Cannery Row

In the din and stink that is Cannery Row a colourful blend of misfits - gamblers, whores, drunks, bums and artists - survive side by side in a jumble of adventure and mischief. Lee Chong, the astute owner of the well-stocked grocery store, is also the proprietor of the Palace Flophouse that Mack and his troupe of good-natured 'boys' call home. Dora, of the flaming orange hair and taste for Nile-green dresses, runs the brothel with clockwork efficiency and a generous heart.

Returning to the scene of Cannery Row, Steinbeck brilliantly re-creates its bawdy, high-spirited world of bums, drunks and hookers, telling the story of what happened to everyone after the war. There’s Fauna, the latest madam at the Bear Flag brothel; Doc, still there for everyone else but feeling strangely sad himself; and Suzy, the new hustler in town who might just be the girl to save him.