Tortilla Flat, by John Steinbeck

Book image courtesy of Modern Library

Read, reviewed, and released in April, 2006

This book is composed of a series of small vignettes in the lives of a group of California paisanos. "What is a paisano? He is a mixture of Spanish, Indian, Mexican, and assorted Caucasian bloods. His ancestors have lived in California for a hundred or two years. He speaks English with a paisano accent and Spanish witha paisano accent..."

This group of paisanos is largely jobless and homeless. One of them works and shares his food with the group, and another of them owns a house, and shares shelter with the group. The book tells of their small adventures and exploits, and of their bond as a unit, and of the tragic end of that bond.