A sublime tale in which the wine rarely stops flowing
|
Briefly, Danny, the chief protagonist in this novel, returns from the war to Tortilla Flat (a paisano district that sits upon a hillside above Monterey), to find he has inherited two houses. What then follows is a comedic tale that fundamentally can be summed up in 5 words - wine, friendship, food, women and err..wine again :o)
This is the first John Steinbeck novel I've had the pleasure of reading, and quite simply it has left an indelible mark on me. What captivates me in the first instance is the remarkable talent Mr. Steinbeck shows in the quality of his prose. He demonstrates an incredible talent for expressing himself literarily, and in the most poetic way. I could provide endless examples but as an illustration, instead of penning something simple such as "the Pirate used his wheelbarrow to help Danny", Mr. Steinbeck eloquently scribes it as "then borrowing the Pirate's wheelbarrow and the Pirate to push it, Danny..", which, like the most of the sentences in Tortilla Flat, read like silk.
If the quality of Mr. Steinbeck's prose forms one half of the success of Tortilla Flat, then the sublime depth of his characterisation fills the other half. Mr. Steinbeck succeeds at magnificently bringing his characters to life. Every one is profoundly realised, with each possessing their own idiosyncratic yet appealing qualities. It is a difficult choice to make but the most endearing character for me is "The Pirate', the man `whose head had not grown up with the rest of his body'. Conscientious, hard-working, a man of simple pleasure (a pleasure that consists of him either showing affection for his dogs, or working towards winning the approval of his friends), the Pirate epitomizes how a humble, honest and largely pious life should be lived, which superbly juxtaposes the lifestyles of the other friends in the group (well, with the exception of Big Joe Portagee :o)) which are as far from pious as one could get.
This is not to say that Danny and his friends never show good intentions at heart. Mr. Steinbeck is masterful at setting his characters on a path of good intention, only for them to either falter, or to manipulate circumstance to meet their own needs. This happens a lot, and more often than not, wine plays a role as either the primary motive or betrayer.
I truly loved reading Tortilla Flat. It is a delightful story, with magnificent characters, and I would consider it to be a work of absolute genius. I never thought it could be possible to be completely captivated by an author on the strength of reading one book, but I can state without fear of contradiction that Mr. John Steinbeck, thanks to Tortilla Flat, has found a rare place in my heart. I look forward to discovering the rest of his collection.
|
|
|
The best I've ever read
|
|
Some readers will see the pure story of Tortilla Flat, some will gain hints of the book's wider moral undertones, others again will see its romantic side. But for me this book has all that and more. I have read it regularly, about every two or three years during my adult life, and each time it reveals something new about *me* and the way I live my life in the present. For true fans of Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath carries more indignant social commentary, Pippin IV more humour, Burning Bright more romanticism and Of Mice and Men more depth of character, However, if you want to see all these attributes distilled into one short volume, here it is. To me this little book is John Steinbeck's masterpiece. I cherish every word of it and can honestly say that in my humble opinion it is the finest book in the English language.
|
|
|
A Merry Tale!
|
|
“Tortilla Flat” is an entertaining tale of Danny and his paisano friends as they live the lives of a merry band of unemployed alcoholics. Danny is the core which draws the gradually expanding group to himself and holds it together. Pilon, Jesus Marie, Big Joe Portagee, Pablo and the Pirate all introduce their own personalities into this story. For a group which never works, drinks wine whenever it is available and survives by stealing, they are an amazingly likable lot. Thieves though the are, they each have a good hearted and generous core. This book is an easy read, entertaining and funny. Read and Enjoy!
|
|
The Young Ones go west
|
A friend lent me this book and said that she wanted me to love it as much as she did. Although it is admirably short and by the same author as the classic 'Grapes of Wrath' I ultimately couldn't bring myself to love it.
There's plenty to like - a scruffy bunch of slackers set up house together, drink a lot and act in a thoroughly irresponsible way - for me it doesn't really say anything. It captures the charm of a lifestyle that is almost like living in student digs, but I found it hard to connect with any of these misfits - there were rare flashes of humanity in the humour but not enough to keep me interested in their shambling progress.
|
|
A wonderful classic by a wonderful author of his time.
|
|
I had read most of the John Steinbeck novels when I was in school but I seemed to have missed this one. I loved it, the pull between poor Danny and his friends was at times humorous but sad. Mr. Steinbeck used wonderful words to discribe all the characters in the novel it really made it easy to picture them. Longman publishing have done a great job with this educational version with a brief summary at the beggining and questions following each chapter, I could see how this could be very useful to a student. I would highly recomend this book.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada