From the Bookshelf of Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die…

Cannery Row (Cannery Row, #1)

John Steinbeck

Start date: January 15, 2024

Finish date: February 14, 2024

Discussion: 1001 Monthly Group Read

Why we're reading this: January 2024 Group Read
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What Members Thought

Jul 30, 2008 Chloe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, i_am_in_love, classics, 1001-list, california

This is the first Steinbeck that I've attempted to read as an adult. We had some brief flirtations during my teen years but never really hooked up. I think it was probably a wise choice. Now we've found each other as adults and can really appreciate each other's complexities and I can tell that I'll likely be making sweet love to Johnny S. for years to come.

Cannery Row is a really brief read that features some of the most concise yet descriptive writing I've ever come across. Set in a small stre ...more

24 likes · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2012 Suvi rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1940-1969, _north-america, novels

Liked the main plot and some of the characters were real and likeable, but some of the vignettes felt a bit glued on. For some reason I just simply didn't like this despite its redeeming qualities. I don't know, everything just shuffled and the writing was very factual (the opening chapter was nice, though). This is by far the most different Steinbeck novel I've read, so if you want to try his works, you might not want to start from this one. ...more

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Dec 26, 2007 Anne rated it really liked it

Every once in awhile, I force myself to read a classic that I should have read years ago. I remembered reading East of Eden in high school and loving it, so I thought I'd pick up another Steinbeck gem. From the first page, I was hooked by Steinbeck's writing. It seems so simple, but he captures everything so perfectly. Cannery Row takes place on a small street Monterey, California, and focuses on the people who live out their lives there - most notably, Lee Chong, the Asian grocer, Mack - the le ...more

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Sep 07, 2008 Steven rated it really liked it

Shelves: class, 1001, goin-back-to-cali

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In sharp contrast to “Moll Flanders,’ which I read at the same time as this book and was so heavy on plot, Cannery Row is a book heavy on characters and light on plot. In the hands of a lesser author, I think this book would have been dreadful, but there is something about Steinbeck’s simple style and the unique dialogue of his characters that really makes his novel shine.

Cannery Row sets forth the adventures of Mack and his cohorts, a group of good-old boys who live in a converted fish0meal sha ...more

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