“Cannery Row in Monterrey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.”

It is also a superb little novel by John Steinbeck that begins with that opening line. It is also, as Steinbeck writes in the next line, “the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flop houses.”

Cannery Row is about this town, one that is full of people so ordinary even the simplest pleasure is a major event. Its key resident is Doc, a scientist who experiments with nature and holds the reverence of every single person in Cannery Row. They all owe him something, though few monetarily. Everyone seems to want to do good by Doc.

If you’ve never read Steinbeck, I wouldn’t recommend you start with Cannery Row. There are more iconic novels in his collection. But once you’ve finished with The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden, I’d certainly suggest this member of the family.

Doc, in addition to being the most respected man in town, also loves hamburgers and beer. How often do those things go together?

In fact, on one of his trips to collect marine samples for his work, he makes several stops for such sustenance. He even once tries a beer milkshake for the sole reason that someone once joked he would, and he couldn’t get the idea out of his head. (Don’t try it).

After several of the beer stops (he’s driving himself hundreds of miles down California highways), he decides to pick up a hitch hiker to help pass the time. He carefully selects one who won’t talk too much and they get in the car. They drive a bit, only to stop for another beer. The hitch hiker suggests maybe it’s not such a good idea to drink and drive. Doc disagrees: “Get out of the car…I’m going to punch you in the nose if you aren’t out of this car by the time I count to ten.

It’s clear why Doc is the most respected man in town.

One of the things I love about Steinbeck is he always has chapters that have absolutely zero to do with the plot, but help give the character of the town. One in Cannery Row talks about a guy breaking his own record for ice skating on top of a pole in town. The whole town comes to watch as he stays up there day and night. Several chapters later, Steinbeck goes back to a random guy in town who can’t sleep. He’s tossing in turning, his mind churning over the possibilities of an unknown answer. So the man walks a distance into town and yells up at the sleeping skater. He wants to know how the man goes to the bathroom up on the pole. He walks back home, and climbs back in bed with his wife. “He’s got a can up there.”

Cannery Row is really a story about people trying to do well with what they have. But in the end, it’s also important to do things the right way as well. For these people who have so little, being respected–or at least as respected as they once were–is paramount.

The residents know they have to deal with one another so they accept certain realities in order to best get on with their own lives. The store owner who would like to continue his business without some thugs burning it down lets the men sleep in his extra house rent free. They talk at first about a monthly rate, but both know it is just a show.

The proprietor of the bordello pays exorbitant taxes and makes astronomical donations to every charitable event in town. She knows that’s the only way to keep the cops at bay and city leaders from banning her practice.

That’s life in Cannery Row.

Next Up: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Beautiful and Damned”