Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4/5 cats
how do i review cannery row? like all the steinbeck i have read—except the dead pony, of which i remember very little except not being too keen on it—it is saturated with these wonderful marginalized characters who are desperate and hopeless and yearning. but they are surviving. and there is so much beauty in the squalor. it reminds me in my feeling-parts of Suttree, which is one of my all time favorite books. this book is full of such well-meaning ineptitude and many very serious things couched in an effortless prose that comes across as almost humorous, or rather, amused. i’m not sure how to articulate all that i am feeling for steinbeck right now. this one will never be my favorite, but its been so long since i read him, i am remembering why i always list him when rattling off favorite authors when cornered by someone who wants something “really american.” this certainly qualifies. the frog story was the best thing i have read in a long time. it didn’t escape five stars cats by much—there’s a visceral reaction i get to certain books that i didn’t get here. but really—a fucking gem.
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