John Steinbeck
Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck is a charming story loosely based on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The central figure of King Arthur is Danny. His knights are a motley crew of itinerant paisanos, men of mixed Spanish, Mexican, Indian, and Caucasian heritage. A hillside in Monterey, California, is Camelot. And King Arthur’s round table where the knights gather is Danny’s ramshackle home.
The story opens when Danny, much to his dismay, inherits two houses. He lives in one and rents another to his friends. In one of their drunken reveries, these gallant friends accidentally burn the house down. Although he chastises them, Danny is secretly relieved to be rid of what he considers to be the burden of owning two houses. He allows his friends to settle in with him. Other homeless friends gradually filter in until there are five people and several dogs living with Danny—Pilon, Pablo, Pirate, Jesus Maria, and Big Joe Portagee.
The only ambition in life of these goodly knights is to spend their days and nights drinking, spinning yarns, philosophizing about life, carousing with women, and drinking, again, until they pass out in a drunken stupor. They eschew worldly possessions. Their activities are punctuated with the occasional brawl and the theft of other people’s property which they rationalize by claiming it is for a good cause—the purchase of more wine. Their intentions may be good, but more often than not, they are waylaid by personal considerations.
Although they appear to be lawless vagabonds, this motley crew of friends adheres to a strict code of honor with only the occasional lapse in judgment. They are swift and severe in punishing the transgressor but equally quick to forgive the wrongdoer and embrace him back into their fold. They have a fierce loyalty to each other and are willing to share their few, meagre worldly possessions.
The diction is simple, honest, and engaging with the occasional use of “thee” and “thou” thrown in for good measure to echo the Arthurian legends. Their antics and dialogue are peppered with humor. Each character is meticulously drawn and has a distinct personality. Their warmth, generosity of spirit, and compassion shines through their bedraggled clothing and humble surroundings.
The narrative flows seamlessly in prose that borders on the poetic. Humor ripples through the pages. And although Steinbeck pokes fun at his characters’ antics and ribaldry, he paints them with a gentle and loving paintbrush so they emerge from his pages as endearing and warm. Under their rough, drunken exterior, these paisanos have hearts of gold.
Highly recommended.