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John Steinbeck was a novelist and dramatist whose most famous works include East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962. José Luis Piquero is a writer and a translator whose other translations include The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise.
Steinbeck left Stanford permanently in 1925 to pursue a career in writing in New York City. He was unsuccessful and returned, disappointed, to California the following year. Though his first novel, Cup of Gold, was published in 1929, it attracted little literary attention. Two subsequent novels, The Pastures of Heaven and To A God Unknown, met the same fate.
After moving to the Monterey Peninsula in 1930, Steinbeck and his new wife, Carol Henning, made their home in Pacific Grove. Here, not far from famed Cannery Row, heart of the California sardine industry, Steinbeck found material he would later use for two more works, Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row.
With Tortilla Flat (1935), Steinbeck's career took a decidedly positive turn, receiving the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal. He felt encouraged to continue writing, relying on extensive research and personal observation of the human drama for his stories. In 1937, Of Mice and Men was published. Two years later, the novel was produced on Broadway and made into a movie. In 1940, Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for Grapes of Wrath, bringing to public attention the plight of dispossessed farmers.
After Steinbeck and Henning divorced in 1942, he married Gwyndolyn Conger. The couple moved to New York City and had two sons, Thomas and two years later, John. During the war years, Steinbeck served as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune. Some of his dispatches reappeared in Once There Was A War. In 1945, Steinbeck published Cannery Row and continued to write prolifically, producing plays, short stories and film scripts. In 1950, he married Elaine Anderson Scott and they remained together until his death.
Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "...for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and keen social perception.." In his acceptance speech, Steinbeck summarized what he sought to achieve through his works:
"...Literature is as old as speech. It grew out of human need for it and it has not changed except to become more needed. The skalds, the bards, the writers are not separate and exclusive. From the beginning, their functions, their duties, their responsibilities have been decreed by our species...Further more, the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man's proven capacity of greatness of heart and spirit—gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and emulation. I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature..."
Steinbeck remained a private person, shunning publicity and moving frequently in his search for privacy. He died on December 20, 1968 in New York City, where he and his family made a home. But his final resting place was the valley he had written about with such passion. At his request, his ashes were interred in the Garden of Memories cemetery in Salinas. He is survived by his son, Thomas.
Author biography courtesy of the National Steinbeck Center.
Anonymous
Posted March 13, 2007
A fantastic rewriting of the story of the 'Knights of the Roundtable.' Each of the characters is well-drawn and there are many 'mini-novels' in this wonderful book. One of my favorites!
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Posted February 1, 2005
Honestly, I don't think Steinbeck wrote a bad book. Certainly his greatest achievement is 'East of Eden' but one should not forget to check out his others such as 'Tortilla Flat.' If you like great writing, such as the works of McCullers or Jackson McCrae, then you'll love this book as well.
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Posted November 19, 2004
I really enjoyed this book. The best parts of the book were those found between the lines, like when Pilon would convince himself to keep his dollar rather than give it to Danny, as he would be doing Danny a favor that way. Or when the paisanos broke into (for them) deep conversation, they used 'thee' and 'thyne' and 'goeth thou'. Steinbeck broke into this dialect himself in the final chapters. Great subtle stuff in this book. If you want deep, don't read this book. If you want to be entertained, and spend time in a different world, read this book! Great chapters about the Corporal and Sweets. Good wine.
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Posted October 1, 2002
John Steinbeck creates a unique novel that describes a friendship between a group of friends. This circle of friends revolves around the main character, Danny. Danny inherits two houses and he shares them both with all of his friends. His sense of friendship and kindness to his loyal comrades helps them all to escape their toil in poverty. Friendship gives everyone the support that they deserve in a time of need; in ¿Tortilla Flat¿, John Steinbeck shows how important friendship is in a small circle of friends. Tortilla Flat is full of setting from front to back. The story is set above the town of Monterey on the California coast, in the poverty stricken district of Tortilla Flat around the early 1900¿s. Danny and his friends are unemployed drunks who live to find another dollar so they can salvage a gallon of wine from the local tavern. They share with everyone, and their loyalty to each other makes every stranger become a companion. The harsh setting of homelessness and lack of money forces the characters to unite in friendship and share their possessions with one another in order to meet their psychological needs. In the book, Danny speaks of sharing his shelter with his old friend Pilon, `Pilon, I swear, what I have is thine. While I have a house, thou hast a house. Give me a drink.¿(pg. 11) Steinbeck successfully paints a beautiful picture of the whole culture, as well as the surroundings. His incredible talent is reflected on every page of this book to keep you itching for more about this heart-warming tale of friendship.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 26, 2013
When I first read the book, I thought this is the worst piece of crap I have ever read. But once we started to discuss this in the book club I realized this is how someone who lives in a crack house today would see the world. The book is about 5 men who have no intention of ever working only how to get by.
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Posted November 10, 2004
This book has good writing but lacks direction. We all know that John Steinback is a good writer but this novel just didn¿t hold my appeal. There were funny parts in this book that you could laugh at and have a good time with but I didn¿t seem to understand all of it. There were also sad parts in this book that really hits home with people that have gone through some situations like this. This novel did not seem to, in the end, teach you a lesson that you could take away and use in life. This book would be a good book if he would include a lesson to use in life, so at the end of the day when you finish this book you can learn something from it.
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Posted May 4, 2004
John Steinbeck described the real life of paisanos after WW1. Each caracter was individual. The most of all I like Danny's caracter because he was very honest and good friend. The last chapter was too touching.
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Posted January 11, 2004
Tortilla Flat is truly one of Steinbeck's many masterpieces -- funny, touching, and exciting all at once. The novel is about Danny, a paisano from Monterey, his friends, and all of their crazy drunken antics. The stories in Tortilla Flat are charming and hilarious. Some of the best include the tale of Teresina Cortez, who fed her nine children solely tortillas and beans, and the chapter about Sweets Ramirez and her vacuum cleaner. The main characters are lovable too. Who could forget the child-like Pirate, the ingenious Pablo, the kind Jesus Maria, or the sharp Pilon? I would definately recommend Tortilla Flat to anybody who is not offended by excess alcohol. This is a book that everybody should read!
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Posted November 16, 2003
Tortilla Flat was the book I chose for my book project, and although I didn't read it eagerly as I do with other books but I thought it was a good book. I love the friendship that unfolds. I just don't like the ending how Danny had to die...
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Posted October 23, 2003
Tortilla Flat was an ok book. I had to read it for English class, so I just kept doggedly reading. It started off really slow, but after awhile I was able to compare the power of friendship among the friends to the world today. If you like John Steinbeck's works, you ,might want to try this one.
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Posted March 30, 2003
A very interesting story, that illustrates change and adjustment very well. Each character mentioned has a distinct personality and life story that is different from everyone elses. This book is very well written with its own plot and setting, but maintains Steinbeck's major theme of the life of the lower and working classes. A good book to read if you want a great story in less than 300 pages.
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Posted November 7, 2002
Tortilla Flat is a readable novel by an author whose reputation far exceeds the talent he shows here. Boring, un-interesting, dry, slow, un-original are a few words I would use to desribe this novel. The sad part is that Tortilla Flat is at least half-way decent, which makes it better than some of his other, un-deservedly famous works. If you have plenty of time and not many other options then this might be worth a look; if not, steer clear.
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Posted February 1, 2001
Tortilla Flats, by John Steinbeck was a book of reality. The novel starts out slow, but adventure increases as the novel continues on. The novel is about a group of friends who come upon sudden wealth by aquiring two houses. The adventures they go through are realistic and funny. I personoly found the novel amusing. The plot was unclear to me at until the very end of the novel. I thought the novel was about a bunch of mexican friends who get drunk all the time. Its true point was about friendship and how all friends stay together through hardships. The one friend Danny, was a sympathic soul. He helped his friends in need by giving them a house when they are homeless. Danny is such a good friend he never asked his fellow roomates for any money. The novel contained Steinbecks unique style of writting, and his use of strong imagery. I enjoyed this novel.
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Posted January 7, 2009
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Posted March 12, 2009
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Posted October 27, 2008
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Posted April 1, 2011
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Posted March 4, 2009
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Posted August 11, 2011
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Posted June 4, 2012
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