Tortilla Flat [Mass Market Paperback]

John Steinbeck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 1977

In the shabby district called Tortilla Flat above Monterey, California lives a gang whose exploits compare to those of King Arthur's knights.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Novel by John Steinbeck, published in 1935. The first of his novels to be set in the Monterey peninsula of California, this episodic, humorous tale of the adventures of a group of pleasure-loving Mexican-Americans contains some of Steinbeck's most interesting characters. The men drink, steal, chase women, make music, and dance until they are eventually undone by a climactic fire. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

About the Author

JOHN STEINBECK (1902–1968) was born in Salinas, California. He worked as a laborer and a journalist, and in 1935, when he published Tortilla Flat, he achieved popular success and financial security. Steinbeck wrote more than twenty-five novels and won the Nobel Prize in 1962. Nearly all of his books are available in Penguin Classics. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 28, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140042407
• ISBN-13: 978-0140042405
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (123 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Steinbeck (1902-1968), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, achieved popular success in 1935 when he published Tortilla Flat. He went on to write more than twenty-five novels, including The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Arthurian Marvel, September 19, 2002

By 

D. A Wend (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tortilla Flat (Mass Market Paperback)

Tortilla Flat was an actual place in Carmel that John Steinbeck placed in Monterey. He took some stories about the paisanos (a mixture of Spanish, Indian, Mexican and Caucasian bloods) that lived in this marginal place consisting of shacks and, using the style of the Arthurian legends, spun these tales about Danny and his friends. They are meant to be humorous and serious at times, and the characters are larger than life. Certainly, no one could live as Danny, Pilon, Jesus Marie, Big Joe Portagee and the Pirate, consuming wine by the gallon, eating whatever they can steal and taking up and whoring with any woman they want, but this is hardly the point. The tales have an epic proportion to them like Malory's knights of yore but from the vantagepoint of the New World. This makes Tortilla Flat an entertaining and cleverly written book.

Danny is the central character of the book and the anchor that holds his group of friends together. They may be vagabonds but they have a moral code. An example: the Pirate lives with five dogs in a chicken coop. He takes some kindling wood into town each day and receives a quarter for it. He does not spend the money but hoards it. The paisanos estimate it to be $100 and think of stealing it, but are unable to follow the Pirate to where he has hidden the money. To get around this problem they invite the Pirate to live with him and try to discover the whereabouts of the money by suggesting it could be stolen quite easily. The Pirate eventually brings the money to the paisanos and discloses why he is saving it: the money is to fulfill a promise made to St. Francis to present a golden candlestick to a church in the saints honor. Why? Because the saint cured an illness one of his dogs had. Once the paisanos know the money is for a religious purpose they guard it diligently. The chapter in Tortilla Flat when the Pirate's vow is fulfilled is one of the most beautiful and memorable in the book.

This is a beautifully written book filled with humor and pathos. Mr. Steinbeck was criticized in writing this book by some readers who could not enter into the spirit of the book thinking he was glorifying the free and easy lives of Danny and company. This was not his intention; he was only telling stories inspired by the free spirits of the paisanos. Unfortunately for us, this criticism was bitter and Mr. Steinbeck never undertook such a book again. It is our loss that he could not give us another Tortilla Flat.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wine, women, song and tears, March 20, 2001

By 

Janice M. Hansen (California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tortilla Flat (Mass Market Paperback)

I highly recommended this short novel but I would not do so for everyone. First of all, you must appreciate the novel being written in 1935 and the language spoken by the characters reflect that time period, rightly so. It only takes a short while to adapt and I found the story moving along at a nice pace as the personalities began to assume colorful portrayals.

Steinbeck presents a group of men, or paisanos living in Monterey, California after the first World War. These are poor men, not especially motivated to work for a living and have a thirsty, never ending longing for wine. They circle around Danny, the fortunate one in the group, who inherited 2 small houses from his grandfather. Having no steady job, it makes sense to him to "rent" to his buddies. His buddies don't have jobs or revenue, either, so the compensation that takes place is in the form of companionship and the collective sharing of all foods begged from the back doors of groceries and restaurants. The hawking of whatever goods they come upon that can be bartered for the prized gallon of wine serves to be their highest priority. While seemingly desperate and pathetic, these men go to no end to rationalize their predicaments, twist truths and events to be self-serving and ultimately rewarding their endeavors by securing enough wine to satisfy them all. This can be quite a challenge, and the lengths they go to to fulfill their thirsty desires are hilarious. That the reader finds love and goodness in these fellows is reflected by the skill of John Steinbeck's writing.

The book is a quick read and it was not long before I became fond and wiped away a few tears of sorrow and joy for each of them and the circumstances these men find themselves. The practise of their Catholic religion is random; they use it when they need it, commit small crimes in the name of it and dismiss the many restrictive "Thou shall not's" when seized in the throes of passion or inebriation. A greater sense of loyalty knits these men to each other. While women acquaintances come and go, the paisanos rely on each other and faithfully commit to one another. In spite of the inevitable drunken fights and arguments, the following morning beckons another day. All the sins of the previous day are (literally) forgotten and forgiven. In the dawn of the new day anything is possible, and the adventures these men get themselves into is pure comic entertainment.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Steinbeck Essential, March 12, 2004

By 

kkrome25 "kkrome25" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tortilla Flat (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a fable set in John Steinbeck's beloved Northern California. What it's all about are friendships and the dynamics of interpersonal dealings between immortal characters. Immortal in that every generation has their Pilons and Dannys, and of having things that you can hold in your own hand versus things that cannot ultimately be bought or sold. The appeal is due in part to the similarities in our own lives and in the lives of others. In every Steinbeck novel is a little gift of insight. This has many.