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CINDY PICKLE, February 25, 2008 (view all comments by CINDY PICKLE)
this story is a joy to read. the character of doc is based
on steinbeck's close friend ed ricketts, who by all accounts was truely admired by all. if you visit cannery row (monterey, ca.) today you
will see a bust of dr. ricketts with a lovely plaque dedicated to him by an entire commity who loved him.
it's located on the remaing small patch of train tracks
where dr. ricketts lost his life.
the book cortez is an account of steinbeck and rickettes' travels around the baja studying marine life.
if you ever go there take a copy of cortez with you. i did and it was awesome!

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crowyhead, February 4, 2008 (view all comments by crowyhead)
Did you know that John Steinbeck can be really freaking hilarious? I had no idea. I think my only previous exposure had been The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, neither of which are exactly lighthearted reads. Cannery Row, though, has probably just joined my list of top ten favorite books. It tells the story of the folks, based on individuals Steinbeck actually knew, who live around the canneries of Monterey. At first it feels more like a series of character sketches than anything else -- to name a few: there's Mack and the Boys, good-natured idlers who do just enough work to keep themselves in booze; there's Henri, who fancies himself an artist and is building a boat that he will never finish; Dora Flood, the local madame; Lee Chong, who runs the grocery store and engages in near-constant battles of wits with Mack; and there's Doc, who lives and works at Western Biological Laboratories, and who is nearly universally liked by the other denizens of Cannery Row. It's this warm feeling folks have for Doc that actually drives the plot of the novel, which forms somewhat organically along the way. Since Doc has done so much for everyone, Mack figures, why don't they throw him a party to show their appreciation? The result is hilarious, disasterous, and in the end, just absolutely beautiful.

Honestly, if you think you don't like John Steinbeck, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book off the shelf at your library. Open to a chapter, any chapter, and start reading. If you can get through the chapter without either sitting down to finish the whole book, or running to the check-out counter to take it home, then, well, there might be something wrong with you.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780140187373

Introduction:

Shillinglaw, Susan

Author:

Shillinglaw, Susan

Introduction:

Shillinglaw, Susan

Author:

Steinbeck, John

Author:

Shillinglaw, Susan

Publisher:

Penguin Books

Location:

New York, N.Y., U.S.A. :

Subject:

California

Subject:

Fiction

Subject:

Classics

Subject:

American fiction (fictional works by one author)

Subject:

Love stories

Subject:

Community life

Subject:

Marine biologists

Subject:

Cannery Row (Monterey, Calif.) Fiction.

Subject:

Monterey

Subject:

Cannery Row

Subject:

Monterey (Calif.) Fiction.

Series:

Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century

Series Volume:

[no. 27]

Publication Date:

February 1994

Binding:

Paperback

Grade Level:

General/trade

Language:

English

Illustrations:

Yes

Pages:

185

Dimensions:

7.70x5.22x.63 in. .40 lbs.