Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Beer
Originally uploaded by Maria in Toronto.

It was six o'clock and Kevin had the beer. Nestor opened the door for him.
This time, everyone had read the book. It was Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.

I chose the book because I have actually been to Monterey California, and when you go there they always tell you that that's where Steinbeck wrote Cannery Row, I had only read East of Eden and was curious about it.
We always try to have a dinner related to what people eat in the book. They drink lots of beer on Cannery Row and eat cheeseburgers and fried steak. It was a bit difficult to have that, so I made chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes.

We did drink beer, though.

We also ate some cake (they eat cake in the book) and drank even more beer.

This time we actually talked about the book and talked just a little bit about sex (unlike other times where the only thing we do is gossip, eat and drink).
Everyone liked the book. I was laughing out loud while reading it on the subway. It's about this group of people, who live in Monterey in between wars. One of them is a scientist. He is very well liked by all his neighbours and they decide to throw a party for him.
The book is surrounded by chapters that seem to be random, but in my opinion they are actually the chapters that make this book a classic. They are about people and about life. Even 60 years after the book has gone, the underlying meaning of it is still valid. It's about community, it's about human beings. It's about everyday living.