Autobiography   20. Biography & Autobiography - General   21. History   

Customer Reviews (1)

Walls Built on Sand
The author, a Vietnamese refugee married to a Norwegian diplomat, lived in Kuwait and makes good use of both her theoretical training and personal experiences to write an insightful study on the condition of Kuwait's migrant workers. Tracing the current system back to its historical roots in pre-oil days, Longva shows the continuities between the indentured pearl divers of old and the domestics and chauffeurs in today's system. She deciphers the social signals of clothing and concludes that the characteristic white robe worn by Kuwaiti males (dishdasha) sends a strong signal of enfranchisement and social power, for it is almost exclusively worn by Kuwaiti men, the country's effective nobility.

Longva delineates a social structure that includes six main groups: Kuwaiti men on top, followed by Kuwaiti women, then Arab men, Arab women, Asian men, and, at the bottom, Asian women. Except for the first and last, all these groups are sometimes in a "male" (or superior) position, other times in a "female" position. Symbolic of this topsy-turvy order is David, the friendly Indian who works in the lingerie department; his inferior status makes it appropriate for him to counsel black-swathed women on their underwear-something unimaginable for a Kuwait man to do. Middle-class Asians assert their status by parading the signs of their wealth. Longva's description of the way in which a temporary sejourn to make money "blurred and melted into a vague and widening project, the end of which was increasingly difficult to foresee," ably captures the poignancy of the migrant worker's condition caught between two cultures, two places, and two lives.

Middle East Quarterly, Sept 1997 ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Kuwait   2. Emigration and immigration   3. Alien labor   4. Population   5. Ethnic relations   6. Demography   7. Migrant Workers   8. Sociology   9. Social Science   10. Emigration & Immigration   11. Anthropology - Cultural   

Subjects:  1. Cotton farmers   2. California   3. History   4. Migrant agricultural laborers   5. Alien labor, Mexican   6. Migrant Workers   7. History - General History   8. United States - 20th Century/Depression   9. United States - State & Local   10. Labor & Industrial Relations   

Customer Reviews (5)

Three Novellas Describe a Woman's Path through Life
This book has recently been rewritten by Ms. Oates. I am reviewing the original version. I suggest that you begin with this one, and move on to the revision if you like this edition.

A Garden of Earthly Delights looks at life's challenges as seen by an exploited, powerless woman who lacks a religious foundation . . . but has a crude beauty and appeal that are irresistible to men. Through her eyes, we see the importance of being self-confident and focusing on the main chance . . . whatever that might be. In the process, her heart is darkened and her life damaged by the hard choices she has had to make. That darkness and damage seep out of her to contaminate those around her. In the end, a fresh young beauty leaves behind her a morass of rotting vegetation.

The book has three parts. In the first part, we meet Clara Walpole who is the much-loved daughter of her father, Carleton Walpole, who is a rough and tumble migrant farm worker who drags his wife and family behind him like torn cobwebs as he focuses on his own pleasure. The family gradually disintegrates under the pressure of the hard living and Carleton's inability to provide loving support. In the second part, Clara develops relationships with two other men as a teenager after she leaves her family. In the third part, Clara devotes her life to her son, Swan (aka Steven), who must stake a life for himself in Clara's husband's family. Each of these parts is written like a novella, but the three are connected through Clara.

The first part struck me as extremely fine writing of the sort that reminded me of John Steinbeck's novels about migrant farm workers. Unlike Mr. Steinbeck, Ms. Oates has a way of capturing only moments and events that crystallize our understanding of her characters and their lives. To me, reading this part was like occasionally glimpsing through a peephole into someone's life . . . but only at the most revealing moments. Interestingly, Clara often doesn't quite know what's happening since she has had both a deprived childhood and is a child. You as the reader have to interpret what is happening, which makes for a story element that makes the book read a little like detective fiction. This aspect of the book reminded me of William Faulkner's writing about the Snopes. If the book stopped with part one, I would have rated it as five stars and praised the book to the heavens. But I would have wondered what happened next to Clara.

In the second part, we find out how a young teenager builds a life for herself through the aid of Lowry, the man who helps her escape from her family. To me, Lowry is the most interesting character in the book. Ms. Oates reveals his nature very slowly, and he brings many surprises to the story. Although deeply flawed as a person, he tries to do the right things for Clara . . . and ends up leaving her at a very difficult crossroads. From her experiences with him, she learns the duality of love/hate that comes to dominate her life. This part of the book is very fine and I highly recommend it.

In the third part of the book, Ms. Oates seems to fall into clichés. Everything is so foreshadowed that I felt like I could have written out the plot in detail before reading it. There were few surprises, and those were unimportant. I would have enjoyed the book much more if I had skipped this part. I would rate the third part as a two star book if it were a stand-alone. Unless you feel compelled to find out what happens to Clara and her son, I suggest that you consider skipping this part. Perhaps you could read the first 25 pages to see how it sits with you.

As I finished the book, I came away thinking how important it is that those who are deprived of love and care receive attention from everyone else. One of the book's lessons, however, is that such attention must be effective . . . rather than simply well-meaning . . . or it will do more harm than good.

Not Her Best
I am a very big Joyce Carol Oates fan, however, I was a little dissapointed in this one. Don't get me wrong it was still a good read and included her trademark detailed description, as well as intricate character development. The problem for me was mainly the ending. It almost seemed like Oates could not think of a way to tie everything up neatly so she relied on an over used cliche to be done with it. If you are an Oates fan you will enjoy it simply to see how she revamped one of her earliest novels, but I would not suggest this one to those who are new to her work.

Great writing and great storytelling
Joyce Carol Oates revised and rewrote The Garden of Earthly Delights; this new version was just published in 2003 under the Modern Library 20th century rediscovered. (This was the author's second novel originally published in 1966.)

The novel follows the life of Clara Walpole, born in a ditch to migrant workers during the Great Depression. She grows up moving from camp to camp, picking when children are allowed to pick, and going to school when required. There are four important men in her life, and no important women.

There's her father. He loves Clara, but not her brothers, and not her mother. Her mother is worn out and dies leaving Clara to take care of her brothers. Her father brings Nancy into the household. He needs to have a woman. Clara learns about incest when her friend Rosalie's father is taken by the KKK. Terror reigns in the camp. The men think that they can do nothing, perhaps because they think it is a just punishment for getting his daughter pregnant, or perhaps because they fear the Klan.

Shortly after that incident, Clara goes into town and meets Lowry, who takes her away with him. Joyce Carol Oates does the unexpected. She makes Lowry a decent sort of chap. Lowry sets Clara up in his home town. He gets her a job, and a place to stay. Lowry tells Clara that she needs to lie; she must tell everyone that she is sixteen years old. Otherwise, she will end up in an orphanage. Of course Clara is in love.

Then there is Revere, both wealthy and married. And finally there is Clara's son, Swan.

Interwoven with these men are four Claras. There is Clara the child, Clara the teenager, Clara the woman, and finally, Clara as worn out as her mother was when she died.

I love reading Joyce Carol Oates. Although she is unique, sometimes she reminds me of Steinbeck, and sometime she reminds me of Stephen King. But, in The Garden of Earthly Delights, she reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver. If you enjoy great writing, and a terrific story, you will enjoy this book.

I highly recommend The Garden of Earthly Delights. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children of migrant laborers   2. Fiction   3. Fathers and daughters   4. Illegitimate children   5. Mothers and sons   6. Literature - Classics / Criticism   7. Classics   8. Reading Group Guide   9. General   

Subjects:  1. Migrant labor   2. United States   3. Sharecropping   4. Poor   5. Southern States   6. Sociology   7. Social Science   8. Wealth   9. Poverty   10. Children's Studies   

Subjects:  1. Agricultural laborers   2. Florida   3. Migrant agricultural laborers   4. Careers / Job Opportunities   5. Business & Economics   6. Careers - Job Almanacs   7. United States - State & Local - General   8. History