The Angry Dust

This exquisite novel tells the story of Prescott Barnes and his family leaving the dust bowl for golden California, but there its similarities with The Grapes of Wrath end. The grandson of a wealthy preacher who disinherited Prescott’s father, Barnes, despite his cynical black humor, unwavering hostility to religion, and his illiteracy, possesses a fierce integrity and passions that make him larger than life at the same time he is perfectly human. Told with perfect command and in a brilliant style, this is a novel of tragic grandeur in the fine high style of old with the action inevitably leading to tragedy, and tragedy totally flowing from character. In Prescott’s case, it is his poverty and hostility toward religion that leads to his tragic mistake. Every character, even the minor ones like Rev. Eberstadt (a con man who nevertheless grows in sincerity and in capacity to love) are revealed in such detail that we get to know them like old friends. The plot unfolds as inevitably as an eclipse, and the forces of nature, like the tornado that strikes them, are vividly and unforgettably described. Most importantly, Prescott Barnes’s tragic confrontation with the world compellingly reveals how common people can possess power and grandeur.