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Tortilla Flat

by John Steinbeck, Thomas Fensch (Introduction by)

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 18,392 ratings · 948 reviews

"Steinbeck is an artist; and he tells the stories of these lovable thieves and adulterers with a gentle and poetic purity of heart and of prose." -- New York Herald Tribune

Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, Steinbeck created a "Camelot" on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey,California and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the...more

Paperback, Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics, 174 pages

Published June 1st 1997 by Penguin Books (first published 1935)

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Feb 18, 2013 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Although it was initially rejected for publication on a number of occasions, this work – a short story cycle - was Steinbeck’s first real critical and commercial success,. He wrote it during 1933 and early 1934, when he was heavily involved in caring for his elderly parents, who were both were very ill. Steinbeck was inspired to write the book by a high school teacher friend, who was partly of Mexican descent. She had been studying the paisanos, poor people of mixed Mexican, Native American and...more
Although it was initially rejected for publication on a number of occasions, this work – a short story cycle - was Steinbeck’s first real critical and commercial success,. He wrote it during 1933 and early 1934, when he was heavily involved in caring for his elderly parents, who were both were very ill. Steinbeck was inspired to write the book by a high school teacher friend, who was partly of Mexican descent. She had been studying the paisanos, poor people of mixed Mexican, Native American and Caucasian ancestry, who lived in a shantytown in the hills above Monterey. Steinbeck's friend told him a number of stories from that community, which was referred to as Tortilla Flat.

One of Steinbeck’s abiding literary passions was Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table. He aimed to recreate the spirit of the adventures of the Knights of the Round Table in linked stories about Danny and his friends Pilon, Pablo, Jesus Maria, the Pirate and Big Joe Portagee. Living together in a house inherited by Danny, the friends develop a strong moral code which governs their relationship with each other. This code does not involve sobriety or other indicia of bourgeois respectability, such as respect for private property. While stealing from a friend is punished severely, stealing from those outside the group is not only accepted, it’s encouraged.

There is a lot to like about this work. The satirical, mock-heroic tone is clever, the characters of Danny and his friends are well-realised and sympathetically drawn, there's plenty of humour and Steinbeck’s prose is wonderful. On the other hand, to a modern reader the depiction of the paisanos as heavy drinking, thieving no-hopers – albeit with a strong code of friendship and mutual support – is disconcerting. And the sexual politics of the characters is questionable to say the least.

This is not my favourite Steinbeck. Although I appreciate Steinbeck’s achievement in recreating a version of the myth of the Knights of the Round Table and I love the characters and the writing, the work feels dated, which cannot be said of Steinbeck’s major novels. I listened to an audiobook which was very well narrated by John McDonough. It gets 3-1/2 stars, because anything Steinbeck wrote is worth reading.
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Jun 04, 2009 Sarah Null rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-as-apple-pie, californian, owned

Much has been said about Steinbeck's apparent portrayal of Mexican Americans as lazy, amoral drunkards in Tortilla Flat. Some say Steinbeck was racist; some say he was just a product of his time. Which is right I do not know; Steinbeck may very well have been racist (he also uses "jew" as a slur and in several of his books uses unflattering stereotypes of Chinese people). I know nothing of the man's personal beliefs about race and it is a common fallacy to suppose an author always agrees with h...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Robert J Burdock rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 50-novels-in-one-year, own

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 two houses. What then follows is a comedic tale that fundamentally can be summed up in 5 words - wine, friendship, food, women and err..wine again :o)

This is the first John Steinbeck novel I've had the pleasure of reading, and quite simply it has left an indelible mark on me. What captivates me in the first instance is...more 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 two houses. What then follows is a comedic tale that fundamentally can be summed up in 5 words - wine, friendship, food, women and err..wine again :o)

This is the first John Steinbeck novel I've had the pleasure of reading, and quite simply it has left an indelible mark on me. What captivates me in the first instance is the remarkable talent Mr. Steinbeck shows in the quality of his prose. He demonstrates an incredible talent for expressing himself literarily, and in the most poetic way. I could provide endless examples but as an illustration, instead of penning something simple such as "the Pirate used his wheelbarrow to help Danny", Mr. Steinbeck eloquently scribes it as "then borrowing the Pirate's wheelbarrow and the Pirate to push it, Danny..", which, like the most of the sentences in Tortilla Flat, read like silk.

If the quality of Mr. Steinbeck's prose forms one half of the success of Tortilla Flat, then the sublime depth of his characterisation fills the other half. Mr. Steinbeck succeeds at magnificently bringing his characters to life. Every one is profoundly realised, with each possessing their own idiosyncratic yet appealing qualities. It is a difficult choice to make but the most endearing character for me is "The Pirate', the man `whose head had not grown up with the rest of his body'. Conscientious, hard-working, a man of simple pleasure (a pleasure that consists of him either showing affection for his dogs, or working towards winning the approval of his friends), the Pirate epitomizes how a humble, honest and largely pious life should be lived, which superbly juxtaposes the lifestyles of the other friends in the group (well, with the exception of Big Joe Portagee :o)) which are as far from pious as one could get.

This is not to say that Danny and his friends never show good intentions at heart. Mr. Steinbeck is masterful at setting his characters on a path of good intention, only for them to either falter, or to manipulate circumstance to meet their own needs. This happens a lot, and more often than not, wine plays a role as either the primary motive or betrayer.

I truly loved reading Tortilla Flat. It is a delightful story, with magnificent characters, and I would consider it to be a work of absolute genius. I never thought it could be possible to be completely captivated by an author on the strength of reading one book, but I can state without fear of contradiction that Mr. John Steinbeck, thanks to Tortilla Flat, has found a rare place in my heart. I look forward to discovering the rest of his collection.(less)

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Jul 23, 2007 Roddy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: literature

I learned from this book that I continue to love Steinbeck. I despise the idea that he (like hemmingway for that matter) is sometimes considered a "simple" writer. Here's my opinion: Using flowery prose to add weight and impart meaning on a vaporous story is not great literature. A substantive story, containing meaning and moral, simply told IS great literature. This is what I run into every time I read Steinbeck. Hemmingway too. Simple construction - departing every so often to show off that ye...more I learned from this book that I continue to love Steinbeck. I despise the idea that he (like hemmingway for that matter) is sometimes considered a "simple" writer. Here's my opinion: Using flowery prose to add weight and impart meaning on a vaporous story is not great literature. A substantive story, containing meaning and moral, simply told IS great literature. This is what I run into every time I read Steinbeck. Hemmingway too. Simple construction - departing every so often to show off that yes, they know EXACTLY what they're describing - for the most part just recording the story as they would an event that really happened. They don't need a $2 word every couple paragraphs, they need maybe three per book. Besides, none of the characters would know the word, so why would you use it to describe them? What are you, better than your subject? I think the point Steinbeck constantly makes is - no, you're not. The characters are interesting and simply made, archetypes almost. I've heard its a Camelot tale and I can see it. They even use "Thou" and "Thee" in some parts. But it never seems heavy handed, you can almost see the characters realizing they're playing a part and stepping up to do it. Like Cannery Row, its about a lot of down on their luck guys, and the people of the town about them. Some richer, some poorer, all with their own little story. And Steinbeck seems to love the little side stories. Thankfully, he's so quick with his pen they're like brief tangents that come, then go once you've gotten the point of them. He never departs from our subjects for more than a couple pages, never spends 5 pages describing a rock or a particular tree, or even any of the men or the home they live in. A story that makes your throat tighten at the end, and makes you wish...well, you're supposed to read it. But the desire to keep things as they are is a very strong one in real life, Steinbeck makes you feel that desire and sense of loss in the little world he creates, and it takes him less than 200 pages to do it. (less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Christopher rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

The past reviews I have done of Steinbeck's works, I have noted how very simple his prose style is. This is certainly not the case with "Tortilla Flat." Emulating the bombastic style of the old Arthurian legends, which he loved all his life, Steinbeck's use of a rather pompous tone throughout the novel makes this one of his most engaging reads. The story itself is a simple tale about a couple of paisanos, led by the kind and loyal Danny, who live together and enjoy all the pleasures and pains of...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Ria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: punya-sendiri, fave-author, fiction

Yang pasti, habis ini saya pasti mencari buku2 Steinbeck lainnya. Satu hal yang saya pelajari dari dua karya Stenibeck, yaitu kedalaman karakter tokoh-tokohnya. Tidak akan sulit mengingat siapa itu Danny, Pilon si pencinta keindahan dan mistik yang licik, atau kebaikan hati Jesus Maria, betapa rendah hati dab rajinnya si Bajak Laut, Pablo si perayu, dan Big Joe si tukang tidur.

Menurut saya, Danny dan para sahabatnya pun tidak jahat, selalu ada niatan baik sebelum mereka menjadikan keadaan sebag...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Joe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, best-books-ever

I loved this book. The characters in it are happy to be alive, and they transfer their joy to you through Steinbeck's witty, fast, and effortlessly profound prose.

In short, it's a story of a half dozen bums, one of whom inherits a house that they all end up living in. They have no other goal in life but to find enough wine, food, and love to enjoy the coming night with their friends. Whether it's the Pirate and his five dogs, or Pilon with his darkly petty schemes, you can't help thinking that...more I loved this book. The characters in it are happy to be alive, and they transfer their joy to you through Steinbeck's witty, fast, and effortlessly profound prose.

In short, it's a story of a half dozen bums, one of whom inherits a house that they all end up living in. They have no other goal in life but to find enough wine, food, and love to enjoy the coming night with their friends. Whether it's the Pirate and his five dogs, or Pilon with his darkly petty schemes, you can't help thinking that you'd love to have friends so capable of bringing joy to the everyday. My favorite stories involve a treasure hunt on St. Andrew's Eve, dogs having a holy vision, and a gift-pig.

Mostly, if you feel yourself wondering what your purpose in life in, this book will remind you: to enjoy it, with friends. Also it will make you want to drink many jugs of cheap wine.

"Two gallons is a great deal of wine, even for two paisanos. Spiritually the jugs may be graduated thus: just below the shoulder of the first bottle, serious and concentrated conversation. Two inches farther down, sweetly sad memory. Three inches more, thoughts of old and satisfactory loves. An inch, thoughts of bitter loves. Bottom of first jug, general and undirected sadness. Shoulder of the second jug, black, unholy despondency. Two fingers down, a song of death and longing. A thumb, every other song one knows. The graduations stop here, for the trail splits and there is no certainty. From this point on, anything can happen." [24]

"It is a fact verified and recorded in many histories that the soul capable of the greatest good is also capable of the greatest evil." [22]

"If I did not think it funny, I should be angry to hear my friend laughed at." [107]

"This was one of the best of times for the friends of Danny. The struggle for existence was remote. They sat in judgment on their fellows, judging not for morals, but for interest." [157]

"I like it because it hasn't any meaning you can see, and still it does seem to mean something, I can't tell what." [168] (less)

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Oct 05, 2007 sdw rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This book wasn't nearly as offensive as I expected. However, it was still pretty racist and its hard to get around that to find too much pleasure in the other parts of the book. In addition to the super sterotyped Mexican characters (one member of the gang is Portuguese), there are also digs at jews. The book had some strange parallels to Cannery Row. There were parts of Tortilla Flat that made the book feel like a partial draft for Cannery Row. Its not entirely clear to me that Steinbeck knew t...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Kev D'Olivo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american, modern

Some things i noticed about this book:

1. Allegory for King Arthur and the knights of the Roundtable
2. Danny's good side represents Arthur, while his wild side represents Lancelot's later character.
3. For a while i thought Danny was a figure of christ becasue of his forgiving and sacrificial nature, but his later exploits dispeled this notion.
4. Torelli is definitley a symbol for Satan, the snake imagery surrounding his character is hard to miss.
5. The big party for Danny = the last supper.
6....more

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Apr 06, 2013 Allan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Danny and his paisano friends are what might be referred to as "likeable rogues". There is comedy in here, which at times obscures the harsh realities of their lives. They survive by scrounging, stealing and selling anything they find, usually for bootlegged wine or liquor. It is striking that for all the violence and thieving both amongst them as a group and others in the community where they live, hostility is short-lived and comradeship prevails.

What made this a 4 star for me was the wonderf...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Travis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: john-steinbeck, my-favorites

4.5 stars

Steinbeck, for me, is truly a treat.

I started to give this one 4 stars but it was worth another 1/2 star anyway. The beginning is somewhat slow but picks up by the middle and is very enjoyable. The characters are well defined and colorful and parts of the book are downright hilarious. The main players in this book will remain memorable, I am sure. I loved the Pirate and his five wonderfully faithful dogs, Pilon, who was a villanous schemer that made me laugh frequently, and all of the...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

Steinbeck was born in Salinas and grew up in the Salinas/Monterey area. That he loved the region and its people is abundantly clear in many works such as Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row. In particular, he had great affection for the not-so-respectable; Tortilla Flat is a collection of stories about a group of paisanos� � a mixture of Spanish, Indian, Mexican and assorted Caucasion bloods� , speaking � English with a paisano accent and Spanish with a paisano accent.� They live in a run-down, shabby...more

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Mar 11, 2009 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book. I did. Here's why: simple, straightforward, but oh-so-charming storytelling. No pretenses. What you see, is what you get. Danny. Pilon. Big Joe Portagee. Pablo Sanchez. Jesus Maria Corcoran. Pirate and his dogs. Some might argue that none of these are great characters. You might even make the (valid) point that each one is a 'failure' of sorts--since between them they're barely surviving by the world's standards. They live to drink and drink to live. But are they happy? Yes! T...more

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Dec 01, 2008 Alison Looney rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read an old copy of this book (not old as in antique or valuable, just old as in the pages are falling out and the paper smells funny), which might account for the somewhat odd blurb on the back. I don't have the book with me, so this definitely isn't a quote, but I'll try to capture the tone: some wild and crazy guys have good times on Tortilla Flat! Wine, women, and nonstop fun! You never know what will happen next!

After I finished the book, I read some literary criticism online that said it...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Hanna Bostwick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hanna Bostwick
3rd period, sanders

The 5 parts of plot

1. Exposition: The character Danny is introduced; he is drunk and joins the military. When he returns from the war (working with cattle) he is put in jail. The crime he committed wasn’t serious and he manages to get out of jail. He meets an old friend named Pilon and eventually remembers that he owns two houses left for him by his dead grandfather. (From here on out the weight of owning houses and having responsibility sets for his downfall)...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Chana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: california, american, classics, sociology

A glorification of drinking, stealing, fighting, homelessness, unemployment and casual sex as a way of life. People who collect rent or object to being stolen from are called "Jews". Home ownership is a terrible burden, sleeping in the woods in a drunken stupor is not. Any money acquired is used for wine.
When Danny inherits two houses he runs away, gets drunk and forgets about it for awhile. When he remembers he moves into one and "rents" the other to his friend, both knowing that actual money w...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Khrystyna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-author, 2012-reads

As with the majority of books of books published in the former part of the twentieth century, direct and inferred racism are regular components of the story. No niceties are used to cover up any of the racist attitudes people in interspersed communities like Steinbeck's paisano community of Tortilla flat openly expressed. In a way this makes the story more authentic, as attitudes truly felt back in the day are conveyed. I think racism was not really considered as a vice in the U.S then, so it wo...more As with the majority of books of books published in the former part of the twentieth century, direct and inferred racism are regular components of the story. No niceties are used to cover up any of the racist attitudes people in interspersed communities like Steinbeck's paisano community of Tortilla flat openly expressed. In a way this makes the story more authentic, as attitudes truly felt back in the day are conveyed. I think racism was not really considered as a vice in the U.S then, so it would only be natural for an author to involve disrespect towards other races in his work. Although Steinbeck tries to portray paisanos convincingly, I don't think he could have done it too well, with his only knowledge of the paisanos sourced from anecdotes by non-paisanos who had attempted to understand the mentality and culture of the people from a very non-paisano perspective after a relatively short experience in paisano settlements. In my opinion, it would take a paisano who had been raised in a paisano settlement to write properly about the paisnos. In other news, my judgement of this novel was not based on Steinbeck's interpretation of paisano culture.

What did take my fancy was the square and substantial structure of the story as a total. The sharp, sardonic wit didn't fail to please either. Under the straightforward third person narration by Steinbeck himself, in a wry tone the reader is transported to the happy-go-lucky world of Tortilla Flat, where all every one really cares about is whether they will have wine and a mate to help unmake as many gallons of vino as they might have on hand. The means the residents of Tortilla Flat use to obtain the pecuniary funds for their drinking habits is as derisory as the way they generally lead their lifestyles. As I read this book, I could not help but be reminded of a text I had read earlier, "The Twelve Chairs" by Ilf and Petrov, where the protagonist, Ostap Bender, mentioned that he sought to "trick and mislead the common people in four hundred honest ways", and the fun of that book was resultant of Bender's ludicrous failings. In this book, I could relate many of the characters' actions to Bender's quote. In short, I wasn't impressed enough to declare "Tortilla Flat" a favourite, but the great carousing ecstasy I felt when I was done with this novel pretty much confirmed that it had firmly planted itself into a notch of my heart. If you are looking for a kind of literary version of a circus, I would recommend this novel.
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Dec 13, 2012 Kutter Crawford rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
The most memorable plot moment for me was when Danny, Pilon, and Big Joe registered for the army while being drunk. For me this was memorable because it set what the story will be revolving around. Danny is broke after he returns from the army. He has gone to jail and escaped from jail since he’s returned. Danny doesn’t have enough money to buy his own food. So, he takes the food a restaurant throws out.
Some quotes I found memorable. “Thoughts are slow and deep a...more Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
The most memorable plot moment for me was when Danny, Pilon, and Big Joe registered for the army while being drunk. For me this was memorable because it set what the story will be revolving around. Danny is broke after he returns from the army. He has gone to jail and escaped from jail since he’s returned. Danny doesn’t have enough money to buy his own food. So, he takes the food a restaurant throws out.
Some quotes I found memorable. “Thoughts are slow and deep and golden in the morning.” Most people think about the world and have deep thoughts at night. After they go to sleep and wake up, they turn those thoughts into a reality and that makes them “golden in the morning.” Another quote from the story, “When one is poor, one thinks, ‘If I had money, I would share it with my friends.’ But let that money come, and charity flies away.” A person thinks like that when they don’t have money because they hope that the lord will reward them of their kind thoughts. But when they have money, they become selfish and do not share any money with charity. “The good God is not always so good to little beasts.” This quote means that God isn’t always good to people. You have to do good things for God to be good to you.
The three most important characters in this story are Pilon, Danny, and Pablo.
Danny’s grandpa owned two houses on the top of a hill in Tortilla Flat. To most people, his grandpa was rich. Danny becomes homeless after he returns from the army and escapes jail. His grandfather died so he goes to the houses in Tortilla Flat with Pilon.
Pilon is one of Danny’s good friends. He went to the army as soon as Danny did but he was sent to a different place than Danny. He is also broke when he returns from the army. So he rents one of the houses from Danny.
This story takes place in a small town just outside of Monterey. The town is called Tortilla Flat. This town is full of countrymen called Paisanos. Paisanos are just a group of friends that enjoy life and drink wine. It is a mixture of ethnicities in this group of people. There is no exact time at which this story took place. I know it does take place around one of the major world wars I believe.
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Oct 05, 2012 Daniel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Tortilla Flat is both funny and telling of the human condition. Danny and his friends are hilarious in their exploits, but pitiable in their self-justification of ultimately putting themselves before each other. It is only when Danny truly comes to a physical and spiritual crisis that his friends realize how they have neglected his needs for their own. To remedy it, they throw a party in which Danny gets drunk runs out with a club in his hands and, well you will have to read it to find out his f...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Piperitapitta added it · review of another edition

La ravina e il burrone

Più vado avanti con la lettura delle opere di Steinbeck in ordine cronologico (Furore e Vicolo Cannery li avevo già letti prima di iscrivermi al gruppo "Steinbeck da leggere o rileggere) e più mi convinco che quest'autore - Premio Nobel, non dimentichiamolo - meriterebbe maggior rispetto dalle case editrici italiane con la messa in cantiere di nuove traduzioni dall'originale.
Con questo non intendo affatto sminuire le traduzioni di Montale (Al Dio sconosciuto) e Vittorini (I...more La ravina e il burrone

Più vado avanti con la lettura delle opere di Steinbeck in ordine cronologico (Furore e Vicolo Cannery li avevo già letti prima di iscrivermi al gruppo "Steinbeck da leggere o rileggere) e più mi convinco che quest'autore - Premio Nobel, non dimentichiamolo - meriterebbe maggior rispetto dalle case editrici italiane con la messa in cantiere di nuove traduzioni dall'originale.
Con questo non intendo affatto sminuire le traduzioni di Montale (Al Dio sconosciuto) e Vittorini (I Pascoli del cielo e Pian della Tortilla) che sono state sicuramente adatte per l'epoca in cui sono state pubblicate, ma semplicemente affermare che se la traduzione di Montale, così lirica e poetica, può essere ancora apprezzabile ai nostri giorni, quella di Vittorini, soprattutto in Pian della Tortilla, mi sembra veramente antiquata e stridente.
Questa lunga parentesi perché purtroppo credo che questo approccio crei inevitabilmente una frattura immediata con il lettore che si trova a doversi confrontare con dei poveri diseredati, ignoranti e senza arte né parte, che sembrano invece essere nel loro modo di esprimersi paragonabili a dei guitti medioevali piuttosto che a dei paisanos del secolo scorso.
Se dovessi dire che mi è piaciuto non sarei onesta, anche se tra la prima e la seconda parte, a mio parere, c'è un abisso: sembra quasi che Steinbeck l'abbia scritta in due momenti diversi, quasi in due epoche letterarie diverse.
Nella seconda metà del romanzo ho trovato sprazzi e rimandi a quel piccolo gioiello che è Vicolo Cannery e la vicinanza tra le due opere è diventata sottilissima; come dicevamo nel gruppo, Pian della Tortilla sembra quasi il cartone preparatorio di Vicolo Cannery, se non fosse che l'ipotetica camera che inquadra la scena è ruotata di 180°: entrambi sono ambientati a Monterey, California, ma mentre Vicolo Cannery si svolge tutto a due passi dalla Baia, ed i suoi protagonisti, fra cui un gruppo di nullafacenti "ubriaconi" animati da buoni sentimenti nei confronti del Doc del quartiere, sono gli abitanti dei vicoli a due passi dal porto, in Pian della Tortilla Steinbeck si sposta nella parte alta della cittadina, ai confini con i boschi, ed i nullafacenti "ubriaconi" animati di buoni sentimenti questa volta sono dei paisanos.
La prima parte però non mi è piaciuta granché, l'ho trovata molto povera, ma non perché ambientata tra i poveri e i vagabondi, quanto piuttosto stilisticamente: mi è sembrato affrettato nelle descrizioni e poco coinvolgente nel ritrarre un mondo così diverso da quello cui siamo abituati e del quale, proprio per questo, dovremmo subire il fascino.
Poi però, ad un certo punto, ho letto queste parole di Steinbeck

« Ho scritto queste storie perché sono storie vere e perché mi piacevano. Ma le sentinelle della letteratura hanno considerato i miei personaggi con la stupidità delle duchesse che si divertono coi contadini e li compiangono. Queste storie sono pubblicate ed io non le posso più riprendere, ma non sottometterò più al contatto degradante della gente perbene questi bravi esseri fatti di allegria e di bontà, di cortesia ben superiore a tutte le smancerie. Se ho causato loro dei torti raccontando qualcosa delle loro storie, me ne dispiace. Ciò non avverrà più. Adios, monte! »

e mi sono sentita un po' a disagio, cattiva quasi, per non essere riuscita a calarmi in quel mondo e tra le sue genti e nonostante ciò per aver giudicato, commentato, pensato... Magari anche arricciato un po' il naso!
Mi sono detta, comunque, che forse la colpa non è tutta mia se non ci sono riuscita, ma anche di Mondadori e Vittorini, che mi hanno costretta, nel 2010, a sentire dei contadini parlare di "ravine" piuttosto che di "burroni", fargli bere galloni di vino nelle fruttiere ed esprimersi con termini che se sono inconsueti per noi, figuriamoci per loro!

C'è un capitolo però, a poche pagine dalla fine, non ricordo se l'ultimo o il penultimo, in cui tutta la magia e la capacità descrittiva di Steinbeck, unico nel suo modo di scrutare l'imperscrutabile nell'animo umano e di raffigurarne vizi debolezze e virtù, affiorano dolcemente (e allo stesso tempo prepotentemente) ripagando di pagine poco coinvolgenti e di uno stile, forse, ancora da trovare o da mettere a punto in maniera più convincente: se ce la faccio lo copio e lo inserisco nelle note a margine.
Come dicevo però non si tratta di solo un capitolo, ma di una buona metà del romanzo: peccato non poter chiedere a Steinbeck cosa gli fosse capitato durante la stesura del romanzo tra la prima e la seconda parte :-)(less)

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Aug 31, 2012 Paul Brogan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-classic

The first words are, ‘This is the story of Danny and of Danny's friends and of Danny's house. It is a story of how these three become one thing ... when you speak of Danny's house you are to understand to mean a unit of which the parts are men, from which comes sweetness and joy, philanthropy, and, in the end, a mystic sorrow.’

His name is Danny, not Arthur; this is not Camelot, but the poor part of Monterey, California, sitting above the sea and the main town; it is not occupied by errant Englis...more The first words are, ‘This is the story of Danny and of Danny's friends and of Danny's house. It is a story of how these three become one thing ... when you speak of Danny's house you are to understand to mean a unit of which the parts are men, from which comes sweetness and joy, philanthropy, and, in the end, a mystic sorrow.’

His name is Danny, not Arthur; this is not Camelot, but the poor part of Monterey, California, sitting above the sea and the main town; it is not occupied by errant English or French knights, but by poor paisanos, cross Caucasian, Mexican, Black, American-Indian, and lots besides, who work little and drink lots; it is not the Middle Ages, but the period immediately following the First World War.

John Steinbeck was a fan of Thomas Malory and this story is designed along the lines of those fables of King Arthur, even borrowing unfeasibly elegant language, using vaguely Bible-like chapter headings, and attributing unlikely gallantry to these bums.

Like King Arthur, Danny receives an inheritance and is elevated from ordinary drunk to landlord; he has trouble with his subjects, who refuse to pay their dues, but are finally defeated and then reconciled; he gathers knights/friends to his Round Table and gives them shelter and a place to sleep; they in turn swear an oath of devotion; together, they protect the Pirate (the maimed King) and his treasure (the Grail).

Had I not recognized these parallels immediately, I, like Steinbeck’s detractors at the time, might have judged this story as a vain attempt to glorify Mexican-Americans as some sort of jolly savage; it is better judged as an update of an old motif. However, the critical among us may still be tempted to dismiss the alcoholic, unwashed, lethargic, and sinful paisanos as unworthy imitators of Arthur and Lancelot and Guinevere.

I beg to differ, not because I have any particular affection for paisanos, but rather because, ever since reading Cervantes’ parody of errant knights, Don Quixote, I have long suspected that Malory was just as guilty as Steinbeck ever was of romanticizing people who were far from saintly.

To me, this is the value of Tortilla Flat: novelists can be just as guilty as any journalist of generating sympathy where little belongs, so thank you, John Steinbeck, for reminding us of this.

Even if this wan’t your intention.
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May 07, 2012 Gloria Piper rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've heard of Tortilla Flat and seen places named after it, so when I came across the story, I felt it was something I should read.

Tortilla Flat isn't really flat. It's a mountainous place with forest. The characters in this humorous story are ne'er-do-wells who join together and eventually disband. Their main reason for existence seems to be the consumption of vast quantities of wine. Nevertheless each man has his adventures, which impact on the entire group. I guess one could describe the cha...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There is a reason why few people have heard of this Steinbeck book and why the shelf at Powell's is overstocked with used copies of it. Some teacher somewhere is requiring students to read this book, and they're not holding onto it.

Now I am contributing to that overstock. My co-teacher for an advanced reading and writing ESL class chose this book of one of four that we will use for independent reading. I agreed without having actually read it first.

Apart from the fact that the language is not...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Michelle added it · review of another edition

I confess that I am not a John Steinbeck fan. I find his work to be utterly depressing and uninspiring. I know I am in the minority here, so I am always on the lookout for a novel of his that will help me see why others consider him one of America's best writers. Unfortunately, Tortilla Flat is not that novel.

Tortilla Flat is the story about a group of men who all come together in friendship and in drink. They have no money, no jobs, and no ambition. They do have each other, but that does not ma...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: classic fans, anyone who loves a good story

Shelves: classic-literature

As my first foray into the works of John Steinbeck Tortilla Flat was both intriguing and fascinating. It was clear from the outset that Steinbeck holds mastery over the language captured within his vocabulary and is able to force it to breathe and move like a living creature.

Although a small novel by modern standards (at only around 170 pages) Tortilla Flat was a study of the daily lives of a group of friends living in Tortilla Flat in California. Brought together by the common thread of friend...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Dimitri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck is a story about a man named Danny and his friends, the Paisainos of Monterey. The novel chronicles the adventures of Danny and his friends as they strive to make a dollar or snake a bottle of wine in anyway they can. At the beginning of the story Danny inherits two houses from his grandfather and goes from being a nobody in the Monterey old town to a respectable man in the community. Even though Danny has inherited two houses he doesn't change his ways and invit...more

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Apr 02, 2011 Kristina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steinbeck, naturalism-realism, fiction

Tortilla Flat was an unusual novel for me. I picked it up off the shelf expecting a story similar to The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men. Instead, I got something completely different. Tortilla Flat is closer to a fairy tale or a fable than it is to a traditional novel. It tells of the adventures of Danny and his friends, a group of paisanos living in Monterey in the years after WWI. Danny returns from the war to find that he has inherited two houses from his grandfather. He quickly loses one...more Tortilla Flat was an unusual novel for me. I picked it up off the shelf expecting a story similar to The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men. Instead, I got something completely different. Tortilla Flat is closer to a fairy tale or a fable than it is to a traditional novel. It tells of the adventures of Danny and his friends, a group of paisanos living in Monterey in the years after WWI. Danny returns from the war to find that he has inherited two houses from his grandfather. He quickly loses one of the houses to a fire, and the rest of the novel describes the exploits of Danny and his friends, who all come to live together in the remaining house.

The story is organized into seventeen chapters, each colorfully named and describing a different adventure in the lives of Danny and his friends. The writing style is simple and unadorned, which suits the format of the novel perfectly. One feels almost as if they are reading one of Aesop's fables while reading about Danny's exploits - with an obvious difference being the quite unconventional "morals" present in the tales.

Tortilla Flat is meant to be a take on King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and one can immediately see the similarities in style. This novel is very much the absurd, backwards, "everyman" version of Authurian legend. The cast of characters Steinbeck assembles are not your typical band of heroes, but they are lovable just the same. Danny, Pablo, Pilon, Jesus Maria, Pirate (and his dogs) and Big Joe are loud, drunk, shiftless, lazy and violent, but at times they show an interesting wisdom. Their moral code, while a bit unorthodox, elevates them above their more base characteristics. The warm and lighthearted tone with which Steinbeck describes this ragtag band of friends allows the reader to forgive their sins and laugh at the various scrapes they get themselves into.

What I personally loved about this book was the way it snuck up on me. When I started reading the novel, I admit that I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. The characters weren't immediately likable, and not even remotely relatable to my personality. However, the more I read, the more I got comfortable with them. As I came to understand their code of behavior, I grew to truly enjoy reading about them. By the end of the book I felt downright maternal towards some of them, which made the rather serious ending of the novel particularly sad for me. I suppose the fact that I was so saddened by the ending speaks to the depth of feeling I eventually developed for the characters.

My favorite chapters were the two concerning Pirate and his quest, which were among the most touching in the book. It was in those two chapters that my feelings towards the characters softened considerably. Other highlights in the novel include the tale of the vacuum cleaner and the pants that changed ownership twice in quite a short amount of time.

Tortilla Flat earned a four star rating for me because while I enjoyed the novel immensely, it's not my favorite of Steinbeck's works. That being said, it's still a worthwhile read and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for something a little bit different. You will laugh and you will cry. What more can anyone ask of a novel, really?

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Feb 22, 2011 Chase Fox rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tortilla Flat
In John Steinbeck's great book,Tortilla Flat, the story takes place in a little town called Tortilla Flat. This is important to the story because this is where Danny inherits two houses when he comes home.
When Danny,the main character, comes home to Tortilla Flat he finds out that his grandpa died and he owned two houses. So Danny inherits these houses and rents one of them to his friends,Pilon and Pablo. Even though these friends bilk each other, drink all the time, steal, and go...more Tortilla Flat
In John Steinbeck's great book,Tortilla Flat, the story takes place in a little town called Tortilla Flat. This is important to the story because this is where Danny inherits two houses when he comes home.
When Danny,the main character, comes home to Tortilla Flat he finds out that his grandpa died and he owned two houses. So Danny inherits these houses and rents one of them to his friends,Pilon and Pablo. Even though these friends bilk each other, drink all the time, steal, and go after women, they are all good people on the inside. But one night Pilon and Pablo have too much to drink and burn down their house. So Danny lets them move into his house. When this happens they sort of all come together and go on adventures for money. On one of these adventures they pick up a new friend named Pirate, but there was something weird about him. He never spent any money and Pilon was determined to find his treasure. Finally, Pirate gives his friends the money and this becomes a big part of their friendship.
More stories come up over time and not only do these stories teach the friends a lesson, but they also build their friendship. But For about a month Danny decides to lay low for a while. Then, he is overcome by his desires to be young again. So he disappears for about a month and steals from everybody including his friends.
In the end, Danny stops his crimes and returns home. Here, his friends decide to throw him a party, but that night ended up being a tragedy. Danny drank three gallons of wine and killed himself. There was a funeral for his death and his friends were terribly sad. The night of the funeral they talked about Danny and his memories, they sang songs, they drank, and they smoked cigars. Then, suddenly one of the cigar caught a piece of newspaper on fire and this set the house to flames. Danny's friends decided to let the house go on just as danny did and they all went on there own path of life.

I think the theme of this book was to value friendship and live life while you can because you only live once. I also highly recommend to read this book.(less)

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Dec 26, 2010 Suzy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

By the time I was finished, I wanted to give Tortilla Flat four stars, but the first half would only have earned three. This is the story of a handful of paisanos--friends with no jobs whose main aim in life is to procure wine--and how the bonds of their friendship strengthen over time. Steinbeck's writing seemed to me to improve in quality toward the middle of the story, which is really a collection of stories, each of which practically stands alone. It not only seems to become more philosophic...more

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Jun 05, 2010 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Glorious writing and style as to be expected, this short novel is chapters leading the reader into Danny’s life, home, guests/friends and their lives over time in a humble area near Monterey, California. To his surprise, lifelong poor man Danny is bequeathed two modest houses in Tortilla Flat, the location reflected in the title. That influx of riches changes his status and his life. Through his friends’ actions and Danny’s acceptance, his home gradually is filled with others who genuinely care...more

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About John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck III was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.

In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley...more John Steinbeck III was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.

In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley region of California, a culturally diverse place of rich migratory and immigrant history. This upbringing imparted a regionalistic flavor to his writing, giving many of his works a distinct sense of place.

Steinbeck moved briefly to New York City, but soon returned home to California to begin his career as a writer. Most of his earlier work dealt with subjects familiar to him from his formative years. An exception was his first novel Cup of Gold which concerns the pirate Henry Morgan, whose adventures had captured Steinbeck's imagination as a child.

In his subsequent novels, Steinbeck found a more authentic voice by drawing upon direct memories of his life in California. Later he used real historical conditions and events in the first half of 20th century America, which he had experienced first-hand as a reporter.

Steinbeck often populated his stories with struggling characters; his works examined the lives of the working class and migrant workers during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. His later body of work reflected his wide range of interests, including marine biology, politics, religion, history, and mythology.

One of his last published works was Travels with Charley, a travelogue of a road trip he took in 1960 to rediscover America. He died in 1968 in New York of a heart attack and his ashes are interred in Salinas.

Seventeen of his works, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), and East of Eden (1952), went on to become Hollywood films, and Steinbeck also achieved success as a Hollywood writer, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Story in 1944 for Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat.(less)

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“Thoughts are slow and deep and golden in the morning.” — 49 people liked it

“It is a time of quiet joy, the sunny morning. When the glittery dew is on the mallow weeds, each leaf holds a jewel which is beautiful if not valuable. This is no time for hurry or for bustle. Thoughts are slow and deep and golden in the morning.” — 23 people liked it

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