From the Bookshelf of Baltimore County Public Library Summer Reading BCPL SRC …

The Jungle

Upton Sinclair

Start date: June 25, 2015

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Jan 25, 2022 Devon rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-books, 2022, rory-gilmore-reading-challenge, what-is-wrong-with-this-world

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am not sure what was more disgusting to read about- the way the meat packing industry was run or the treatment of these poor immigrant families.

This is yet another book that I read in my attempt to complete as much as I can of the “Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge” aka to read every book mentioned in the show The Gilmore Girls. It also had the added bonus of being a “classic”, and I am trying to make an effort to read more classic books.

I knew that this book had a reputation for depicting the I am not sure what was more disgusting to read about- the way the meat packing industry was run or the treatment of these poor immigrant families.

This is yet another book that I read in my attempt to complete as much as I can of the “Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge” aka to read every book mentioned in the show The Gilmore Girls. It also had the added bonus of being a “classic”, and I am trying to make an effort to read more classic books.

I knew that this book had a reputation for depicting the atrociousness of the meat packing industry, but I didn’t realize just how bad it was. If I was not already a vegetarian, this book would have been enough to put me over the edge. It almost makes me want to swear off all processed foods. I can’t believe that they were able to to get away with running things how they did. Both in terms of insanitary food production and in terms of human mistreatment.

Whenever something inconvenient would happen to me while I was reading this book I would think to myself “well at least I am not an immigrant in the packing district in 1901”. It really puts things into perspective. Around the time that the family in this book was facing their first winter hardships my family was discussing the cruelty of their jobs for making them come into work when it was snowing, rather than letting them work remotely. All I could think was that you people have no idea how lucky we are! Even today there are still homeless without work and without a warm house to come home to…

After his child drowned in the street and Jurgis left to be a hobo in the country, I felt like the story started to drag on a bit. I was very invested for the first half, but once the family had fallen apart and he was on his own, I felt like the story should have been shorter for the amount of information/plot that it covered. I understand the importance of it because it showed several other aspects of society during this time period… but I felt like it went on for too long. ...more

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