Steinbeck's "...dream"
I have been so inspired by the comradery of the nation these past few weeks. How we have stuck together, like a large extended family, all pulling for the same thing. I was searching my memory banks for a book to talk about this week that somehow came close to that kind of unusual family, that strange bond we develop when we have strangers, or friends as close to us as any family member could be. I didn’t search long, because I remembered a book I read many years ago by John Steinbeck, that I think in a small way helps to sum up my feelings of friendship.
“Cannery Row,” one of Steinbeck’s California novels, was written in 1945 and documents the lives of several simple folks living in Monterey, California in the 1930's. It is a wonderful little novella. I say little because it is not even 200 pages, and it is not a heavy read. The subjects are light, but meaningful, and the setting is beautiful but realistic.
To understand this book, we must understand, at least in some part, the author. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, and loved the Monterey Peninsula. Even today there is a bust of him in Monterey, and references to him throughout the town. He is a hero there, and the main thoroughfare is still Cannery Row. Nowadays it looks different than the days of Steinbeck, but the essence of what he felt here is still obvious. In the best quote from the book., Steinbeck says, “Cannery row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, nostalgia, a dream.”
After visiting Monterey myself a couple of years ago, and seeing first hand the city he had written about, I understood his love of the area. My hotel room window overlooked Cannery Row itself, and on the opposite side of the building was the ocean. I took refuge on the patio of the hotel, late at night, listening to the waves, and slept with my window open to hear every sound of from the water and town. I can honestly say, out of anywhere I have traveled, and as a native Californian who is used to the beach, that Monterey is by far my favorite, peaceful town I’ve seen. It is a beautiful, quiet, and overwhelming feeling. At the time I read the book, I was living in Colorado, and could vividly remember the sounds of the water in my native San Diego. The book made me remember how much I missed my home state, and someday would like to see this quirky little town of Monterey. When I finally did, it was only a little different than I imagined, and every bit as filling to the sense as I could have thought. Even now the thought of it calms me, and I think back on my visit there when I am stressed or tired. This book, and this town has stayed with me. I
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