Customer Reviews

With Steinbeck in the Sea of Cortez

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Sparky Enea, one of the original seven crew members from Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez expedition, wrote this memoire near the end of his life. This short anecdotal book presents the side of the story that Steinbeck did not include in his log. Sparky covers the drinking, camerederie, and apparently frequent visits to the portside brothels. It also covers the sexual tension caused by the lone female passenger, Carol, Steinbeck's then wife. Readers of Steinbeck's log will note that Carol is not even mentioned in Steinbeck's account.

This book is a must read for people interested in Steinbeck's log, as it gives a different perspective on the partially fictionalized Steinbeck/Ricket's Log from the Sea of Cortez.

I really wish I could say that I enjoyed this version of the trip Steinbeck and Ricketts took to the Sea of Cortez. I have read everything Steinbeck wrote that I know of, and my copy of the Log was published in 1969. I am not a trained literary critic, but I read a lot, and some things bothered me about this book. There isn't much proofreading, and parts of the narrative seem to conflict with other parts. I'm disappointed that so much negativity is included, because Stienbeck's way of writing and portraying his characters and surroundings is so gentle and romantic; the two styles of telling a story really clashed. I don't want to characterize Mr Enea as crude, since what is ordinary conversation for one may make another wince, but his remarks about Carol Steinbeck don't add anything to this legendary voyage for me. I also would like to say that I discovered that a friend of mine from Monterey knew Capt Tony Berry, and I was able to enjoy several telephone conversations with him about this trip. His recollections were much more interesting. Finally, I know nothing about Dr Lynch; maybe she did us a service in sharing this version with us, but I regret having read it. It sounds as if she sat Enea down and stuck a microphone in his face and printed what came out. It's like grabbing your beer only to find that your buddy used the can for an ashtray. Fictionalized or not, I'll stick with Steinbeck's version, which I consider to be one of the ten best books ever.

Book arrived promptly. Enjoyed reading about the Sea of Cortez as it was years ago. Steinbeck writes so well!