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acsaper's review against another edition
4.0
What an incredibly enjoyable book!
This was the first Steinbeck that I've read without being assigned or force fed and boy was I glad I did! Scouring the cluttered shelves of Itaewon's What the Book I found my self inexplicably drawn to the Classics section. Perhaps it was because at least the authors seemed familiar while the fiction shelves were packed with cheap romantic novels and sci-fi reads left behind by the plethora of LBH's to pass through Seoul.
While I've never purposely been driven towards Classics, my pleasurable happen-chance encounter with Jack London convinced me that I might be missing something. So, recognizing Steinbeck's name and remembering that I must have enjoyed Of Mice and Men as well as The Grapes of Wrath to some degree, I decided I'd give Cannery Row a spin!
It took me a few pages before I realized that I was ready about 'cannery' row and not 'canary' row but in the end it all makes sense!
In such a short story, Steinbeck manages to develop such interesting characters and paint a scene that is so vivid I can't help but put the book down every now and then to just watch what is happening. What I really liked about this book was how easy it is to read. The prose are so simple that is almost comes off as a children's book. Even so, the story itself is so wonderful wound around such interesting characters that I couldn't help but fall in love with the people of Cannery Row, even the good intentioned but maligned residents of the Palace Flophouse!
If you're a human being with half an interest in other human beings I don't doubt this book will tickle you as much as it did me!
This was the first Steinbeck that I've read without being assigned or force fed and boy was I glad I did! Scouring the cluttered shelves of Itaewon's What the Book I found my self inexplicably drawn to the Classics section. Perhaps it was because at least the authors seemed familiar while the fiction shelves were packed with cheap romantic novels and sci-fi reads left behind by the plethora of LBH's to pass through Seoul.
While I've never purposely been driven towards Classics, my pleasurable happen-chance encounter with Jack London convinced me that I might be missing something. So, recognizing Steinbeck's name and remembering that I must have enjoyed Of Mice and Men as well as The Grapes of Wrath to some degree, I decided I'd give Cannery Row a spin!
It took me a few pages before I realized that I was ready about 'cannery' row and not 'canary' row but in the end it all makes sense!
In such a short story, Steinbeck manages to develop such interesting characters and paint a scene that is so vivid I can't help but put the book down every now and then to just watch what is happening. What I really liked about this book was how easy it is to read. The prose are so simple that is almost comes off as a children's book. Even so, the story itself is so wonderful wound around such interesting characters that I couldn't help but fall in love with the people of Cannery Row, even the good intentioned but maligned residents of the Palace Flophouse!
If you're a human being with half an interest in other human beings I don't doubt this book will tickle you as much as it did me!
holliewong's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
wildcard_vi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
gracemc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Never read anything quite like this. Interesting to see life through the eyes of different individuals that make up this small community.
Minimal plot but such beautiful writing and descriptive imagery that feels so lifelike. Easy to connect to the characters as they describe loneliness and the imperfectness of life, but also what brings them joy.
Funny, odd, eerie, and emotional.
Minimal plot but such beautiful writing and descriptive imagery that feels so lifelike. Easy to connect to the characters as they describe loneliness and the imperfectness of life, but also what brings them joy.
Funny, odd, eerie, and emotional.
jeansbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
deep_in_the_reads's review against another edition
4.0
It’s kinda hard to review a book like this—aimless on its surface but bursting with beautiful, heartfelt writing, Cannery Row is an interlocking series of short stories and vignettes that weave together to form an affectionate patchwork of life in a low-income canning community. The Row is a place stinking of fish guts, where people struggle to find meaning and satisfaction among the drunken brawls, suicides, and poverty of their neighbourhood. It’s one of those novels that seem tailor-made to be read repeatedly at different points in your life, because different story-threads will jump out at each particular reader depending on their circumstances. Rather than aiming for the epic grandiosity of Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden, John Steinbeck here settles for a low-key, fairly uneventful novel and does it with all the poetic finesse of his bigger books.
Though Cannery Row is highly sentimental, sometimes bordering on saccharine, Steinbeck makes sure to check himself and remind the reader that Cannery Row shouldn’t be romanticized. He checks the charms of each character with shades of moral ambiguity, and doesn’t shy away from the hopelessness some of the Row’s residents feel. This makes the cast of characters all the more admirable (and human) for their attempts to rise above their surroundings and spite their misfortunes, even when they fail. Cannery Row does a wonderful job at balancing existentialism with optimism, asserting that the best things in life are camaraderie rather than material comforts (beautifully illustrated in the penultimate chapter about a lonely gopher). I can't say the book was particularly exciting or dramatic, but it was pretty therapeutic for me!
Some readers may find Cannery Row hard to connect with—the structure of the novel is such that an interesting idea or plot thread will be introduced, only to never be mentioned again. Other threads will go on for longer than you'll expect. Those who read a story expecting everything to come together in a neat way, or have a novel with a powerful narrative thrust, are better off trying Of Mice and Men. But those who understand that life is often a series of chance encounters will appreciate Steinbeck's ability to translate the insignificant hopes, desires, lusts and follies of the everyday person into novel form.
Though Cannery Row is highly sentimental, sometimes bordering on saccharine, Steinbeck makes sure to check himself and remind the reader that Cannery Row shouldn’t be romanticized. He checks the charms of each character with shades of moral ambiguity, and doesn’t shy away from the hopelessness some of the Row’s residents feel. This makes the cast of characters all the more admirable (and human) for their attempts to rise above their surroundings and spite their misfortunes, even when they fail. Cannery Row does a wonderful job at balancing existentialism with optimism, asserting that the best things in life are camaraderie rather than material comforts (beautifully illustrated in the penultimate chapter about a lonely gopher). I can't say the book was particularly exciting or dramatic, but it was pretty therapeutic for me!
Some readers may find Cannery Row hard to connect with—the structure of the novel is such that an interesting idea or plot thread will be introduced, only to never be mentioned again. Other threads will go on for longer than you'll expect. Those who read a story expecting everything to come together in a neat way, or have a novel with a powerful narrative thrust, are better off trying Of Mice and Men. But those who understand that life is often a series of chance encounters will appreciate Steinbeck's ability to translate the insignificant hopes, desires, lusts and follies of the everyday person into novel form.
mrears0_0's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The man doesn’t miss
_traveler_'s review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
isabellesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I have no idea why I am giving this 4 stars instead of 3 or even 3.5. It didn’t stand out, I didn’t deeply care about the characters, the plot was middle-of-the-road, but it was just so...charming. I kinda loved it and I don’t know why.