John Gardner, in one of his books on writing fiction, rips Steinbeck apart. But even Gardner was apparently unaware that “The Grapes of Wrath” is a paint-by-numbers socrealist work - evil capitalists, noble, suffering workers, simpleminded plot, lofty ideals. The book was quickly translated into Russian and published there, as well in the other countries of the Soviet Block, and if memory serves, Steinbeck received something called the Stalin Literature Award for it.
GOW has far too much literary modernist touches to be Socialist Realism. It’s a rather sophisticated piece of work. Gorky it ain’t.