Phil in SF reviewed Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Portrait of the poor as hapless comedic ne'er-do-wells
4 stars
Steinbeck's prose is so amazingly well-crafted. It's interesting without being flowery.
English language
Published Feb. 17, 2009
Cannery Row
4 stars
(2 reviews)
Cannery Row is a novel by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1945. It is set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, on a street lined with sardine canneries that is known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelict people. The actual location Steinbeck was writing about, Ocean View Avenue in Monterey, was later renamed "Cannery Row" in honor of the book. A film version was released in 1982 and a stage version was produced in 1995.
[email protected] reviewed Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
A meditation about a Time and Place
4 stars
When Steinbeck is at his best, he is one of my favorite authors. He has a way of layering in detailed descriptions and feelings that should seem complex but somehow come across very simple and direct. This book is almost like a collection of inter-related short stories, with each chapter a short scene of life in a time and place. About 3/4 of the chapters build upon one another to tell a kind of loose plot, but a quarter are unrelated and just set a tone or mood -- these stand-alone chapters are some of my favorites.
"...the things people admire in men, such as kindness, generosity, and honesty, are often seen as signs of failure in society, while traits like greed and self-interest are seen as signs of success."
Now I want to take the two hour drive down to Monterey and walk around Cannery Row.