Cannery Row (Penguin Modern Classics)
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Book Description
Packed with invention and joie de vivre CANNERY ROW is Steinbeck's high-spirited tribute to his native California.
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
Product Description
In the din and stink that is Cannery Row a colourful blend of misfits - gamblers, whores, drunks, bums and artists - survive side by side in a jumble of adventure and mischief. Lee Chong, the astute owner of the well-stocked grocery store, is also the proprietor of the Palace Flophouse that Mack and his troupe of good-natured 'boys' call home. Dora runs the brothel with clockwork efficiency and a generous heart, and Doc is the fount of all wisdom. Packed with invention and joie de vivre CANNERY ROW is Steinbeck's high-spirited tribute to his native California.
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First Sentence
Lee Chong's grocery, while not a model of neatness, was a miracle of supply. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Lee Chong's grocery, while not a model of neatness, was a miracle of supply. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although 'Cannery Row' is short compared to Steinbeck's better known novels, it is packed full of the powerful and delicate, beautiful and insightful writing which Steinbeck is the master of. There is no single story or plot binding the novella together, but the structure of the narrative is found in the many stories which Cannery Row has to tell us. Through clever and precise writing Steinbeck reveals to us characters both unique and universal, colourful and natural. There is happiness and sadness, a little tragedy, and a lot of hope - a picture is painted not just of American people before WW2, but of people who while shaped by their nationality, are not defined by it. Through all of 'Cannery Row' there is a sense that some sort of fundamental humanity will see to everything being okay in the end - Steinbeck comes across as being a great believer in the human spirit, pure and simple, stripped of all its pretentions and possessions, anxieties and angers, nationalities and politics. Steinbeck looks at the world and sees things we don't always see, and he writes honestly about evil when he sees it and unsentimentally about good when he sees that. 'Cannery Row' is the sort of book which makes you look at things a little differently, and leaves you with a peaceful smile on your face when you put it down at the end.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
John Steinbeck was (and still is, although he's dead) one of the most respected and revered writers to come out of America and, if you read this book, you'll see why. Set in a tiny comunity attached to the tuna canneries near Monterey in California during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the reader is introduced to a magical world where friendship and camaraderie fill empty bellies. Mack and the boys, Lee Chong and Doc are the central characters, around which Steinbeck has built a literary cathedral of 'belly-laughter' humour, pathos and subtle wit. This was the first of Steinbeck's books which I read and I found it to be the perfect introduction to his others. I challenge anyone with a soul to read this work of pure brilliance and not want to be there, be part of the story. If you can read this book without laughing out loud, go and see your doctor, because there's something wrong with you. After reading Cannery Row, read Sweet Thursday and Tortilla Flat, then you're ready for The Grapes of Wrath.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On appearances this book appears surprisingly small. Once opened though every sentence grabs you. Steinbeck describes scenes and characters so vividly, with such unusual imagery, that even after finishing the book I find myself still recalling parts of it,even reciting parts of the book back to myself just to remember how beautifully phrased the words were. Sad, perhaps, but then you don't know until you read it yourself.There is no plot particularly. There seems no aim, just day to day life in a small community (I won't say Amercian community because these characters could be from any country). I was sorry to finish it and like many of the other reviewers, I will definately read more Steinbeck.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
SIMPLY A MASTER PIECE
Is this the best short novel ever written? Yes I think so. No wonder Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Alexander Bryce
A humorous insight into life in the past
i really enjoyed this book ... although I had expected to find it hard work, having seen the name of the author! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Cathryn Small
My first Steinbeck novel and it won't be my last!
i'm on a Christmas road trip/ coach trip through California and we stopped off on Cannery Row, Monterey today. Read more
Published 5 months ago by E. Heckingbottom
Excellent
Cannery Row is a short book written by Steinbeck as a tribute to his upbringing in California. It is an excellent read full of humour and drama. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Code Hero
"With your sheet-metal memory of Cannery Row..."
Bob Dylan included the subject line in his epic song, "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands." Precisely what the line means is a matter of conjecture, and I would welcome some comments. Read more
Published 15 months ago by John P. Jones III
pretty picture of an era that no longer exists
John Steinbeck traces a picture of a Monterey where people was poor but with good feelings.
A nice reading for everyone, a must for people going to California.
A nice reading for everyone, a must for people going to California.
Published 21 months ago by Granmogol
Excellent
Inspired by the brilliance of Grapes of Wrath, I decided that Cannery Row should be the next book on my shelf. I was not disappointed. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Victoria Twead
Brief tales from route 1
This short novel is essentially a study of the inhabitants living near a Californian fish gutting factory. Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2010 by nicholas hargreaves
Sheer delight
I love just about everything Steinbeck has ever written but there is a special place in my heart, and on my shelf, for this little gem. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by Hoopdriver
I view life that much differently
An instant favorite that I highly reccomend. Classic Steinbeck! Cannery Row combines humour with likeable characters who you'd go out of your way to avoid in real life, all strung... Read more
Published on 25 Dec 2009 by Max Watt
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