Cannery Row

            Cannery Row was certainty a refreshing summer reading assignment. Where Frankenstein had a much more serious tone,(akin to most summer reading novels), Steinbeck's novel was actually humorous and witty. This thought aside, I truly enjoyed this novel for its surprising depth of its characters, the detail put in its landscape, and the overall lightheartedness of the book.

            Some of my personal favorite characters were characters like Dora Flood or Mack and the boys.  These characters, by normal terms, have very questionable jobs or affiliations. Dora Flood runs a brothel, and Mack and the boys are described as a group of scheming crooks. However, these characters are more three dimensional than they seem. Dora Flood for example, feels that she must be twice as generous for her "unorthodox" career choice, and while Mack is a bit of a trouble maker, he is depicted as always having the best intentions in mind. However, the entire community as a whole had one particular interesting quality that I noticed.  While many people strive for more and more, these people are perfectly content with their current lifestyles. Mack and the boys at the Palace Flophouse need little and appreciate much, and whatever they do need they acquire by cunning, Henri the painter is forever building and dismantling his boat so that he may continue building it.

            One interesting thing to notice is the respect that Steinbeck gives to prostitutes. The description of the Bear Flag Restaurant , "A decent, clean, honest, old-fashioned sporting house where a man can take a glass of beer among friends... a sturdy, virtuous club," is drastically different than what one would normally think of. Unlike the shady, dark alleyway stereotypes, this business is run honestly and is beneficial to the community, (albeit indirectly through the conscious of Dora Flood). This description brings to mind a short monologue given by George, from Of Mice and Men. Here George states that a brothel is a place where one can agree upon services paid up front and unlike other "professional" relationships, one knows what he or she is going to get.

            Another point of interest in this novel is sheer amount of detail put into the descriptions of the scenery. Given the fact that Steinbeck based the setting of the novel on a real place (Which was later named Cannery Row in honor of this novel), it should not come as too great of a surprise. However, because of the amount of detail in the character descriptions, the setting, and the unfolding events, this novel was very easy to get sucked into. This is quite easily a book that I would recommend to my friends for a story that is fairly simple, character that are unique, and an unforgettable read.