One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools, these humorous sketches by Steinbeck are in the same vein as "Cannery Row", and feature the same characters - illiterate, poverty-stricken, carefree and irresponsible paisanos from Monterey society.
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About the Author
Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. His complete works will be available in Penguin Modern Classics.
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First Sentence
How Danny, home from the wars, found himself an heir, and how he swore to protect the helpless. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
How Danny, home from the wars, found himself an heir, and how he swore to protect the helpless. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 43 people found the following review helpful
By Alan Simpson
Format:Paperback
Some readers will see the pure story of Tortilla Flat, some will gain hints of the book's wider moral undertones, others again will see its romantic side.
But for me this book has all that and more. I have read it regularly, about every two or three years during my adult life, and each time it reveals something new about *me* and the way I live my life in the present.
For true fans of Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath carries more indignant social commentary, Pippin IV more humour, Burning Bright more romanticism and Of Mice and Men more depth of character, However, if you want to see all these attributes distilled into one short volume, here it is.
To me this little book is John Steinbeck's masterpiece. I cherish every word of it and can honestly say that in my humble opinion it is the finest book in the English language.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
`Tortilla Flat' was Steinbeck's break through novel and it is also one of his funniest. Following the exploits of Danny, Pilon, Pablo and various other Paisanos in the Monterey area, this book has one humorous adventure after another. As I've come to expect from Steinbeck (and I've yet to be let down!) this book has beautiful prose that sinks you immediately into the time and setting of the story. You can feel the colours, textures, smells and ambiance of every scene and you experience the facets of this book keenly and richly. If I sound like a fan, that's because I am, I love Steinbeck and this book only solidifies that opinion. You can see the emergence of Mack and the boys from `Cannery Row' in the dialogue and exploits of Danny and the rest in this novel and this shows the development of Steinbeck's group narrative and descriptions very well between the two. If you want a short, yet highly humorous book (that had me chuckling out loud on more than one occasion), with a more poignant ending that you'd expect, then this is the book for you and as you may have guessed this is one I recommend a great deal.
Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.
Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Mash
Format:Paperback
The characters in Tortilla Flat justify their delinquent "activities" in the town by imagining that they are acting selflessly, in the best interests of someone else. That may mean spending another's money on wine to stop that person buying candy that's bad for their teeth. Or it may mean stealing someone's money to see that it is "wisely invested". In recounting these tales, Steinbeck has tapped into something we can all relate to in some way or another, and he does it with great wit. For this reason (as well as the excellent introduction to this PMC edition), I liked the book. However, while the book is worth reading, I prefer the intensity of Steinbeck's more sombre novels.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By James Gallen
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
“Tortilla Flat” is an entertaining tale of Danny and his paisano friends as they live the lives of a merry band of unemployed alcoholics.
Danny is the core which draws the gradually expanding group to himself and holds it together. Pilon, Jesus Marie, Big Joe Portagee, Pablo and the Pirate all introduce their own personalities into this story. For a group which never works, drinks wine whenever it is available and survives by stealing, they are an amazingly likable lot. Thieves though the are, they each have a good hearted and generous core. This book is an easy read, entertaining and funny. Read and Enjoy!
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I had read most of the John Steinbeck novels when I was in school but I seemed to have missed this one. I loved it, the pull between poor Danny and his friends was at times humorous but sad. Mr. Steinbeck used wonderful words to discribe all the characters in the novel it really made it easy to picture them. Longman publishing have done a great job with this educational version with a brief summary at the beggining and questions following each chapter, I could see how this could be very useful to a student. I would highly recomend this book.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Steinbeck is admitably my favourite author of the 20th Century. He paints vivid pictures of his time (30s California) and shapes interesting characters. I have read the novels that many consider his greatest....of mice and men/grapes of wrath, and admittedly this novel isnt in the same class as those two. However, it is a very charming and memorable story. And in many ways similar to the two novels already mentioned. I hightly recommend it.
By N J. RUSH
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I belatedly started reading John Steinbeck with "Grapes of Wrath" and was instantly impressed! Therefore I decided to start again with his early books! "Tortilla Flat" is described as the book which started his literary success and after reading it, I am not suprised! Quite a departure from "Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men" but a captivating and extremely funny read! I would highly recommend this book as an introduction to John Steinbeck - you will not be disappointed!
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
mr Steinbecks brillian books, not read this copy yet as I know the story, but it is a essential book to have on your bookshelf
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Was life ever this simple?
Another brilliant yarn fro JS. It deals with a bunch of carefree bums getting on with their hand to mouth existence. Read more
Published 2 months ago by shaun
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not sure this is really great fiction
Rather stereotypical views of the hispanics
Not much depth to it - but it is in the normal Steinbeck mould
Not much depth to it - but it is in the normal Steinbeck mould
Published 2 months ago by Bob D
5.0 out of 5 stars
John Steinbeck the first American writer
I have enjoyed everything that I have read of Steinbeck from The Red Pony which was a set book at school on, consequently I cannot here a word said against this work. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Marcus
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
as always I love John Steinbeck's style of writing (once I had got used to it) Very witty and a bit far fetched
Published 3 months ago by stargazer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh out loud tale
I read this book a few years ago and thouroughly enjoyed it. The wonderful way in which the characters justify their actions and structure their lives is enough to bring a smile to... Read more
Published 19 months ago by 3redcats
5.0 out of 5 stars
The good intentions of beautiful losers...
The lyrics of an old Leonard Cohen song, "A Bird on a Wire," kept rolling around in my brain as I read this: "... Read more
Published on 6 May 2011 by John P. Jones III
4.0 out of 5 stars
Adventures in 30's Monterey Sub-Culture
All the Steinbeck ingredients are there only in smaller amounts.There is no plot to the story it being made up of vignettes of an immigrant vagrant lifestyle, which is not a... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2011 by nicholas hargreaves
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Simple But Beautiful Pleasure
This is my favourite book of all time. Most people would enjoy reading it but a certain few would love it and I am smitten. Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2010 by Dave Kelly
5.0 out of 5 stars
A sublime tale in which the wine rarely stops flowing
Briefly, Danny, the chief protagonist in this novel, returns from the war to Tortilla Flat (a paisano district that sits upon a hillside above Monterey), to find he has inherited... Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2008 by Robert Burdock
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