Tortilla Flat

Tortilla Flat (1935) is an early John Steinbeck novel set in Monterey, California. The novel was the author's first clear critical and commercial success.
The book portrays with great sympathy and humour a group of paisanos - literally, countrymen - a small band of errant friends enjoying life and wine in the days after the end of the Great War.
Tortilla Flat was made into a film in 1942. Steinbeck would later return to some of the panhandling locals of Monterey (though not the Spanish paisanos of the Flat) in his novel Cannery Row (1945).

Cannery Row

Cannery Row is an English language novel by American author John Steinbeck. It was published in 1945. A film version was released in 1982. A stage version was produced in 1995.
Cannery Row takes place on a small fictional street lined with sardine fisheries in Monterey known as Cannery Row (Ocean View Avenue in Monterey, the thinly disguised location, was later re-named "Cannery Row" in honor of the book). It revolves around the people living there during the Great Depression: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist based on Steinbeck's friend Ed Ricketts; and Mack, the leader of a group of bums.

With two of the nation’s largest megalopolises — Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area—California has the largest, wealthiest, and most urbanized population of any state in the nation. Yet it’s also an agricultural wonderland, a nature-lovers paradise, a wine-lover’s dream, an outdoor enthusiast’s ideal playground, and more. In fact, there’s so much to see and do in California that you’ll probably have to choose.  With this guide, you can’t lose. It gives you the scoop on:

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