Indubious Battle by John Steinbeck
1936 original about labor strikes and how the workers during the Depression years in CA. Jim Nolan, the leader as he strives to find his identity.
Includes the authors writing throughout his life. Starts out when they gather to pick the apples and there is talk of them striking. They band together and come up with white clothes to help with the birthing of a baby.
As long as they all feel like they contributed they are as one.  They strive for hope, better life, etc. The men talk to others who work in another farm and they talk of the barricades the authorities will put up as their wages go down.
Details of what is to come as they vacant a farm and things heat up. Love references to the Grapes of Wrath during this book. Love the story of how those who've gone before us have fought for their rights to make our lives easier today.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).  

In Dubious Battle is classic Steinbeck, and I say that after only have read three other novels by him (Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl). It has all of the right ingredients and all of the delightful prose we’ve come to know and love. Steinbeck was a pro when it came to telling things as simply as he could—yet still giving the reader such a vivid picture. He didn’t need wall-to-wall descriptions, but you still saw, smelled, and felt everything.

I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard of this title before. Even though I admit I need to read a lot more of his works, I’m at least familiar with most of the titles. I picked this up because the audiobook is read by Tom Stechschulte, who once again does a flawless job reading (I loved his reading of No Country for Old Men and The Road).

The ending is… Well, if you’ve read Steinbeck before then you know he’s not a sucker for happy endings. I don’t know how he does it, but Steinbeck is excellent at creating a final scene in his novels that stays with you for days, months, and years. Writing the perfect ending for a book is one of the toughest things a writer faces, but good old John Steinbeck just seems to know. He always has the perfect final line.

If you haven’t read In Dubious Battle yet, then I highly recommend it. Especially if you enjoy a good Steinbeck novel. And I definitely recommend the audiobook.

Apologies for such a short review, but I really can’t think of anything else to add. All I can say was I was intrigued from the very first page (or minute, in my case), and I never once felt myself becoming bored or restless with the story. Really happy I picked this one up, and I’ll be buying a physical copy for my library.

4 and a half stars

Damn... ya just knew.

Should be finished with the audiobook today. Can't believe I've never heard of this novel before, because it's great. I really need to read more Steinbeck.

East of Eden is on my TBR list. Have a feeling I'll be listening to that one sooner rather than later.

I seriously need to read more Steinbeck. I am loving In Dubious Battle. Steinbeck's prose is straight-forward (I almost want to say simplistic, but I'm afraid that'd come off as more of a put-down than a plus, which is not at all how I mean it), and he paints a very vivid picture for you without having to hit you over the head with wall-to-wall detail.

The audiobook is fantastic.