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Cannery Row by Steinbeck
John Steinbeck created a novel that shows not only wit and literary aptitude, but also illuminates some of the gray areas of human nature. He does this with a humor and poignancy that endears the reader. Particularly fantastic is his use of narrative, and in that narrative, a patois with a life of its own. He includes in Cannery Row a number of allegorical stories and vignettes with varying degrees of lucidity. Chapter 2, for example, makes a few excellent, though not altogether original, points about society, but is altogether disparate with the greater body of this work. Chapter 31, in contrast, is a simple, detailed and lucid allegory that fits within the frame of the book. Aside from a few minor tangents, the book is fantastic. The characters, like those of Tortilla Flat, are wildly absurd and hilarious. Chapter 17 is one of the funniest chapters I have read in years. The stories that Steinbeck tells are rich and unpredictable in detail and plot. Tortilla Flat may have been a little better, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cannery Row. Bottom line: Read it.
Cannery Row by Steinbeck
Steinbeck's starkly realistic portrayal of Monterey's 1940's working class offers universal appeal as a 20th century classic.Although light on female characters this medium-length novel presents a kaliedoscope of social dynamics--a tribute to the fluctuating relationships among the denizens of this social jungle. Readers are introduced to a veritable rogue's gallery of secondary characters: a suspicious grocer named Lee Cong, who does daily battle with his shifty customers; Mack, the smooth-talking hustler and creative genius of the gang who squat at the Palace Flophouse; Dora, the community-minded madam with orange hair and a heart of gold; Frankie, the mentally defective teenager who adores Doc; the Malloys who live in a rusty boiler in the empty lot. Plus the eerie old Chinaman who flip-flaps his way to the sea at sunrise and sunset.But it is the character of Doc who proves the catalyst in this literary milieu, for most of the residents genuinely respect him. A dignified marine biologist, Doc runs the Western BiologicalLaboratory, which supplies marine specimens all over the country. This middle-aged man with his trimmed beard representsculture and class on Cannery Row--which do not prevent him frombeing generally admired, thanks to his quiet stocisim andcompassion toward those in need.When Mack and the boys decide to do something nice for Doc--like throwing him a surprise party--everything goes awry; their best of intentions culminate in physical and social disaster--for both hosts and honoree. The plot is a loosely-woven thread of the sincere but bungled efforts of Doc's true friends to thank him for being the heart of their sardine community. Despite the few short chapters (seemingly unrelated) near the beginning, readers gradually recognize the direction of Steinbeck's rambling narrrative. This literary stream of communal consciousness proves both interesting and tender, thanks to the fragile and unpredictable human element. This book is Heart with a View.
Cannery Row by Steinbeck
It isn't my favorite Steinbeck to date, but as always I can still admire it. He has such a fantastic home-grown quality to his writing. Each chapter is like a short story set in the same place sometimes using the same characters sometimes introducing new ones that are only tangentaly related to the characters we have met in previous chapters. There is an over arching plot--but each chapter is self contained as well.The boys of Cannery row want to throw a party for Doc, the nicest guy they know. Throughout the book they try various ways to acheive this and each misadventure is filled with more heart and soul than the next.Unlike alot of the books from this era that high schoolers are forced to read this book is overall, pretty uplifting and certainly has a happy charm to it that "Grapes of Wrath" lacks (which is a genius work, but is never going to win feel good book of the year)In this book you can see Steinbeck's genius as it is still gestating you can sense as the reader that he still has even better things to write, but this is still an amazing work. Well worth the read.
Cannery Row by Steinbeck
I don't have a lot of literary things to say about a book. This one just sounded interesting and upon picking it up I didn't put it down till I was done. Mack and his crew interested me in their simple life. They get what they need and to heck with the rest. Then there is the other side of the spectrum where people work and enjoy lounging on the side.Their idea of how to pay someone back for being kind was a lesson learned. This book didn't sugar coat the world, but made it just like life, but not gruesome. I look forward to reading Sweet Thursday.
Cannery Row by Steinbeck
You usually know the books you like best - you slow down as you come towards the end, reluctant to put them by. "Cannery Row" is one of those books.In its all-American, seedy, rambling way, it has affinities with Kerouac's later "On the Road." The episodic narrative is unified through cinematic handling of Cannery Row's topography. We share the familiarity and intimacy of its buildings and spaces "kitty-corner", opposite, in front of, and behind each other.The inhabitants thus spatially and topographically linked are no less vivid: Doc, wise and poetic, his laboratory full of his beloved marine specimens; Lee Chong, the canny Chinese grocer; Dora the local madam; and Mack with his "gang of good-natured losers who inhabit the Palace Flophouse" (per the Penguin edition).Structurally, the vignettes linked by an overarching setting recall Anderson's "Sherwood, Ohio". An extended narrative is triggered by Mack's decision to spring a surprise party for the well-loved Doc. To raise the beer money, the dossers agree to net 400 frogs for Doc up the coast. Thus starts a Pacific picaresque odyssey in Lee Chong's uncooperative Model T Ford - a recipe for trouble.Steinbeck lovingly paints this rundown society with realism and respect, occasionally introducing chapters with an epic claim: "Monterey is a city with a long and brilliant literary tradition." "The Model T Ford of Lee Chong had a dignified history". Set against this the true-to-life element: "Lee Chong got the truck in payment of a grocery bill."The beautiful comparison of Mack and his cohorts to the classical Graces has often been cited. Here's another detail which sums up this book's lyricism. When a disused old boiler is moved into a vacant lot, flowers germinate around it: "the thick fleshy tree grew up and the great white bells hung down over the boiler door and at night the flowers smelled of love and excitement, an incredibly sweet and moving odor."Only Steinbeck could have wrung such humanity out of a discarded bit of hardware. Fabulous.
Cannery Row by Steinbeck
Cannery Row is a series of vignettes of life on the California coast in the 1930's. The recurring theme Steibeck seems to explore is the nature of friendship - be it the idol-worship of a mentally handicapped kid, the esprit de corps of a group of ne'er do wells, or the stoic relations the central character of "Doc" has with the rest of the community. It was brilliant.But Steinbeck's writing was also brilliant - the imagery is vivid, the character descriptions real, and the events that unfold in the tiny, blue-collar town of Monterey are plausable. It is easy to read, and easy to understand why it is considered such a classic of American lit.