Reading Steinbeck in Two Years #4: To a God Unknown

Goodreads blurb

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.

My thoughts

From what I understand, this book took Steinbeck longer to write than East of Eden or The Grapes of Wrath, despite it being a fraction of their length. I can understand why. This was Steinbeck’s first truly cohesive novel, and it’s full of symbolism and magical realism.

There’s something darkly spiritual about the land Joseph claims and builds his house on. He hears tales of pagan orgies taking place on the land when the rains come, and at first he brushes it off. At first I brushed it off, too, expecting this to be another of Steinbeck’s more scattered early works, but he actually returns to fertility symbolism again and again throughout the story. The land seems to hold onto spirits that can possess or influence people to do things they normally wouldn’t, which is where the magical realism comes in. There’s a tree that seems to be inhabited by Joseph’s father’s spirit, and a rock that seems to demand a sacrifice. I really loved that darker aspect of the plot.

So, while on the surface this is a family saga and historical fiction about the settling of California, this novel is also a profound exploration of human spirituality and the bond between humans and the natural landscape. I already want to return to it with a more analytical eye. I’m sure there’s a lot that I missed on a first read. Despite how little I’ve heard about this book over the years, I would say it’s Steinbeck’s first major work and deserves more recognition.

Some of my favourite quotes

To the face of the driver there came an expression of half-foreboding. “Going to build under a tree? That’s not good. One of those limbs might crack off and take your roof with it, and smash you, too, some night while you’re asleep.”
“It’s a good strong tree,” Joseph assured him. “I wouldn’t like to build my house very far from a tree.” (p. 19)

“I’m afraid, Joseph. I don’t know why, but I’m terribly afraid.”
He broke his lethargy then and coiled one of the swinging weights about her waist. There’s nothing to be afraid of, dear. This is nothing. I have been far too much alone. It seems to mean something to me to go through the pass with you.”
She shivered against him and looked fearfully at the dismal blue shadow of the pass. “I’ll go, Joseph,” she said miserably. “I’ll have to go, but I’ll be leaving myself behind. I’ll think of myself standing here looking through at the new one who will be on the other side.” 
…
“It’s a bitter thing to be a woman. I’m afraid to be. Everything I’ve been or thought of will stay outside the pass. I’ll be a grown woman on the other side. I thought it might come gradually. This is too quick.” And she remembered how her mother said, “When you’re big, Elizabeth, you’ll know hurt, but it won’t be the kind of hurt you think. It’ll be a hurt that can’t be reached with a curing kiss.” (p. 112-113)

“When this ceremony was finished, Joseph walked to the tree and poured a little wine on its bark, and he heard the priest’s voice speaking softly beside him: “This is not a good thing to do, my son.”
Joseph whirled on him. “What do you mean?–There was a fly in the cup!”
But Father Angelo smiled wisely and a little sadly at him. “Be careful of the groves, my son. Jesus is a better saviour than a hamadryad.” And his smile became tender, for Father Angelo was a wise as well as a learned man.” (p. 182-183)

High up on a tremendous peak, towering over the ranges and the valleys, the brain of the world was set, and the eyes that looked down on the earth’s body. The brain could not understand the life on its body. It lay inert, knowing vaguely that it could shake off the life, the towns, the little houses of the fields with earthquake fury. But the brain was drowsed and the mountains lay still, and the fields were peaceful on their rounded cliff that went down to the abyss. … But the towering earth was tired of sitting in one position. It moved, suddenly, and the houses crumbled, the mountains heaved horribly, and all the work of a million years was lost.” (p. 280-281)

(Note: The edition I read from was large print, so these page numbers will be very different in most other editions.)

To a God Unknown is available to purchase on Bookshop.org (in US and UK) and on Booksellers.ca (in Canada). Please note: These are affiliate links, and I might earn a small commission from any purchase made through them, at no extra expense to you. Bookshop.org and Booksellers.ca support independent bookstores while offering the convenience of shopping online.