Cannery, Desolation.

Cannery Row is a novel by John Steinbeck. Although I have not read much of Steinbeck, and his Americanness often puts me off, Cannery Row is somewhat special. I believe that is because the Cannery Row in the story is a special place. 

The novel follows no one in particular, but everyone's everyday lives in the fabled road. Situated in California, the place is where the fishing boats come in with their catch, and cans of fish are made, and hence the name. The heroes and heroines of the story are not the factory workers or their families, rather, it is the people whose presence are visible only after the workers have gone home for the day. 

They are "whores, pimps, gamblers and sons of bitches", but their lives are viewed and accounted by the author as our own. And through the story, it's difficult to feel that they are anything less than "Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men". The book is not remarkable for the prose and poetry, but rather the love with which their tales are told. 

Desolation Row is a song by Bob Dylan. The song's title, lyrics and the general atmosphere has been said to be influenced by Cannery Row, and although the words are different, the feeling of the place is the same. The place is a desolation. People do not have much, and those who do are out to make the lives of those who don't more miserable.

Yet, both the Rows are home. They are home to the protagonists of the story, and because I am so invited to be their friend, family, it becomes my home.

Home is not a place, but rather the people.