Cannery Row (Cannery Row, #1) in Retro Chapter Chicks

Nov 19, 2017 Brina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nobel-prize-winner, classics, historical-fiction

One of my favorite childhood memories was my family vacation to California the year I turned nine. On that trip one of our stops was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As a lover of all things marine biology I was captivated by the flora and fauna of the aquarium for an entire day. Before there was an aquarium near Monterey's beach front, the city was home to a few block stretch of fish and fruit canneries so eloquently portrayed in Steinbeck's Cannery Row, the author's homage to depression era Monterey One of my favorite childhood memories was my family vacation to California the year I turned nine. On that trip one of our stops was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As a lover of all things marine biology I was captivated by the flora and fauna of the aquarium for an entire day. Before there was an aquarium near Monterey's beach front, the city was home to a few block stretch of fish and fruit canneries so eloquently portrayed in Steinbeck's Cannery Row, the author's homage to depression era Monterey. In this telling historical fiction, the Nobel Laureate creates archetypes of characters who made central California home during a trying time in American history.

Depression era Monterey, California is a quiet community comprised of canneries, whore houses, a few general stores, and one biologist named Doc who is forever tinkering with experiments in his laboratory. Most people are short on funds and use the barter system to get by and many creatively create homes out of deserted steam ovens and warehouses. Despite being short on funds, liquor is always flowing, whore house business is prosperous, and most people appear for the most part happy with their station in life despite the lack of money. Mack and his gang of delinquents call a warehouse owned by Lee Chong home in exchange for only shopping in his general store and never stealing his goods. They come up with one charade and adventure after another in attempt to earn enough money to get by. Often, Mack asks Doc if the gang can obtain him frogs or cats or other animals in exchange for spending money. Although Doc realizes that this gang is only after a good time, he usually resists because he shows them sympathy in their impoverished station in life when people are looking for a morale booster more so than bettering their place in society. Such is the life on cannery row in Monterey, California.

Steinbeck writes in such a captivating style that makes him one of America's master story tellers. This book goes off on tangents that at times makes the story hard to follow; however, this is the nature of Mack's sense of going in the direction of whatever adventure is thrown at him. Yet, even if he is borrowing a car to go frogging or throwing a disastrous party at Doc's lab, his compass ends up on Cannery Row. I enjoyed Steinbeck's depictions of Monterey and the time period more so that Mack's adventures. When describing his cast of characters, Steinbeck got to the gist of the story and painted a picture of the time period whereas Mack's exploits at times took away from the rest of the good people of Monterey and left me wanting more knowledge of daily life in Monterey. In a book under two hundred pages, I was able to read quickly from chapter to chapter to discover how life in Monterey and how each character coped with the times of nationwide depression.

One facet of this novella that left me wanting more was the minimal development of female characters. Mary Talbot made the most of her situation by joining the Bloomer League and throwing parties, and eventually she threw a pregnancy party for herself. Mrs. Malloy made the best out of living inside a steam oven but little is said about her character and interests. The most development given to female characters in Cannery Row is that of Madam Dora and her whores. It appears as though Dora fancies Doc but there is little to advance the story line. Otherwise, the whores simply exist to provide a good time to fishermen and canners and other men who are seeking a quick fix for their personal depression. I would have liked to see more character development for Dora, but as this book focused on the exploits of Mack and his gang, Steinbeck simply did not have the space to focus on each character as he would in a full length novel.

Cannery Row demonstrates Steinbeck's story telling skills while also painting a picture of California during the depression. Most people appeared to desire a good time and quick fix for their troubles without contemplating long term solutions for their own and the country's money troubles. The only character who had foresight was Doc who behind the scenes was creating the basis for what would be Monterey's famed aquarium. I enjoyed reading this novella, which I liked more than the last Steinbeck story that I read, and it left me desiring to return to his work sometime in the future.

4 stars
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Jun 17, 2024 Celia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-list, historical-fiction-read, classics, 1001-challenge, 2024-read, ten-year-challenge, 2024-kindle-counted

Cannery Row is set during the Great Depression in Monterey CA. The actual Monterey location Steinbeck was writing about, known casually as Ocean View Avenue, was later renamed "Cannery Row" in honor of the book.

Characters include Lee Chong, the operator of the neighborhood grocery store, "Lee Chong's Heavenly Flower Grocery"; Doc, a marine biologist at Western Biological Laboratories, based on Steinbeck's friend Ed Ricketts, to whom Steinbeck dedicated the novel; Dora Flood, the owner and operat ...more

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Sep 28, 2013 Book Concierge rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: animals, movie, classic, literature, library, concierge, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you

Book on CD performed by Jerry Farden

Opening lines: Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitants are, as the man once Book on CD performed by Jerry Farden

Opening lines: Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, “whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,” by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, “Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,” and he would have meant the same thing.

Well, who am I to argue with Steinbeck. And Cannery Row, the novel, shines a light through both those peepholes, showing us the flotsam and jetsam and the jewels of humanity, the “sons of bitches” and the “saints.” The novel is written in a series of vignettes about the residents of the area. Lee Chong, who runs the grocery where you can get just about anything you need – IF you have the money. A churlish businessman, he nevertheless occasionally performs acts of charity and gives a glimpse of a generous and compassionate heart. Mack and the boys are down-on-their-luck vagrants, living in a former storage shed they have named the Palace Flophouse. Working odd jobs only long enough to collect their meager earnings, they quickly spend what little they have on liquor and enjoy life. Dora Flood runs the Bear Flag Restaurant, which is a whore house and not a place to get a sandwich. She accepts that the price she pays for continuing in business is being extraordinarily philanthropic when it comes to contributing to the local Police Benevolent Society or latest Chamber of Commerce beautification project. But she is also quietly generous to the down-and-out families who need extra groceries or shoes for their children.

And then we have Doc, the marine biologist who runs Western Biological Laboratory, and lives in a back room there. Doc makes a living collecting and selling all manner of life forms to schools and universities and research scientists across the globe. He is a man of culture and science, however. He enjoys a wide variety of music and the residents of Cannery Row frequently hear the strains of Beethoven or Benny Goodman emanating from his record player. His library is equally eclectic, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, poetry, plays and novels. He leads a rather solitary life, but he is not without companionship, and he is a great friend to all the nearby residents. In fact they all like him so much they frequently are hit with a strong urge to “do something nice for Doc.”

The efforts of Mack and the boys to arrange a surprise party (or two) for Doc are the major plot points in this character study. There are some hilarious moments of misadventure and some very poignant scenes (especially concerning the young waif Frankie) that tug at the heart strings. I wish Steinbeck had made the book longer and delved deeper into Doc’s story. Why was he such a loner? Why couldn’t he accept the love expressed by others? Why does he run from the unpleasant or horrific? The more I think about the book the more I like it, but I have to say that when I first finished, my reaction was: “Is that all?” In fact, I was going to rate the book much lower, but as I write my review I find myself liking the book more. Still, I think this work fell short of the genius I’ve seen in other Steinbeck works.

Jerry Farden does a very good job voicing the audio version. He has good pacing and I could easily distinguish the many characters thanks to his skill as a voice artist.
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