Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (Penguin, 2002; Viking, 1945)

GENRE: Classic Lit

HONORS: None

REVIEW: Steinbeck paints a picture of the small sardine strip in Monterey, California during the time of the Great Depression. The story vividly captures the magic of a place off the beaten path, and revolves around "Mack and the Boys" a group who reside in the Palace Flophouse (an abandoned fishing warehouse). Cannery Row is distinctive for the relationships and antics that involve "the Boys", a marine biologist named Doc, a liquor store owner named Lee Chong, and even a gang of whorehouse women. The respect and loyalty to each other are expressed through the series of the zany antics that they get into and the unspoken roles that each had in the community. The time frame is significant because they were all living in poverty, and had a dependence on one another despite their differences.

OPINION: This is a story that builds its charm through the descriptive scenes of the area and attitudes of the time, rather than a dramatic story line. The book isn't the best first story for those who are unfamiliar to the American author, but it is a fantastic portrayal of a period in California.

IDEAS: English curriculum with a focus in local history.

Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg (City Lights, 2001)

GENRE: Poetry

HONORS: none that are official

REVIEW: Teen readers who were enthralled of Kerouac's On the Road are most likely to discover Ginsberg's HOWL in the niche of Beatnik lit. The cultural references to this book are also difficult to avoid, such as in The Wimpy Kid Movie where the a female character appears from under the bleachers holding the distinctive booklet. So curiosity will lead one to read a subversive classic that had a major impact in the poetry scene in the U.S. HOWL is broken up into four parts, where each part expresses a unique theme. The first glorifies his friends and their suffering, the second talks about oppression by the government, war, pollution, etc, and the third expresses his empathy for his friend in the insane asylum, Carl Solomon. The fourth is a footnote that glorifies Buddhism and the beauty of things.

OPINION: HOWL is not only musical in nature, but an autobiographical account of an icon who was in the center of this era in American history. Even though the poem is written disjointedly, it fits his subject matter and captures the energy and madness of his experiences. This is definitely a book that will often end up missing on the shelves.

IDEAS: A iconic piece that would be a good example about the impact of words in a poetry or spoken word workshop.

Hiroshima by John Hersey

GENRE: Classic Lit; Historical Non-fiction

HONORS: none that I could find

REVIEW: Hiroshima started as a magazine article that was a result of Hersey's investigative reporting. The story highlights six interviews and varying perspectives of the events that happened before, during, and after the attack of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by a detonated atomic bomb. The story is a startling account of the extensive and deep harm that man can induce. No one expected the type of impact and aftermath that came from the use of the nuclear bomb. Hersey reveals the personal accounts of those who lived to experience the tragedy and they are an astonishingly vivid picture of that morning.

OPINION: This book is significant because it was the first time that a country used nuclear technology, and it concluded a significant war in the world's history. The first person narratives that describe the occurrence are the most interesting because even though the reader knows what happened, those involved tell a story without the knowledge of the situation. It is an episode of unfiltered history

IDEAS: Notable book for curriculum on world history and military warfare.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952)

GENRE: Classic Lit

HONORS:The Nobel Prize in Literature 1954

REVIEW: A short novella by one of the great American writers of our time, The Old Man and the Sea still awes readers with the loyalty a young boy has for an old Cuban fisherman who is shunned from his peers from having lost the skills in his trade. The struggle of fighting with a giant marlin in for almost 90 days conveys the old man's dedication and deep rooted integrity, even though the benefits and "trophy" are lost in the end. The story's simple symbolism has made it a literary classic and is one of Hemingway's most notable books in his career.

OPINION: The story is an immediate classic and transcends time with its readers. The adventure of sailing the Gulf Sea and tragic suspense resides long after the book is finished. The story can be taken simply for its exotic setting and endearing characters, or be meticulously analyzed for its symbolism and literary merit.

IDEAS: A notable book for curriculum featuring American authors and suggested quick -read that is classic for its prize winning merit.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (Bantam, 1951)

GENRE: Classic Lit

HONORS: none that I could locate

REVIEW: Siddhartha's staying presence in the young adult reading world seems to stem from the word-of-mouth of contemporary beatnik, cultured - hippie types who recommend the book to their peers. There isn't room to categorize teen readers and their social circles, but this classic is about the spiritual journey of young Siddhartha who travels the Indian subcontinent in search for purpose and enlightenment. Siddhartha learns through his travels that it is not the Buddhist scholarly methods or pleasures of the world that will bring self-contentment, but the totality of the situations that come with experience.

OPINION: A fantastic story that is a classic with contemporary language. The story is in a third person perspective, but is a nice way for interested readers to ease into the ideas of Eastern Philosophy and find some means of spirituality. The book seems to attract those who are open to experimentation and are in search of finding themselves.

IDEAS: A notable book that may ease teens into the ideas of Eastern culture.