Cannery Row

Resumen del libro

Amid the honky-tonks and sardine canneries of Monterey, California, a motley band forms a colorful even idyllic world of its own.

Unburdened by the material necessities of the more fortunate, the denizens of Cannery Row discover rewards unknown in more traditional society.
Henry the painter sorts through junk lots for pieces of wood to incorporate into the boat he is building, while the girls from Dora Flood's bordello venture out now and then to enjoy a bit of sunshine. Lee Chong stocks his grocery with almost anything a man could want, and Doc, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love.

Cannery Row is just a few blocks long, but the story it harbors is suffused with warmth, understanding, and a great fund of human values.

First 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. John Steinbeck draws on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, and interweaves their stories in this world where only the fittest survive creating what is at once one of his most humorous and poignant works. In Cannery Row, John Steinbeck returns to the setting of Tortilla Flat to create another evocative portrait of life as it is lived by those who unabashedly put the highest value on the intangibles human warmth, camaraderie, and love.

Biografía del autor

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) realizó diversos oficios (peón agrícola, empleado de laboratorio, albañil y vigilante nocturno) para costearse sus estudios en la Universidad de Stanford. Su obra constituye un gran fresco de los conflictos sociales y económicos de la vida rural del Sur de los Estados Unidos y una permanente búsqueda de valores en un mundo crecientemente deshumanizado. En 1962 fue galardonado con el Premio Nobel de Literatura.