Cannery Row - John Steinbeck

Cannery Row was written by John Steinbeck in 1945. John, of part-Irish, part-German descent, was 43 at the time of writing. Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California. After dropping out of Stanford University in his early 20s circumstances saw him eventually living and writing in Monterey which is how he came to know Cannery Row, about which he writes so fondly and vividly. The novel then is based on an actual area in Monterey known as Cannery Row, so called because of the huge concentration of sardine canneries which proliferated the area during the last century. Cannery Row still exists, albeit these days it is a beautifully quaint tourist trap ...  Read the complete review

John Steinbeck is considered by many, inclusing myself, one of the 20th centuries greatest novelists. For those unfamiliar with him you may have heard of his more notable works; 'Of Mice and Men', studied by countless GCSE students today and 'The Grapes of Wrath'. Cannery Row is the third Steinbeck novel I've read. It's a fairly short book, little over one hundred pages long, focussing on the lives of the residents of a strip of land known as Cannery Row. The main plot is simple, everybody loves Doc, everyboy including the tenants of the Palace Flophouse, Mack and the boys. The novel follows these characters as they try to 'do something nice', namely ...  Read the complete review

John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold was published in 1929 but he did not achieve literary success until 1935 following the publication of his book Tortilla Flat. He went on to become one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century and he was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968 but his spirit remains in the exceptional books that he has left behind him for others to enjoy. Cannery Row was John Steinbeck’s 15th novel and it was first published in 1945. Cannery Row is the third of Steinbeck’s ...  Read the complete review