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Some books proclaim greatness from the first sentence; such a book is John Steinbeck's 1945 classic, Cannery Row. “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.” What a powerful, evocative invitation to enter into the milieu of Monterey's sardine canneries of the Thirties, with its colorful and sympathetic inhabitants--Cora Flood, the local madam “...great woman, a great big woman with flaming orange hair and a taste for Nilegreen evening dresses”; Doc, the young marine biologist who was “as concupiscent as a rabbit, and gentle as hell”; Lee Chong, whose grocery “while not a model of neatness, was a miracle of supply”; Mack and the boys, “who lived in the Palace Flophouse, pilfered necessities, and took occasional work at the canneries, when all else failed.” This is the book that put Monterey on the map, and it is easy to see why, in 1991, people still make pilgrimages there in the hope of recapturing, if only for a fleeting few moments, the images, smells, and sounds evoked by Cannery RowThis is a wonderful, beautifully-written book--one guaranteed to provide a really satisfying reading experience. |
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