Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Tortilla Flat
Book Review: Excellent and moving
Summary: 5 Stars
John Steinbeck depicts in this book a brief period in the lives of seven characters, seven "paisanos", in the immediate outskirts of Monterey, California. They are extremely poor, they are almost social outcasts; they are drinkers and would do almost anything for a jug of wine, they are at the same time selfish and altruistic, and find strange and contorted ways to rationalize their actions, yet they are filled with humanity. They "reject nearly all of the standard morals of American society in enjoyment of a dissolute life centering around wine, lust, comradery, and petty thievery." (from "Wikipedia", at "John Steinbeck") The situations and the dialogue are uproarius, the humour is constant. The book, written in 1935, earned its author a gold medal and was made into a movie in 1942.
This book is one of my all-time favourites.
Book Review: First of the Salinas Trilogy
Summary: 5 Stars
Though Steinbeck never called them that. This is the first of the Salinas trilogy, and by some tastes, the funniest. Steinbeck captures a side of poverty to cause belly-laughs from the reader while never losing sight of the underlying environment of stark contrast from the 20th Century middle-class life experience of most of his readers. The author also manages to portray a type of machismo existing in a particular facet of some male Hispanics in an atmosphere both sympathetic and realistic. The characters of Tortilla Flat are the men the evening news of 2003 and the obituaries involving barroom stabbings comprise. Steinbeck illustrates a side of these characters most of affluent America humanity never sees and he does it without prejudice. I consider the Salinas trilogy to be the best of Steinbeck's otherwise valuable lifetime of contributions to American literature.Book Review: Flat out terrific
Summary: 5 Stars
Danny and his paisano friends are Mexican-Americans living in Monterey, California. Danny inherits two houses from his grandfather and invites several of these friends to rent a room in one and then, later, in the other house. Danny being a very generous and kind person makes no effort to collect rent from his friends. Before long, several more friends are taken in. But one does not think of these men as mere freeloaders. Each one is well aware of Danny's generousity, and tries to repay Danny either in his own way or with the assistance of the other paisanos.This warmly appealing, colorful, and beautifully told novel recounts a number of the adventures of these men. Whether they are attempting to help a destitute woman with children suffering from malnourishment, or giving encouraging words to a young soldier whose wife abandoned him and their an infant son for a high-ranking officer, or merely drinking wine or scuffling with their fellow paisanos or with others, it is clear that these men truly love and look out for one another. They even form an ad hoc council to mete out severe punishment to one of their friends who is discovered stealing from them.
My only reservation about the book is that Steinbeck tends to patronize the paisanos. He presents them as drunkards and slackers, who only work when they must raise some money for a special purpose. However, realizing that the novel was set in the 1930's when such stereotyping of Mexicans (and all minorities for that matter) was quite common, I was able to enjoy this wonderful book despite these minor shortcomings.
Book Review: Funny!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is funny, endearing and very entertaining. Who would have thought Steinbeck could write humor so well? I love this book so much that I have forced everybody I know to read it. Another funny story he wrote is "Saint Katy the Virgin", which is about a pig. it's only about 12 pages long and I highly recommend it, you'll find it in his collection of short stories.Book Review: Funny-sad
Summary: 5 Stars
If I weren't so moved by this book, I'd probably say, "Typical Steinbeck". It is so, but what strikes you isn't the fact that it is a typical Steinbeck novel, but that creates a lump in your throat, especially towards the end, when Danny dies in his attempt to conquer the monotony of his own existence.