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Completed	10 May 2009
Title	Cannery Row
Author	John Steinbeck
Published	1945
Quote	"The boys stood in the kitchen and gathered quick impressions. It was obvious that the wife was away----the opened cans, the frying pan with lace from fried eggs still sticking to it, the crumbs on the kitchen table, the open box of shotgun shells on the bread box all shrieked of the lack of a woman, while the white curtains and the papers on the dish shelves and the too small towels on the rack told them a woman had been there. And they were unconsciously glad she wasn't there. The kind of women who put papers on shelves and had little towels like that instinctively distrusted and disliked Mack and the boys. Such women knew that they were the worst threats to a home, for they offered ease and thought and companionship as opposed to neatness, order, and properness. They were very glad she was away."
Review	Now don't get me wrong. I like Steinbeck. Ever since I read The Grapes of Wrath, years ago, I've been a big fan. But enough is enough. I can't take Steinbeck anymore. Not right now. Not at this point in my life. As much as I like and respect Steinbeck's writing style, he's consistently a wet blanket. Are any of his characters uplifting? Do they have anything to look forward to? Do you feel better after reading Steinbeck? Does Steinbeck lift you up? For me, the answer is a resounding, No. I began with the best of intentions. I had intended on tackling the comprehensive work of Steinbeck this month, reading everything except The Grapes of Wrath; in fact, I have a stack of library books sitting right here on the table, ready to be read. But tomorrow morning I'll return this stack of Steinbeck to the library. I will set it aside for another time. Another time when I need someone to rain on my parade, to bring me down. Last night, it being Saturday night, I naturally had nothing to do and so I settled into the comfy chair with my knitting. Sounds terribly boring, doesn't it, but in my defense, I am currently donning a lime green plaster cast, thanks to recent foot surgery, which makes it nearly impossible to venture outside. So, last night, with knitting in hand, I flipped on the television and stumbled across the White House Correspondents' Dinner. This is exactly what I need right now. I need laughter now. And Obama's speech had me laughing aloud. And while I was laughing, I realized the stupidity of reading Steinbeck, the stupidity of inviting black clouds when it's just as easy to laugh. Isn't life better and more enjoyable with laughter....instead of inviting, say, the sadness that heavy literature often brings? So, needless to say, I did not enjoy Cannery Row. It's just another sad Steinbeck tale. I will now officially retire Steinbeck and instead try my luck with the great adventurer, Jack London. Hopefully, he's got a sense of humor.

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