Thursday, November 28, 2013

Five of the worst fictional characters to invite to Thanksgiving

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Jill Boyd tagged five of the worst fictional characters to invite to Thanksgiving. One entry on the list:
The Joads (The Grapes of Wrath)

Picture this: Per tradition, you ask all of your guests to share what it is for which they are most thankful. It’s such a heartwarming exercise. Your sister says, “I’m thankful for my new job.” Your best friend says, “I’m grateful for the home my wife and I have just purchased.” And then you get to Ma Joad. Oh, no. This was a terrible idea. Please, someone say something to fill the silence before she’s forced to utter, “Well, I guess I’m grateful that my daughter’s no-good husband left her so he didn’t see her nursing a dying man with the breast milk she should have been giving to her stillborn baby. Hooray.”
Read about the other entries on the list. 

The Grapes of Wrath also appears on a list of three of Ali Khamenei's favorite novels, Segun Afolabi's top 10 list of "on the move" books, Mark O'Connell's list of the ten best songs based on books, John Kerry's list of five books on progressivism, Stephen King's five best list of books on globalization, John Mullan's list of ten of the best pieces of fruit in literature, and Honor Blackman's six best books list. It is one of Frederic Raphael's top ten talkative novels.

--Marshal Zeringue