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Summary: This Steinbeck-fan's favorite book
Review: Having read most Steinbeck and loving everything I've read, this story is at the top of my list. I realize that "Grapes" and "East of Eden" are considered his greatest works, but there's is just something about this book. For those who have read it, you MUST read "Sweet Thrusday"! It is basically a sequel to Cannery Row, set a few years down the road and using many of the same characters. I think that if you look at "Cannery Row" and "Sweet Thursday" together, you will have yourself a story equal to Steinbeck's great epics.
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Summary: Rlaxing realism is the best quality about this book.
Review: "Cannery Row," by John Steinbeck is a very calm and suddal novel about a very ordinary town in Monterey California. The tone of the author is almost relaxing and soothing. The book is reflects John Steinbeck's life during a period in which he lived in Monterey California. The Doc in the novel is much like John Steinbeck who studied science at Stanford and is a qualified marine biologist just like the,"Doc," of Cannery Row. The loyalty and good hearts of Mack and the boys is gratifing. Lee Chong the chinaman who owned the store who everyone went to for food helped holdup Cannery Row. Even Dora's whorehouse who was so badly viewed was a big part of the town.
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Summary: Cannery Row a story about life in Monterey, CA during 1930's
Review: A homoruos and realistic story about how a group of bums known as "Mack and the boys" wanted to give Doc, the towns doctor a surprise party just because they admired him and thought of him as a great person. To make the party a reality Mack and the boys had to go through alot trouble that even involved catching frogs just to make money. This whole party idea became an adventure that took weeks. After all the first party was a total wreck and the boys felt that they had to give Doc another party to make up for all the trouble they caused at the first one. Just wonder how that went.
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Summary: Cannery Row is a beautiful work.
Review: This, I believe, is a Zen story created long before most Westerners had any idea what it my mean to be Zen. Steinbeck clearly was involved in an intellectual and spiritual preoccupation which was visionary and apparently not the least bit fashionable in his time. One can't help but believe that Steinbeck shows himself, in Cannery Row, to be a bonafide forefather, for a variety of reasons, of the Beat movement. And if you are one of those people who smirks condescendingly at the Beats, don't let that keep you from Cannery Row. It's one of those stories that takes you to a place and a time and a community you'd prefer not to leave. It's the kind of book one should read in a porch swing in July under a weak light with a beer that will get too warm if neglected.
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Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: Much as I dislike such categorization - this book is possibly the best I ever read. Over the past 20 years, I have often re-read it, entirely or in parts, and was amazed to find how it never failed to delight me afresh. Yet what exactly makes it stand apart? Is it Steinbeck's sure-footed style that allows him to choose the words that exactly describe a mood or situation? Is it the structure: Narrative chapters alternating with descriptive ones? Is it the poetic quality? Is it the dwelling on scenes which appear unremarkable, until somone points out their beauty? Is it the compassion and humor? Is it Steinbeck's wisdom and deep understanding of what is really important in life and what is not? Is it the proximity of sadness and laughter, despondency and flippancy? Probably it's the combined effect of all of these put together.
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Summary: great Book
Review: This is one of the best books i have ever read. The characters are so believable. There's Doc, the scientist, who people always go to for their monetary needs, Mack, the bummy leader of the Palace Flophouse, Dorah, the mistress of the whorehouse, and Lee Chong, the sly store owner. Anyone of these people could just as easily be your next door neighbor. This book is so timeless that the characters carry over flawlessly from yesteryear to today's world. If you are a human being, you must read this book!
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Summary: This book is an exquisite look into the life of a street .
Review: The climax of characterization for American writers. Three thumbs up from one guy. If you have not read this book, well frankly if you have not read this book what the heck is wrong with you?
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Summary: A great book
Review: I could go on for hours. While I recognize the philosophic and literary importance of JS's Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, Winter of Our Discontent, et. al., the true genius of JS resides in the saints and sinners occupying Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday and Tortilla Flat. The book opens with, in my opinion, the greatest introductory graph in 20th century storytelling. There's a lyricism and eloquence to his writing that is not easily copied. I've read this book about 10 times and each time is like discovering a brilliant gem.
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Summary: A beautifully written novel
Review: I just finished Cannery Row and I loved it. I didn't care that the book didn't seemingly have a "plot". The characters were so realistic and such good people that I immediately fell in love with them. By the end of the book, I thought of each character as some sort of saint rather than the bum or hooker that they "really" were. Steinbeck gives the reader an intimate view into this community that he knows so well. I thought of Cannery Row as a sort of paradise where the ideals that are truly important prevail. Even besides all this, I thought that the writing was just so eloquent. I enjoyed reading about these characters that would be overlooked in real life because of the way that they live.
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Summary: Masterpiece
Review: This being the one of the few books I can actually read more than once, I just had to review it. Although some people are right in saying that the plot isn't as strong as it could be, these people only need to look a little deeper. The second chapter alone, with its description of Lee Chong and Mack and the boys is a pure literary masterpiece. If you are in doubt about whether to read this book or not, read it. Read it simply because it will teach you although life isn't perfect, the little good things make it worthwhile.
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