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The Essential Steinbeck: Four Complete Novels
The Grapes of Wrath/Cannery Row/Of Mice and Men/Tortilla Flat
1120 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1994
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46 people want to read
About the author
John Steinbeck
850 books26.8k followersJohn Ernst Steinbeck was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". He has been called "a giant of American letters."
During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward F. Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize–winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.
Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.
During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward F. Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize–winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.
Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 13, 2021
May 8, 11am ~~ Review asap.
May 12, 1130am ~~ This heavy book has four of Steinbeck's novels, in this order: The Grapes Of Wrath, Cannery Row, Of Mice And Men, Tortilla Flat.
I have read three of these previously (and pre-GR) and I had planned to read one, then a book by someone else, then another here and so on until I was done. But I didn't do that, I stayed with Steinbeck to the very last page without any distractions.
I am doing a little binge reading of Steinbeck these days, which began with The Log From The Sea Of Cortez. That led me to want to re-read Cannery Row, but before I did that, I devoured a biography of the author, the excellent John Steinbeck, the Errant Knight: An Intimate Biography of His California Years.
This gave me insight into the man himself and background stories about his work, so that when I did finally begin this big volume (did I mention it is heavy?!) I was able to connect on different levels than I had in other readings.
I am not going to dive too deeply into each novel, I will just share a few thoughts from notes I made as I read. I started with Cannery Row. The character of Doc was modelled after JS's friend Ed Ricketts. Knowing that, knowing the friendship the two men had, and how important 'Doc' was to JS, made me appreciate this book more than ever. I loved the story of the little community around the canning factories. The people may not have been 'high society', but they were no less human, probably more so. And knowing that the escapade of the frog collecting was based on an actual college-days incident from JS's own life made the story even more real to me.
Next I read Of Mice And Men. And I cried, I always do. Again we are shown a community of men who may not be on the top rungs of life's ladder, but they still have dreams, they still LIVE. The bonus knowledge about this book for me was that it was originally written as a play. And that JS himself denied it was anything other than a story about two friends. Well, I have read this many times, I've seen two film versions, and I saw a live performance at the local community college theater back in the late 1990's. All I can say is if you ever get a chance to see this performed on stage, go go go. And I hope the players you see will be as talented as the ones I saw. The audience was on its feet in tears at the end.
The Grapes Of Wrath was next. I know I had read this many years ago, but there was so much more I became aware of now compared to back when I was younger and slightly less stupid. Like the idea that farming should be alive and it is not if the farmer is stuck up in an air-conditioned tractor cab, never getting the dirt from the field on his boots or under his fingernails. JS had a few paragraphs about this topic, and it certainly made sense to me. You can have all kinds of scientific reports about your soil, but if you don't go out and stand in it every so often you will never feel it. For Steinbeck, the sharecroppers who were forced off their land were the heroes of the story, the salvation of the country. But most people did not see them that way. Typical American attitudes of prejudice and disdain ruled the roost. I was saddened by the fact that if you tweak the characters a little and place them in our own times, nothing would change for them. People who are willing to do the world's grunt work are considered less human than the fat, comfortable citizens who refuse to get their hands dirty. Shameful then, shameful now.
Finally I got to Tortilla Flat, the only book here that was a new read for me. I am not sure why I had never read it, and I am glad I finally did. But the background I learned about this book from the Steinbeck biography distracted me a little bit. he wrote this as a homage to the tales of King Arthur and his Knights Of The Round Table. So instead of just reading for the surface story this first time through, I tried to work out the similarities and such. I gave that up pretty quickly, though. Steinbeck was a lifelong admirer of the King Arthur legends, but it has been many years since I read any of them. I could see hints of what I was supposed to see here and there, but I could not capture more than a few subtleties. Someday I will review King Arthur's story and then come back to this one. I will say that in Tortilla Flat I found some of the most lovely writing in the whole big heavy book. Even without figuring out the connections, the story is another vivid portrayal of a close-knit community following its own rhythms. I loved it and will definitely be reading it again someday.
So there we go, five stars all the way around, and one final reminder. This is a big heavy book. If you read it at night, be careful. Be very careful. It really hurts when you get sleepy and drop it on your nose.
May 12, 1130am ~~ This heavy book has four of Steinbeck's novels, in this order: The Grapes Of Wrath, Cannery Row, Of Mice And Men, Tortilla Flat.
I have read three of these previously (and pre-GR) and I had planned to read one, then a book by someone else, then another here and so on until I was done. But I didn't do that, I stayed with Steinbeck to the very last page without any distractions.
I am doing a little binge reading of Steinbeck these days, which began with The Log From The Sea Of Cortez. That led me to want to re-read Cannery Row, but before I did that, I devoured a biography of the author, the excellent John Steinbeck, the Errant Knight: An Intimate Biography of His California Years.
This gave me insight into the man himself and background stories about his work, so that when I did finally begin this big volume (did I mention it is heavy?!) I was able to connect on different levels than I had in other readings.
I am not going to dive too deeply into each novel, I will just share a few thoughts from notes I made as I read. I started with Cannery Row. The character of Doc was modelled after JS's friend Ed Ricketts. Knowing that, knowing the friendship the two men had, and how important 'Doc' was to JS, made me appreciate this book more than ever. I loved the story of the little community around the canning factories. The people may not have been 'high society', but they were no less human, probably more so. And knowing that the escapade of the frog collecting was based on an actual college-days incident from JS's own life made the story even more real to me.
Next I read Of Mice And Men. And I cried, I always do. Again we are shown a community of men who may not be on the top rungs of life's ladder, but they still have dreams, they still LIVE. The bonus knowledge about this book for me was that it was originally written as a play. And that JS himself denied it was anything other than a story about two friends. Well, I have read this many times, I've seen two film versions, and I saw a live performance at the local community college theater back in the late 1990's. All I can say is if you ever get a chance to see this performed on stage, go go go. And I hope the players you see will be as talented as the ones I saw. The audience was on its feet in tears at the end.
The Grapes Of Wrath was next. I know I had read this many years ago, but there was so much more I became aware of now compared to back when I was younger and slightly less stupid. Like the idea that farming should be alive and it is not if the farmer is stuck up in an air-conditioned tractor cab, never getting the dirt from the field on his boots or under his fingernails. JS had a few paragraphs about this topic, and it certainly made sense to me. You can have all kinds of scientific reports about your soil, but if you don't go out and stand in it every so often you will never feel it. For Steinbeck, the sharecroppers who were forced off their land were the heroes of the story, the salvation of the country. But most people did not see them that way. Typical American attitudes of prejudice and disdain ruled the roost. I was saddened by the fact that if you tweak the characters a little and place them in our own times, nothing would change for them. People who are willing to do the world's grunt work are considered less human than the fat, comfortable citizens who refuse to get their hands dirty. Shameful then, shameful now.
Finally I got to Tortilla Flat, the only book here that was a new read for me. I am not sure why I had never read it, and I am glad I finally did. But the background I learned about this book from the Steinbeck biography distracted me a little bit. he wrote this as a homage to the tales of King Arthur and his Knights Of The Round Table. So instead of just reading for the surface story this first time through, I tried to work out the similarities and such. I gave that up pretty quickly, though. Steinbeck was a lifelong admirer of the King Arthur legends, but it has been many years since I read any of them. I could see hints of what I was supposed to see here and there, but I could not capture more than a few subtleties. Someday I will review King Arthur's story and then come back to this one. I will say that in Tortilla Flat I found some of the most lovely writing in the whole big heavy book. Even without figuring out the connections, the story is another vivid portrayal of a close-knit community following its own rhythms. I loved it and will definitely be reading it again someday.
So there we go, five stars all the way around, and one final reminder. This is a big heavy book. If you read it at night, be careful. Be very careful. It really hurts when you get sleepy and drop it on your nose.
October 18, 2024
This ONE BOOK consists of FOUR NOVELS.
So, if I miss my 2024 reading challenge, I’m blaming John Steinbeck :P.
I read these four stories throughout the year and REALLY enjoyed the process. Obviously, it goes without saying that the writing is outstanding. And the stories - the well-known classics that they are - are fantastic and deserve all the recognition they’ve received since their release many years ago.
My ratings for each story, starting with my favourite:
1. The Grapes of Wrath - The longest and most in-depth of the four novels, this had everything I love - and more - in a story. Full of adventure, drama, and SO much emotion. I loved it and it left me feeling quite sad. 5 STARS!
2. Of Mice and Men - I had read this before, but enjoyed it just as much this time around. It was also SO sad and extremely well told. 5 STARS!
3. Cannery Row - Take me to Cannery Row so I can also live there. 4 STARS!
4. Tortilla Flat - Like Cannery Row, but I don’t know if I’d like to be a part of this group of friends. 3.5 STARS!
So, if I miss my 2024 reading challenge, I’m blaming John Steinbeck :P.
I read these four stories throughout the year and REALLY enjoyed the process. Obviously, it goes without saying that the writing is outstanding. And the stories - the well-known classics that they are - are fantastic and deserve all the recognition they’ve received since their release many years ago.
My ratings for each story, starting with my favourite:
1. The Grapes of Wrath - The longest and most in-depth of the four novels, this had everything I love - and more - in a story. Full of adventure, drama, and SO much emotion. I loved it and it left me feeling quite sad. 5 STARS!
2. Of Mice and Men - I had read this before, but enjoyed it just as much this time around. It was also SO sad and extremely well told. 5 STARS!
3. Cannery Row - Take me to Cannery Row so I can also live there. 4 STARS!
4. Tortilla Flat - Like Cannery Row, but I don’t know if I’d like to be a part of this group of friends. 3.5 STARS!
December 14, 2019
A very good selection of works by Steinbeck, showing am amazing range of his writing skills.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews