I've been trying to finish the book and it has been a real struggle. Their lives keep going from bad to worse and the truly terrible thing is that it all seems so plausible. Small ups and steep downs that are truly heart breaking. All these things to happen to this one family in the way that they do however is a bit suspicious. How much of this is a true reflection of turn of the century America and how much of it is what the dust cover suggests is "muck raking"?
While I cannot confirm nor deny that Sinclair’s story with regards to the single family is accurate, the Neill-Reynolds Report from the U.S. Government summarily confirms many of these wretched conditions.