Cannery RowPenguin, 1993 M02 1 - 208 pages Steinbeck’s tough yet charming portrait of people on the margins of society, dependant on one another for both physical and emotional survival A Penguin Classic Published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is: both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. Drawing on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, including longtime friend Ed Ricketts, Steinbeck interweaves the stories of Doc, Dora, Mack and his boys, Lee Chong, and the other characters in this world where only the fittest survive, to create a novel that is at once one of his most humorous and poignant works. In her introduction, Susan Shillinglaw shows how the novel expresses, both in style and theme, much that is essentially Steinbeck: “Scientific detachment, empathy toward the lonely and depressed . . . and, at the darkest level . . . the terror of isolation and nothingness.” For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
asked Bear Flag beautiful beer began better boat boys broken brought Cannery Row captain cats closed comes couldn’t crossed dark didn’t Doc’s don’t door Dora Eddie eyes face feeling feet felt finger five floor four Frankie frogs front gave girls give glass grocery hair half hands happened Hazel head hear heard hell Henri hill Hughie Jones keep kind knew laboratory Lee Chong light lived looked Mack mind morning moved never nice night once opened Palace Flophouse party picked piece played pool pretty rocks says seemed sick sitting smell smiled stood stopped street tell thing thought tide took town turned waited walked watched whiskey whole window wonder