Cannery Row

Mr John Steinbeck

From Shelf: The books we read in 2001

One of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the World''Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.'Meet the gamblers, whores, drunks, bums and artists of Cannery Row in Monterey, California, during the Great Depression. They want to throw a party for their friend Doc, so Mack and the boys set about, in their own inimitable way, recruiting everyone in the neighbourhood to the cause. But along the way they can't help but get involved in a little mischief and misadventure. It wouldn't be Cannery Row if it was otherwise, now would it?This edition features a stunning new cover by renowned artist Bijou Karman.'One of the most thoroughly enjoyable and delicious books you'll ever have the fortune to read' Chicago Sun Times'Uninhibited, bawdy, compassionate, inquisitive, deeply intelligent' Daily Telegraph'There is no more impressive writer on either side of the Atlantic' Time and Tide