Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, Steinbeck created a "Camelot" on a shabby hillside above Monterey on the California coast and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. As Steinbeck chronicles their thoughts and emotions, temptations and lusts, he spins a tale as compelling, and ultimately as touched by sorrow, as the famous legends of the Round Table. This is the first of a trilogy, along with 'Cannery Row' and 'Sweet Thursday.'

I really enjoyed this book because of its parallels to King Arthur and his court, and the idea of group friendships needing a lynchpin, so to speak; the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I found the stories to be comical, sorrowful, sensual, silly, and at times quite serious.

Beloved scoundrels
stealing what isn't nailed down,
quenching endless thirsts.

This was such a nice, short, lovely read! The aspects of friendship shown here through the Tortilla Flat was so nice. I liked that each character came out after every chapter, and it was presented in a way that I was able to comprehend easily, distinguish, and enjoy, despite them being 6+ people by the end. I definitely wasn't ready for that ending, and it pains that the Tortilla Flat crew sort or dispersed due to Danny's death, because it's kind of what kept them together ;-;

Danny and his friends in Tortilla Flat spend their lives hanging out, telling stories, drinking wine, fighting, and spending time with women.

It's a simple story of simple friendships that takes place in a time when people could scrounge for a bit of work, scrounge for a bit of food, and scrounge for a place to stay, and when people could spend most of their time doing the things they like to do—and that was enough. Jail time is an expected part of life. Drinking sprees are an expected part of life. Fist fights are an expected part of life. And friendship is the central value of all the men in the story.