Pros: A fascinating look at street life in the 1930's, told by a master raconteur/philosopher.
Cons: A little preaching between the lines, but Steinbeck has earned the right to be preachy.
The Bottom Line: Steinbeck's first popular success contains glimpses of his future greatness. This short, affectionately written book contains universal themes, great storytelling, and insightful description.
frazzledspice's Full Review: John Steinbeck and John McDonough - Tortilla Flat
The street thugs of 1935 could pass for choirboys today. Their drug of choice was a gallon of wine. Their consciences haunted them when their crime victims gave them sob stories. They forgave one another, and had a remarkably "easy come, easy go" attitude about money.
When seen through the loving eyes of John Steinbeck, the paisanos of Tortilla Flat were gifted with generous doses of kindness and compassion to accompany their more serious character flaws.
Tortilla Flat, published in 1935, was the novel that brought John Steinbeck popular success. Prior to its publication, Steinbeck had left Stanford University, taken a series of laborer's jobs, tried unsuccessfully to be a freelance writer, and hid in a lonely cottage to write his first novel.
It is set in post WWI Monterey, California, which, at that time, was inhabited primarily by Americans, Italians, fisherman and paisanos--people of mixed Spanish, Indian, Mexican, and Caucasian heritage. Danny and his friend Pilon have just returned from the military (while a third friend, Big Joe Portagee, served a hitch in jail.)
When Danny inherits two small homes from his grandfather, the viejo, he feels burdened by the responsibilities of ownership. Moving into one house, he leases the other to Pilon for fifteen dollars a month. When the burden of unpaid rent begins to weigh heavily on Pilon's conscience, he sublets part of the house to Pablo, rationalizing that now when asked for the rent he can tell Danny, "I will pay when Pablo pays."
Life goes on in that carefree manner, and, as long as everyone has enough money for a gallon of wine, everyone is happy. Even when a fire destroys Danny's rental property, he is relieved, because he has less responsibility, and because his friendship with Pilon can continue unencumbered by the landlord/tenant relationship.
The gang's petty crimes are never planned, always committed on the spur of the moment, for trivial reasons--to help Danny purchase a gift for his lady friend, to pick up a bottle of wine.
They're kindler, gentler, crimes. When the group attempts to steal the Pirate's hidden stash, they become immediately repentent when they learn he is saving to purchase a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, to whom he had lifted up an ill pet in prayer.
They guard the Pirate's stash under a pillow, and when another friend steals it and buries it in the yard, they force him, under threat of physical violence, to return it.
When Danny, in a fit of drunken stupor, sells his remaining house to Torelli for $25, the paisanos restrain Torelli, retrieve the property transfer note which Danny signed, and send him on his way. Even someone who would cheat a drunken man out of his home is treated with somewhat gentle dispatch. They use only enough force to meet their purpose, no more. Afterwards, they decide that they must be nicer to him in the future to make up for what they'd done.
Life in Tortilla Flat is filled with wine, women, and song, along with the usual struggles to keep body and soul together for just one more day. And, as in his future works, Steinbeck writes about the paisanos with affection and admiration.
It is easy to picture him, fresh from studying Marine Biology at Stanford University, getting a job as a laborer, getting to know some Californians he'd never met before, learning some life lessons, and chronicling them in his lonely cottage by night.
To a man who'd obviously grown up in a family with some means, poverty was a great teacher, and his mentors, the poor themselves, were people he respected and admired.
In his life as a struggling writer, he probably saw many parallels between himself and the paisanos. He probably strived, personally, for their ability to detach themselves from material goods, to appreciate the simple pleasures of life, and to find comfort and solace in the joys of friendship.
Each chapter of the book begins with a three-line title describing themes of redemption, hospitality, forgiveness, and ethics, in a manner reminiscent of many nineteenth century American classics. The characters themselves draw conclusions about these universal themes in their thoughts and dialogue (conclusions that they might not have actually drawn were they not guided by Steinbeck's perspective.)
Tortilla Flat, published when Steinbeck was 33, explores themes and settings which he continues to explore, in far greater depth, in his later works.
In a sense, it was his coming of age novel, exploring the lessons he'd learned from his own economic struggles as a freelance writer and laborer through the characters of Danny, Pilon, Pablo, Jesus Maria, and Big Joe. In crystallizing the wisdom he'd gleaned, he wrote a legend which took root in the hearts of Americans who were themselves struggling during the Great Depression.
The issues of detachment and living for the moment that Steinbeck gave them a message they needed to hear--that relationships are more important than money, and that happiness can exist even in times of struggle and need.
Steinbeck's gifts for description and for drawing insightful conclusions are as present in Tortilla Flat as they are in his later novels.
Tortilla Flat is short and simply written. The dialog is free of slang and idioms, the characters more like players in a morality tale than flesh-and-blood, fully developed heroes. It works because its themes are universal. The characters live on today because the legend of Tortilla Flat continues to speak to us.
The paisanos of the early 1920's are very tame compared to the street gangs of today, but that adds to the charm of the story.
This is a belated writeoff submission in honor of John Steinbeck's 99th Birthday on February 27th. In the 66 years since his first popular success, Tortilla Flat, Steinbeck's works have moved from bestsellers to timeless classics.
This short, affectionately written book would be a fine introduction to Steinbeck.
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