Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, John Steinbeck created a Camelot” on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur’s castle, becomes a gathering place for men looking for adventure, camaraderie, and a sense of belongingmen who fiercely resist the corrupting tide of honest toil and civil rectitude. As Nobel Prize winner Steinbeck chronicles their deedstheir multiple lovers, their wonderful brawls, their Rabelaisian wine-drinkinghe spins a tale as compelling and ultimately as touched by sorrow as the famous legends of the Round Table, which inspired him.