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Matthew's Reviews > Cannery Row
Cannery Row (Cannery Row, #1)
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Matthew's review
bookshelves: 2021, audio, classic, historical-fiction, library, favorites
Feb 10, 2021
bookshelves: 2021, audio, classic, historical-fiction, library, favorites
"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."
- The first line of Cannery Row
I always enjoy Steinbeck. I don’t think I have read a single one that is not 5 stars. I am glad to finally read Cannery Row and discover that it is not an exception to the 5-star rule.
Cannery Row is one main storyline interspersed with slightly related anecdotes every other chapter. Each story is a snapshot into part of the life of a citizen of Cannery Row. The writing is perfect and drew me in and held me. Some parts felt like a little bit of filler, but they really are not. They all serve to enrich the story and the atmosphere. Every second of this story was an absolute treat!
Characters! I want to meet them all: the good, the bad, the silly, the sweet, the criminal, the questionably moral, and the seemingly righteous. Every time I read Steinbeck, I love getting to know the people he creates. And, I figure based on how he writes and what he writes about he probably knew someone just like every one of his characters. While with some of his other stories there have been obvious villains, this is a book you will leave loving very character you meet no matter what they are like.
If you have been wanting to try Steinbeck but are not ready to commit to a larger tome like East of Eden or Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row would be a great place to start!
- The first line of Cannery Row
I always enjoy Steinbeck. I don’t think I have read a single one that is not 5 stars. I am glad to finally read Cannery Row and discover that it is not an exception to the 5-star rule.
Cannery Row is one main storyline interspersed with slightly related anecdotes every other chapter. Each story is a snapshot into part of the life of a citizen of Cannery Row. The writing is perfect and drew me in and held me. Some parts felt like a little bit of filler, but they really are not. They all serve to enrich the story and the atmosphere. Every second of this story was an absolute treat!
Characters! I want to meet them all: the good, the bad, the silly, the sweet, the criminal, the questionably moral, and the seemingly righteous. Every time I read Steinbeck, I love getting to know the people he creates. And, I figure based on how he writes and what he writes about he probably knew someone just like every one of his characters. While with some of his other stories there have been obvious villains, this is a book you will leave loving very character you meet no matter what they are like.
If you have been wanting to try Steinbeck but are not ready to commit to a larger tome like East of Eden or Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row would be a great place to start!
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Reading Progress
August 10, 2020
– Shelved
August 10, 2020
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 8, 2021
–
Started Reading
February 8, 2021
– Shelved as:
2021
February 8, 2021
– Shelved as:
audio
February 8, 2021
– Shelved as:
classic
February 8, 2021
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
February 8, 2021
– Shelved as:
library
February 10, 2021
– Shelved as:
favorites
February 10, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-29 of 29 (29 new)
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by
Kandice
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Feb 10, 2021 11:48AM
I also love Steinbeck unilaterally. Now you need to read Sweet Thursday!
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Vince wrote: "Love the review, Matthew! I've been wanting to read another Steinbeck since the fantastic "East of Eden""Thanks, Vince! East of Eden is so great and I think you will love this one, too!
Kandice wrote: "I also love Steinbeck unilaterally. Now you need to read Sweet Thursday!"It's funny you should mention that - right after I finished, I looked up Cannery Row on Wikipedia and was like, "What!? A sequel!?". I will definitely be checking it out.
I was just talking to my wife about Steinbeck and the fact he has no duds! Just awesome literature!
Steinbeck is the only author whose museum (in Salinas, CA) I've visited and the cover of this novel is the screensaver on my iPhone. I guess I love Steinbeck too. Fantastic review, Matthew.
Making me want to read Steinbeck now.
Joe wrote: "Steinbeck is the only author whose museum (in Salinas, CA) I've visited and the cover of this novel is the screensaver on my iPhone. I guess I love Steinbeck too. Fantastic review, Matthew."Thank you, Joe! So far with Steinbeck, all I can say is,"What's not to love!" Is the cover you have as a screensaver the edition I have here?
Yay! 5 stars! I love reading Steinbeck SO much! Glad you enjoy and appreciate his writing too :)
Really liked this one! Great review, Matthew :)
Heather wrote: "Making me want to read Steinbeck now."It would not be a bad decision, Heather! 😃
While I liked this one, I couldn't get into the sequel.
Terris wrote: "Yay! 5 stars! I love reading Steinbeck SO much! Glad you enjoy and appreciate his writing too :)"😃😃😃😃😃😃
Yes - so good! I am also glad you are a fan, Terris!
Brandice wrote: "Really liked this one! Great review, Matthew :)"Thanks, Brandice! Glad to hear it! :)
Great review! I loved this one, but I loved the follow-up more (I may be in the minority). You should definitely continue! I need to figure out which Steinbeck I'll read next, lol!
There's a movie adaptation that's pretty good too with Nick Nolte as Doc and John Huston as the narrator. One of the best opening lines of any literature.
Nice review Matthew! I've never read Steinbeck but have always meant to, you know? I'm particularly interested in this one since I lived in Monterey for about a year and a half and used to run up and down Cannery Row and the various other oceanside areas. It would probably be a nostalgic read for me.
John wrote: "While I liked this one, I couldn't get into the sequel."Interesting - I am looking forward to the sequel and will see if my experience is the same.
Matthew wrote: "John wrote: "While I liked this one, I couldn't get into the sequel."Interesting - I am looking forward to the sequel and will see if my experience is the same."
Yeah, it's why I said I was probably in the minority. It's possibly because I was in such a mood that the second one caught me even more. Either way, I loved the two books together.
Eileen wrote: "Great review! I loved this one, but I loved the follow-up more (I may be in the minority). You should definitely continue! I need to figure out which Steinbeck I'll read next, lol!"Thanks, Eileen!
We shall see! Hopefully I am with you on this! 😃
I’ve never read Steinbeck! I will try this one first😊Awesome review Matthew!
Alex wrote: "There's a movie adaptation that's pretty good too with Nick Nolte as Doc and John Huston as the narrator. One of the best opening lines of any literature."Thanks for the info - definitely sounds like it is worth checking out!
I loved this also I should have rated it 5 stars. You must see the film with Nick Nolte and Debra Winger. It's wonderful too!
Eric wrote: "Nice review Matthew! I've never read Steinbeck but have always meant to, you know? I'm particularly interested in this one since I lived in Monterey for about a year and a half and used to run up a..."I think this one sounds like it would be the perfect Steinbeck starter for you, Eric! I hope you enjoy! :D
Matthew wrote: "We shall see! Hopefully I am with you on this! "I think one of the criticisms of the second one is that it's not quite as "literature-worthy" as the first one, and while I can see the point, I really enjoyed the fun Steinbeck obviously had with the second one. I'm not exactly a book "snob" so I didn't care if it was literature or not, lol!
Karen wrote: "I’ve never read Steinbeck! I will try this one first😊Awesome review Matthew!"
Thanks, Karen! I hope you enjoy!
Matthew wrote: "We shall see! Hopefully I am with you on this! "I think one of the criticisms of the second one is that it's not quite as "literature-worthy" as the first one, and while I can see the point, I really enjoyed the fun Steinbeck obviously had with the second one. I'm not exactly a book "snob" so I didn't care if it was literature or not, lol!
Sue wrote: "I loved this also I should have rated it 5 stars. You must see the film with Nick Nolte and Debra Winger. It's wonderful too!"Glad you enjoyed, too, Sue! With all this praise for the movie I will need to watch it sooner than later!
Eileen wrote: "Matthew wrote: "We shall see! Hopefully I am with you on this! "I think one of the criticisms of the second one is that it's not quite as "literature-worthy" as the first one, and while I can see..."
Your comment appeared twice! Poltergeists in my reviews! 😁😁😁
If it does have a greatly different feel from standard Steinbeck, I can imagine it might rub fans the wrong way. Hopefully my track record of enjoying it all of his work holds true and I can just enjoy the fun! 😃
This looks so promising. Thank you for the review. I will most likely start here as have been meaning to read a book by Steinbeck.
