Carrie Dils

It's been a long time since I read Steinbeck. Picked up this book off an Airbnb shelf (didn't finish during my stay so went and found a used copy). I enjoyed the easy (if not sometimes wary) camaraderie of the character cast. I gave a good LOL several times throughout the book while also feeling the weight of each's solitude (even the gopher). A few weeks ago I passed through Monterrey and saw the sardine canneries (no idea if they're still functional). It was fun to read about a place I've seen with my own eyes.

The story was enjoyable, but could have been told in half the pages! Someone told me “back in the day” writers were paid by the word. Not sure if that's true, but if it is, ole Wilkie made a killing off of this one.

A hallmark of a great story is that you're fully engrossed in it. I was pulled out of the story multiple times by poor editing and weird, crammed-in details that didn't serve any purpose (IMHO).

A 2.5 star rating would have been more accurate, but I rounded up. 3 stars for the interesting premise and page-turner story-telling. 2 stars for the voice of a 16-year old narrator not being very believable and some seeming inconsistencies that kept pulling me out of the story.

I listened to the audio performance by Julia Whelan and it was excellent.