The Jungle

This book is both historically important and engaging. The beginning, especially, was well-written and so sad. The book depicts a society of pervasive corruption and greed which decimates the Rudkus family. It's hard not to be thoroughly cynical by the end, so that even the Socialist ray of hope of the last two chapters (the only hope Sinclair won't dash in the pages of the novel) seems very dim. My interest in the book flagged half-way through; the continuous failures, disappointments, and gruesome, meaningless deaths, although perhaps realistic, get a bit repetitive.

There's a point in every person's teenage years where they come to the realization that there's more to life than the next concert they're going to or who so-and-so is dating that week. THE JUNGLE was that turning point for me. This book was assigned to one of my high school classes (xx years ago) and it immediately had an impact. The treatment of immigrants to the United States, the horrendous working environments...this was all hard for a fairly comfortable, middle class white girl to digest.

The conditions that Sinclair describes are vivid and, on occasion maybe a bit over the top, but the point is clear: the ‘American Dream' was, for most, just that. And although this book is set in the early 20th century, the themes & ideals are just as relevant now as they were over 100 years ago. A classic and a must read.

i think my understanding of this book prior to reading is the popular understanding, that it's about the disgusting & dangerous conditions in the chicago meatpacking district. while that's part of it, it is such a small aspect of the whole story. while our situations are vastly different, i found myself relating to jurgis' pain & frustration; the never ending toil under capitalism, perpetually trying to catch up in a race where the finish line continues to move further & further away, putting your head down & doing what you've been told you need to in order to succeed but somehow, never getting there & blaming yourself, as if it is a personal moral failing that you were born into unlucky circumstances into a system tailor-made to keep you where you are, if not push you further down. the last bit of the book took a surprising turn, one of hope & community. frustrations still exist, but there is a future jurgis can envision & hope for (although some of the speeches & ramblings at this part felt like a bit of a chore to get through). a future that while still difficult to get to, is more attainable & sustainable than white-knuckling your way through capitalism. we as people were made to come together & support one another, to be kind & generous, & i believe that people are all of these things, but it is impossible to be when you must be selfish out of necessity in order to survive under the current system. i'm glad i finally read this & that it's so much more than a “gross out” book about slaughterhouses

I loved this book. Sinclair brings the pages to life with often gruesome descriptions of life in the U.S. as a working class family at the turn of the century. The last few chapters, where the main character joins the Socialist movement, are very exciting to read and offer a nice history on the origins of the Socialist movement in the U.S. It is interesting reading 100 years later and hearing many of the same arguments being had. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys politics and/or US history.

The agriculture practices get all of the attention, but the worst aspects to me were the rampant scams targeting the poor and immigrant communities (maybe because I recognize the same scams still being run). Didn't love the writing style and the characters were hollow, so it wasn't a great read, but obviously this isn't intended to be a character-driven story.