Sweet Thursday (original 1954; edition 2008)

Since listening to an audiobook edition of [b:Cannery Row|4799|Cannery Row|John Steinbeck|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309212378s/4799.jpg|824028] earlier this year and falling in love with both the characters and Steinbeck's writing, I've looked forward to reading this sequel. It's set about ten years after the events of Cannery Row. Doc has returned from army service to his work at the Western Biological Laboratory and finds himself unsatisfied and depressed. This makes the other denizens of Cannery Row decide that Doc needs a wife and that Suzy - a new girl at the Bear Flag Restaurant - is the wife for him.

Unlike Cannery Row, which is essentially a series of linked vignettes, Sweet Thursday has a more traditional structure. In many ways it resembles a 1950s romantic comedy - think Spencer Tracey and Katharine Hepburn* - in which boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl. In the process of finding true love, both Doc and Suzy have to learn a lot about themselves and about each other. Getting Doc and Suzy together requires effort from Doc's friends, including Mack and the boys at the Palace Flophouse (and in particular the dimwitted but sweet Hazel), Dora and the girls at the Bear Flag Restaurant and the new owner of Lee Chong's Grocery, who revels in the name of Jesus and Mary.

I loved reading this novel. The characters are well-drawn and the narrative contains both humour and wisdom about the human condition. I love Steinbeck's use of language: there's something about the directness of his prose, its accessibility and its beauty, which really speaks to me. This is not a high-brow work. It may not be up there with [b:The Grapes of Wrath|4395|The Grapes of Wrath|John Steinbeck|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1336195638s/4395.jpg|2931549] in terms of literary merit, but for anyone who has read and loved Cannery Row, it's a real treat. I will definitely be reading it again. Spending time with Doc and those who love him is a joy.

*Not that I visualise Tracey and Hepburn in the roles of Doc and Suzy, but the sparring and the repartee which characterised their on-screen relationship would be just right for this pair.


( )

I loved this book. Very funny Steinbeck. The characters are unforgettable in this continuation to Cannery Row. ( )

One night Mack lay back on his bed at the Palace Flophouse and he said, “I ain’t never been satisfied with that book Cannery Row. I would of went about it different.”
So begins Steinbeck’s sequel to Cannery Row. And wise writer that he is, he actually takes Mack’s advice. Sweet Thursday is written very differently than Cannery Row. Chapters are titled, there’s more dialogue, more of an actual plot and every now and then there’s a good bit of "hooptedoodle" thrown in.

Time and World War II have left its mark on the Row. The canneries, with the limit on the catch of fish taken off for the war effort, have caught all the fish and have had to close down. Lee Chong has sold his grocery store to one Joseph and Mary Rivas and sailed off into the sunset. Dora, beloved owner of the Bear Flag, has passed on and her sister Flora (now Fauna) has taken over. A few of the men on the Row went off to do their patriotic duty and won’t be coming back. Doc, who everybody on the Row considers a friend, himself has served his time in the war effort. Care of Western Biological was left to a friend from outside the Row in his absence and now Doc has come back to an abandoned and empty lab.

Seems like everybody’s got their share of troubles on the Row these days. Joseph and Mary Rivas’s plan to exploit the labor of a steady stream of illegal Mexican immigrants has backfired and now finds himself the owner (or at least manager) of a fairly successful, albeit illegal, mariachi band. Mack is concerned that once Joseph and Mary gets the tax bill for the Palace Flophouse, Mack and the boys home, Joseph and Mary will realize he owns the place and come after Mack and the Boys for the dough. Sweet, dumb and innocent Hazel, one of Mack’s boys, can’t even escape trouble. He has been fated by the stars, according to the horoscope Fauna’s drawn up for him, to obtain a position of high political responsibility and power that he vehemently does not want. Fauna has her own share of troubles. Suzy, a newcomer to town, has sweet-talked Fauna with her hard luck story by simply refusing to tell it, into a job at the Bear Flag. Suzy “has a streak of lady in her” according to Fauna and just isn’t cutting it as a hustler, though. Suzy is bad for business.

Doc’s got a problem too. Nobody knows what it is though, including Doc. Residents of the Row are very concerned. He’s not the same Doc he used to be. The hard luck stories Mack concocts to swindle Doc out of a few bucks aren’t listened to; Doc simply hands over the money. This is disheartening to Mack. Women with their fancy furs aren’t seeing entering the lab so Doc can entertain them with his collection of classical “church music.” Everybody seems to understand that Doc’s dissatisfied and discontent. But why? He’s craving something – he just doesn’t know (or doesn’t want to know) what it is. Maybe, he thinks, he hasn’t done enough in his career and contributed enough to the scientific world so he resolves to write a scientific paper - but he simply can’t focus. One day he catches a glimpse of Suzy, the two eventually meet and the mysterious thing he’s been searching for is found. But he doesn’t really want it. Or does he?

True to form, the residents of the Row unite to save their friend Doc from himself and try to give Fate a helping hand and in the process make a thorough mess out of things. It’ll take an unlikely hero with an unlikely solution to set things right.

Sweet Thursday is one of my favorite books. It’s humorous and fun to read. I love all the eccentric but believable characters here on the Row. Suzy, who doesn’t show up on the Row until now, has always been one of my favorite characters; I admire her independent spirit. Sweet Thursday is written in a very different style than Cannery Row, but there’s still Steinbeck’s trademark vivid creation of place and witticisms here (or what I’ve termed as “Steinbeckisms”). ( )

What fun it was to be back on Cannery Row in the company of Doc and the gang from the Palace Flophouse. WWII is over, and Doc returns as a changed and melancholy man. Mack and the new proprietress of the local whorehouse, Fauna, get it in their heads that Doc needs a wife. Suzy, the new girl in town, is a prime candidate because she is obviously not cut out to be a hustler. The book is a mixture of humor and philosophy that was pure joy to read. I'm so glad it came to my attention by way of the 2012 Steinbeckathon. ( )

In this wonderful return to Cannery Row, we are back in the arms of Doc, Mack, Hazel and the boys. Some characters have moved on from the first novel and a few new faces are introduced, including a tough little gal called Suzy, who Doc has an eye on. This is such a warm, colorful story, told with heart and adoration. The dialogue sings and dances and I found myself grinning throughout and wishing I could pull up a stool and have a beer with this ragtag bunch. ( )