Tortilla Flat

"Steinbeck is an artist; and he tells stories of these lovable thieves and adulterers with a gentle and poetic purity of heart and of prose."--New York Herald Tribune

Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, Steinbeck created a Camelot on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur's castle, becomes a gathering place for men looking for adventure, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging--men who fiercely resist the corrupting tide of honest toil and civil rectitude. As Steinbeck chronicles their deeds--their multiple lovers, their wonderful brawls, their Rabelaisian wine-drinking--he spins a tale as compelling and ultimately as touched by sorrow as the famous legends of the Round Table, which inspired him.

Reseñas de la Crítica

By the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

John Steinbeck knew and understood America and Americans better than any other writer of the twentieth century. (The Dallas Morning News) A man whose work was equal to the vast social themes that drove him. (Don DeLillo)"

Different study of Steinbeck

If you could sum up Tortilla Flat in three words, what would they be?

Interesting - a negative sterio-type of Mexicans in America

What could John Steinbeck have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Nothing - really - maybe a disclamer to say this isn't really what Mexicans are like.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the baby was dying and they didn't even realize it or really seem to care.

you know, stienbeck! lots of details & hidden msg

i didnt get it. but i enjoyed it. you know, stienbeck man! gotta look 4 the hidden messages

Enjoy!

John Steinbeck never fails to succeed. The lush descriptions of the places and the extraordinary character development move the stories along in their pleasing plots.

Uncanny & Beautiful

Though all of Steinbeck lends a beautiful simplicity and comedy to life, this story had a particularly earthly feel. The smallest of towns and the smallness of the world were palpable.

One image is unshakeable — the human/hawk/hovering cloud over Danny’s head — a precursor to Infinite Jest’s “shadow of the wing of the thing too big to see.” Steinbeck’s surrealist, uncanny movements — just for a moment — take you from the grays and dust of Tortilla Flat to a place just beyond our world, where the rules of our earth are suspended and imagination reigns. As with the boy who stumbles upon the eye of the Chinese nightwalker in Cannery Row, we can only wonder alongside poor Danny and his friends.

awesome

Only Suttree stands close to true hoboness of this fine old homeless family tree. One of my favorite Steinbecks