Ur-Texts: Cannery Row

I chose "Cannery Row" to follow "Moby-Dick" mostly because I knew after the long hunt for the white whale, I'd be hankering for some lighter fare. But re-reading Susan Shillinglaw's introduction,  I found this gem: "[Cannery Row's] multiplicity of perspective is roughly equivalent to 'The Doubloon' chapter in 'Moby Dick,' and both books are, in fact, about how one sees and precisely how deeply one understands."

Never have I had a segue so simply handed to me, and I'm going to run with it, because it is this book's quality of vision that makes it one of my Ur-Texts. At its most fundamental level, "Cannery Row" is an encouragement to see things as they are, not as we want to see them. This is a lesson that I also learned reading "East of Eden," but that will come later.

I love just about everything about this book, from its dedication ("To Ed Ricketts, who knows why or should") to its disclaimer ("The people, places, and events in this book are, of course, fictions and fabrications" emphasis mine) to the final, climactic party scene. Other noteworthy portions of the book include the first, enigmatically unnumbered chapter (the beautiful opening lines of which are quoted here), and the beer milkshake sequence. More on the beer milkshake here.

And of course, more to come as I finish reading this lovely little book.