Classics with a Message

        

Steinbeck, John. Tortilla Flat. Barcelona, Spain: Robinbook, Ediciones, SL, 2012. 

This  is a funny, wittily written but moving story. It intends to show a deeper message for a wider audience than the character types involved. Danny returns from World War I to find he has inherited two houses in Tortilla Flat (Monterey, California). He gets drunk as he is not ready for any responsibility. However he then rents a room to his friend, Pilon, in one of the houses, even though the rent never comes. Pablo also becomes a tennant, and then a drunk with $7, Jesus Maria Corcoran, also moves in. The Pirate, who has  a hidden treasure, is welcomed into the house.  There is little money and the friends need trickery even to buy a bottle of wine to impress Mrs Morales the neighbour. While the friends have their problems, a sense of loyalty remains. The book is suitable for teenagers  or adults. A detailed  summary of the story can be found in MagillOnLiteraturePlus. As to the message, to put it in Pablo’s words as he he spoke about his favourite parable, “I like it because it hasn’t any meaning you can see, and still it does seem to mean something. I can’t tell what.”