I read this book about 7 months ago. Another Steinbeck winner. He just doesn't miss. This one is right in the Steinbeck wheelhouse, paesanos in Salinas California just doing their thing, drinking some booze, hanging around getting into shenanigans, failing at almost anything they do despite their best efforts. Very easy to root for these characters and you can enjoy the book no matter where Steinbeck wants to take you. Very similar to Tortilla Flat, but I think that one was slightly more comical which is why it gets the edge in my updated rankings below.
Rankings of the Steinbeck books I've read:
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Of Mice and Men
- East of Eden
- In Dubious Battle
- Tortilla Flat
- Cannery Row
- The Winter of Our Discontent
- The Pearl
- The Long Valley
