John Steinbeck

By John Steinbeck.
Begun 28 Nov 2007; finished 02 Dec.

I understand that Cannery Row was written by John Steinbeck for American soldiers deployed overseas during World War II, a whimsical and light-hearted story that would remind them of home. It’s the “happiest” story of Steinbeck’s that I’ve read so far. It has its share of melancholy and sad moments, but remains paced towards the optimistic and fun.

The novel is about a small community of various people living near the fish cannery on the wharf of Monterey, California. All these personages are very memorable: Lee Chong, the Chinese grocer who “speaks a courtly English without ever saying the letter R” (and indeed doesn’t); Mack and the boys, a kind-hearted and good-natured group of hobos; Doc, the scholarly and reticent biologist with his share of secrets; Dora, the madam of the local brothel; and others, all quite ordinary people going about ordinary business. These are some of the most memorable literary characters I’d ever read: Steinbeck introduces each of them in some detail, painting a vivid and complete and endearing picture of each character, major or minor, giving each a slightly larger-than-life touch.

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By John Steinbeck.
Begun and finished 27 Nov 2007.

John Steinbeck wrote The Moon Is Down during World War II as a propagandistic story denouncing Nazism. This novella is simple: a small town is invaded and conquered by enemy troops, and martial law is imposed. But the townspeople start resisting, the militia clamps down and metes out punishment, the situation escalates as both sides retaliate with more desperate and heated measures, and all builds up to a gripping climax. Though there’s no suggestion of race and location of the town and characters, it’s clearly referring to Nazi conquest of Europe.

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By John Steinbeck.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a very short and brisk book: you can read it in less than an hour. Despite the economical use of words in laying out the setting and telling the story, those words are used very effectively, and I found myself connecting readily with all the characters. Even so, after reading Victor Hugo’s detailed examination of his characters’ psyches (in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, which was the book I read just before this), Steinbeck’s book felt quite sparse. I don’t think I would’ve understood the full thrust of the story if I hadn’t seen the movie first.

What I understood: every character in the story longs for companionship, brotherly kindness and a hope for the future, but it is ultimately denied to him. Read the rest of this entry »