Author:John Steinbeck,Susan Shillinglaw

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'
'Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.'
Meet the gamblers, whores, drunks, bums and artists of Cannery Row in Monterey, California, during the Great Depression. They want to throw a party for their friend Doc, so Mack and the boys set about, in their own inimitable way, recruiting everyone in the neighbourhood to the cause. But along the way they can't help but get involved in a little mischief and misadventure. It wouldn't be Cannery Row if it was otherwise, now would it?
Packed with a ramshackle joi de vivre, Cannery Row is Steinback's high-spirited tribute to his native California.
'Uninhibited, bawdy, compassionate, inquisitive, deeply intelligent' Daily Telegraph
A masterpiece...a completely serious work of art
—— F.R.LeavisThe greatest of Dickens' work...should be studied with close and earnest care
—— John RuskinBig and earnest, though circus folk and bank robbery add colour to its canvas of industrialists and loveless marriages
—— Sunday TimesBewitching… as self-possessed and comforting as – well, a cat
—— Sunday TelegraphThe Travelling Cat Chronicles is delightful. Like a tender feline companion the uniqueness of this book is its subtle yet persistent charm that insinuates itself into your heart long after the encounter has ended.
—— FIONA MELROSEA book about kindness and love, and about how the smallest things can provide happiness
—— STYLISTArikawa has a lightness of touch that elevates this to a tale about loyalty and friendship ... while speaking to our basic human need for companionship
—— JOHN BOYNE , IRISH TIMESHeart-wrenching but uplifting
—— RED MAGAZINEThe Travelling Cat Chronicles is why I read books. This beautiful story has everything. It's funny, heart-warming, heart-breaking and kind.
—— FOREWORD BOOKSPrepare to have your heart strings tugged by this quirky tale . . . It's a deceptively gentle story that you won't need to be a cat lover to fall for.
—— SUNDAY MIRRORSweet, sad and lovely, this is a roadtrip novel with a difference
—— PSYCHOLOGIES MAGAZINEThis is the book I am giving everyone . . . the book I am recommending to anyone buying something Japan-related or cat-related, and, quite possibly, the book I am placing in someone's hand when they ask me what my favourite book is. For a bookseller, that is the highest accolade a book can ever receive
—— WATERSTONES YORKA beautiful travelogue
—— SYDNEY MORNING HERALDThis story of a cat, a man, self-sacrifice and friendship will have you totally captivated ... An addictive tale of friendship and love.
—— WOMAN'S WEEKLYi found myself sobbing ... unable, unwilling to let this joyful little book go
—— NPRStunningly beautiful. Tender, warm, sad and uplifting
—— THE LAST WORD REVIEWI would urge people not to dismiss this as a 'cat book'; it is too much about human interaction and relationships to be so simply defined. A novel with wide appeal. I predict it will make a popular Christmas gift.
—— READINGS, BOOK GUIDE, AUSTRALIAI'm not ashamed to say it had me at meow.
—— WASHINGTON POSTA book that stands out within the world of cat literature ... and it's a world worth exploring.
—— TIME MAGAZINEI found myself sobbing ... unable, unwilling, to let this little book go.
—— NPRThe Travelling Cat Chronicles is as much a loving tribute to Japan’s obsession with and reverence for cats as it is an endearing introduction for non-Japanese readers to the country’s ever-fascinating culture and deeply rooted traditions.
—— SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEA book that speaks volumes about our need for connection - human, feline or otherwise.
—— SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEThis touching novel of a brave cat and his gentle, wise human will resonate with lovers of animal tales, quiet stories of friendship, and travelogues alike.
—— PUBLISHERS WEEKLYGentle, soft-spoken, and full of wisdom
—— KIRKUS REVIEWSA delight to read
—— FINANCIAL TIMESPrepare to have your heartstrings tugged by this quirky tale
—— SUNDAY MIRRORA sprightly, digressive, intriguing fandango on life and time
—— Kirkus ReviewsThese individuals converge to confront each other in the big shabby house, like characters in a Chekhov play. At first, hellish implosion looms. Slowly, erratically, connection creeps in. Lux quietly mediates. Ire softens. Sophia at last eats something. Art resees Nature..."Winter" gives the patient reader a colorful, witty - yes, warming - divertissement
—— San Francisco ChronicleWith Iris and Lux as catalysts, scenes from Christmas past unfold, and our narrow views of Sophia and Art widen and deepen, filled with the secrets and substance of their histories, even as the characters themselves seem to expand. As in Sophia's case, for Art this enlargement is announced by a hallucination - "not a real thing," as Lux tells Iris, whose response speaks for the book's own expansive spirit: "Where would we be without our ability to see beyond what it is we're supposed to be seeing?"
—— The Minneapolis Star Tribune






