Sweet Thursday (1954)

by John Steinbeck

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Cannery Row (2)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
2,845	46	4,976	(3.98)	222
In Monterey, on the California coast, Sweet Thursday is what they call the day after Lousy Wednesday, which is one of those days that are just naturally bad. Returning to the scene of Cannery Row, the weedy lots and junk heaps and flophouses of Monterey, John Steinbeck once more brings to life the denizens of a netherworld of laughter and tears, from Fauna, new headmistress of the local brothel, to Hazel, a bum whose mother must have wanted a daughter.… (more)

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Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (HollyMS)
30
The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck (jlelliott)
jlelliott: In the appendix to The Log of the Sea of Cortez Steinbeck tells the stories of the real denizens of Cannery Row, inspiration for the characters in Sweet Thursday.
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The Hamlet by William Faulkner (Cecilturtle)

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1950s (62)

Best Beach Reads (42)

National Book Award Finalists - Fiction (38)

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20th Century Literature (763)

Nifty Fifties (42)

SHOULD Read Books! (165)

Books Read in 2011 (210)

Discontinued (9)

American Lit for Eng 11 Research Project (308)

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Publisher's Weekly Bestsellers - Part II - 1940 - 1979 (126)

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My favorite of all Steinbeck's books. (

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mykl-s | Aug 13, 2023 |

Wonderful.

kevindern | Apr 27, 2023 |

A fun sequel to Cannery Row, John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday succeeds by discarding that earlier novel's experimental chaos but retaining the warmth of its characters. Thursday's plotline is thin – the closest thing to a through-line is Doc's lonesomeness and courtship of Suzy – but nevertheless has a bit more discipline than Cannery Row. The more experienced Steinbeck is better at keeping hold of the reins of storytelling amid the schemes and haphazardry of his characters. The book emerges as light and congenial, a well-balanced piece with some astute literary flourishes (the drawing of Doc's depression in Chapter 3 is fantastic) and some stand-out scenes (such as Fauna's pep-talk to Suzy (pg. 137)). A good show all round; Steinbeck did the Row proud. (

)

MikeFutcher | Jan 31, 2023 |

Love the characters, dialogue, and everything else about the Cannery Row books. (

)

rjdycus | Dec 19, 2022 |

Sweet Thursday was recommended as a great followup to John Steinbeck's Cannery Row.

Unfortunately, the main character, Doc, collects and kills animals to sell. End of story for me. (

)

m.belljackson | Oct 23, 2021 |

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Steinbeck, John	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
DeMott, Robert	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Farden, Jerry	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Künzli-Boissevain, E.D.	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Cannery Row (2)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Gyldendals Tranebøger (220)

Keltainen pokkari (30)

Kurki-kirja

Lanterne (L 20)

Penguin Classics

Penguin Modern Classics

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Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics

Salamanderpockets (96)

Ullstein Buch (2684)

Éditions mondiales

Is contained in

John Steinbeck : Travels with Charley and Later Novels 1947-1962 by John Steinbeck

The Moon is Down | Of Mice and Men | Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck

Cannery Row | Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck

Is a (non-series) sequel to

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Has the adaptation

Pipe dream by Richard Rodgers

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

National Book Award (Longlist – Fiction – 1955)

Distinctions

New York Times bestseller (Fiction – 1954)

Publishers Weekly Bestseller (Fiction – 1954)

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1954

People/Characters

Important places

California, USA

Monterey, California, USA

Monterey County, California, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

For Elizabeth with love

First words

One night Mack lay back on his bed in the Palace Flophouse and he said, "I ain't never been satisfied with that book Cannery Row. I would of went about it different."

Quotations

If only people would give the thought, the care, the judgment to international affairs, to politics, even to their jobs, that they lavish on what to wear to a masquerade, the world would run in greased grooves.

The canneries themselves fought the war by getting the limit taken off fish and catching them all. It was done for patriotic reasons, but that didn't bring the fish back. As with the oysters in Alice, 'They'd eaten every one.' It was the same noble impulse that stripped the forests of the West and right now is pumping water out of California's earth faster than it can rain back in. When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten

Last words

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Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

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Wikipedia in English (1)

Sweet Thursday

▾Book descriptions

In Monterey, on the California coast, Sweet Thursday is what they call the day after Lousy Wednesday, which is one of those days that are just naturally bad. Returning to the scene of Cannery Row, the weedy lots and junk heaps and flophouses of Monterey, John Steinbeck once more brings to life the denizens of a netherworld of laughter and tears, from Fauna, new headmistress of the local brothel, to Hazel, a bum whose mother must have wanted a daughter.

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Book description

Parcă lipseşte ceva când nu-i aici ca să mai facă vreo boroboaţă.

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