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To a God Unknown (Revised)
To a God Unknown (Revised) | John Steinbeck
5 posts | 17 read | 10 to read
Ancient pagan beliefs, the great Greek epics, and the Bible all inform this extraordinary novel, which occupied Steinbeck for more than five difficult years. While fulfilling his dead father's dream of creating a prosperous farm in California, Joseph Wayne comes to believe that a magnificant tree on the farm embodies his father's spirit. His brothers and their families share in Joseph's prosperity, and the farm flourishes - until one brother, frightened by Joseph's pagan belief, kills the tree, allowing disease and famine to descend on the farm. Set in familiar Steinbeck country, "To a God Unknown" is a mystical tale, exploring one man's attempt to control the forces of nature and, ultimately, to understand the ways of God and the forces of the unconscious within.
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RayHallucinogen
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Fiction reading is just a distraction from learning anything in our lives.

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Bigcountry15
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This was an interesting story about a man and his religion. Joseph Wayne receives his father's blessing to move to Steinbeck's beloved California and start a farm there. After his father's death, his brothers follow him. Joseph believes his father's spirit also moved with them and inhabits an old oak tree. I think this is a cautionary tale to not believe in a god of our own making, especially if we believe we are that god's savior.

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cheniko
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One of the best

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MariettaSG
To a God Unknown | John Steinbeck
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The incredible connection that the protagonist Joseph felt with the land and nature to the point where he found it difficult to know where one finished and the other began prompted me to think of what I have been taught regarding Australian Aboriginals and their bond with their land. I would love to hear an Aboriginal Australian or a First Nation American's perspective on this element of the novel as well as the novel as a whole.

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Kirstin
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My favourite Steinbeck novel.

quirkyreader I like the modern cover. Most of mine are the old Bantam and Penguin ones, which I dearly love. 8y
Kirstin I've owned many different copies and they all had different covers. I keep giving this book away to friends so, when I see it in a book store, I buy a copy. Nice to see you here, quirkyreader! :) 8y
MrBook Oooh, even better than Grapes? 8y
Kirstin It's very different from Grapes. I love them both but, this one is magical. 8y
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