Cannery Row by John Steinbeck Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cannery Row
Book Review: A heart-warming novel
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought that this was a wonderful book to read. I thought it was so great because it showed people who didn't have much physically, but they had everything emotionally. These people knew that their lives wern't the greatest, and that it could have been better, but they never complained. They just accepted life the way it was. They never dwelled on what they could have done differently in their life in the past. They knew that there was no use worring about that anyway, so they just took life as it came. And nobody judged each other because they were all in the same situation. They were all friends and they depended on each other emotionally and physically. That's what was so heart-warming about this novel. Sometimes you just think, "Why can't the rest of the world be like this?" They judged no one on the little things that don't matter at all, instead, they looked at the bigger things that were inside at the heart. They accepted every one as equal.Book Review: A humorous classic from a serious writer
Summary: 5 Stars
Steinbeck wrote this novella after he returned from World War II--he worked as a war correspondent-- and at the request of some troops who wanted the man to write an upbeat, funny story.
One of the major themes that runs throughout this novella is the fact that our best laid plans often go awry. The scenes involving Frankie and his plan to steal a present for Doc, the first party thrown for Doc by Mack and the boys, and the surrealist gopher scene highlight this. Steinbeck plants this effect almost seamlessly into a strong narrative that draws a parallel between the life caught up in a tide pool and life on Cannery Row. Through vivid characterization and an uncanny ability to capture human behavior and relationships, Steinbeck successfully allows the reader to live among the whores, pimps, gamblers, and SOBs of Cannery Row. Indeed, he truly paints these people as what they are-- everybody.
I'd also recommend readers grab a copy of America and Americans and read the non-fiction work based on Steinbeck's relationship with Ed Ricketts, the man who inspired the character of Doc.
Book Review: A joe thought
Summary: 3 Stars
I really dont like reading at all and I enjoyed this book very much. I think it is great for in the classroom because it keeps even a teens interest because there is constantly something interesting goin on. This book keeps you wondering whats going to happen next to one of the characters. The Row gives you real people in real situations so it is more interesting for the reader...Book Review: A little story about the town I was born in
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a standing testament to a part of California that no longer exists. Steinbeck tells the story of the old residents of Monterey- once a quiet cannery town and now like any other little city in CA- overrun by tourists, crass comercialism, and land developers. " Cannery Row"
is about the kind of people that used to inhabitat Monterey- honest, good-hearted, simple folks. The Row is now gone but survives in this classic tale.Book Review: A masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
I can think of no other way to describe this book, one of Steinbeck's most beautifully written, and unfortunately lesser known, novels. If someone was to ask me to retell the plot line, I couldn't do it, but I do not mean this as criticism - this is a book about people, and an examination of their lives. It is organized like a collection of short stories, but they all are centered around the same town, the same lifestyle, and the same people, and when put together weave a sweet story about the main characters. Interwoven between this main story-line are little vignettes about smaller characters that will tug at your heart - the boy whose father killed himself by eating rat poison, the optimistic woman who pulls her husband out of depression - and will leave you wanting more. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read Steinbeck and wants more, or has yet to read one of his books (start with this or Of Mice and Men, they are less intimidating that things like Grapes of Wrath :)). And if you like it, I also recommend Sweet Thursday, the sequel to Cannery Row.