Tortilla Flat - Softcover

Steinbeck, Mr John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141185112 ISBN 13: 9780141185118

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2000

Synopsis

John Steinbeck's first major critical and commercial success, and perhaps his funniest novel, Tortilla Flat includes a critical introduction by Thomas Fensch in Penguin Modern Classics. Danny is a paisano, descended from the original Spanish settlers who arrived in Monterey, California, centuries before. He values friendship above money and possessions, so when he suddenly inherits two houses, Danny is quick to offer shelter to his fellow gentlemen of the road. Together, their love of freedom and scorn for material things draws them into daring and often hilarious adventures. That is, until Danny, tiring of his new responsibilities, suddenly disappears... John Steinbeck (1902-68), winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for literature, is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. During the Second World War Steinbeck served as a war correspondent, with his collected dispatches published as Once There Was a War (1958); in 1945 he was awarded the Norwegian Cross of Freedom for his novel The Moon is Down (1942), a portrayal of Resistance efforts in northern Europe. His best-known works include the epics The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952), and his tragic novella Of Mice and Men (1937). John Steinbeck's complete works are published in Penguin Modern Classics. If you enjoyed Tortilla Flat, you might like Steinbeck's Cannery Row, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Steinbeck ... tells the stories of these lovable thieves and adulterers with a poetic purity of heart and prose' New York Herald Tribune

About this title

About the Author

Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. His complete works will be available in Penguin Modern Classics.

From AudioFile

John McDonough's reading of this marvelous Steinbeck novel is not without its flaws, but they don't much diminish the charm of the performance. Tortilla Flat follows the exploits of Danny and his paisano friends, who live in squalid poverty and blissful idleness near Monterey, California. McDonough does not overact, and his gentle touch is well suited to the story. His accents and voices, however, are strangely inconsistent, as if he eventually tires of giving each character his own. Nonetheless, McDonough makes it work by bringing out the novel's humor and poignancy in all the right places. D.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0141185112
• ISBN 13: 9780141185118
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192