Status Updates From Cannery Row (Cannery Row, #1)

“Music sounded in Doc's ears, a high thin piercingly sweet flute carrying a melody he could never remember, and against this, a pounding surf-like wood-wind section. The flute went up into regions beyond the hearing range and even there it carried its unbelievable melody. Goose pimples came out on Doc's arms. He shivered and his eyes were wet the way they get in the focus of great beauty.“

ugh.

If you're looking for a book with a plot (like East of Eden), this one doesn't provide that satisfaction. It does, however, allow Steinbeck, with a reporters/writers eye to describe the characters and anecdotes of life during the Great Depression centered around the canneries of Monterrey Bay.

“for monterey was not a town to let dishonour come to a literary man.”