To a God Unknown (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

John Steinbeck (Author), Robert DeMott (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: August 1, 1995

While fulfilling his dead father's dream of creating a prosperous farm in California, Joseph Wayne comes to believe that a magnificent 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, scared by Joseph's pagan belief, kills the tree and brings disease and famine 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 to understand the ways of God.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

8 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

About the Author

Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. His complete works will be available in Penguin Modern Classics. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140187510
• ISBN-13: 978-0140187519
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Steinbeck (1902-1968), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, achieved popular success in 1935 when he published Tortilla Flat. He went on to write more than twenty-five novels, including The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "To A God Unknown" is a terrible beauty, August 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: To a God Unknown (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

"To A God Unknown" is Steinbeck's disturbing treatment of spirituality, superstition, and the power of faith. This is a story that will stick to the ribs of the thoughtful reader. At turns horrific and beautiful, this is a book to be read at intervals in the course of the life of a spiritual seeker. You will be haunted by the truths found beneath the hard stones of Steinbeck's simple language, and will find yourself returning again to this disturbing kingdom of the soul. Combining elements of Christianity, Paganism, and free-form superstition, this book may well cause you to reassess your thoughts on the nature of the mind and of god.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It spoke to my soul., July 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: To God Unknown (Hardcover)

John Steinbeck's "To A God Unknown" reached into my soul and what emerged was a clearer sense of myself. This novel truly spoke to me. It is known that Steinbeck had an adversity toward organized religion, and that fact is evident in the text of this book. What struck me most was the insight into paganism and the worship of nature in its truest, rawest form. Man living in harmony with nature is a recurring theme along with the fact that humans must not desecrate the earth for monetary gains, but rather must understand nature and live within nature's guidelines. Steinbeck's lyrical prose confirms these beliefs that I hold close to my heart

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Life of the Land, September 22, 2005

By 

R. Chaffey "beckahi" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To a God Unknown (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

As always with John Steinbeck's novels, "To a God Unknown" is lyrically descriptive and intensely potent with emotion and meaning. The topic matter of this novel might seem like strange territory for the Steinbeck of "Cannery Row" or "Of Mice and Men", but is filled with his trademark depictions of men who have been broken by life trying to find their way. This time the novel focuses on Joseph Wayne and his family as they try to eek out a living in the valley of Nuestra Senora in California.

Joseph Wayne leaves his family and dying father in Vermont to fulfill his dreams of owning his own land in the vast unknown country. After he has established his farm, he receives news that his father has passed away, and his brothers shortly come to live with him at his ranch. The Wayne family experiences every prosperity the land has to offer and happiness settles on them; however, Joseph believes that this prosperity is due to the spirit of his father who resides in the great oak tree he built his house next too. He daily offers news and sacrifices (of a sort) to the tree as a way of thanksgiving. This worries his devoutly Christian brother Burton, who eventually destroys the tree when he leaves the ranch. As soon as the tree is destroyed and dying, disaster settles upon the ranch and the Wayne family.

After the disaster strikes, Steinbeck takes readers along on Joseph's quest as he madly searches for the meaning behind the dying land and a way to bring it back to life. In his search, he means to leave no stone unturned, no matter what the sacrifice. "To a God Unknown" is a compelling examination of man's fate and beliefs. The story is beautifully told with vivdly poetic descriptions of the land. And yet the characters seem to lack some luster, some thread of reality. While some may mark that up to the story being a fable, a vast quantity of the dialogue rings untrue and leaves the characters flatly, one-dimensional. The story is strongest when the author isn't forcing his characters to confess things to move the story along, when it's allowed to unfold with the enviable grace that infuses all of Steinbeck's greatest works.