Looking for a non-serious book by a serious author? 'Sweet Thursday' by John Steinbeck is a fictional story set in Cannery Row, Monterey, California. It contains a humorous set of characters with the main plot to help the Doc from his listless depression. There are prostitutes with elegant table manners, a sneaky Mexican who is a natural lawbreaker, kind hearted buffoons and a skint millionaire. The themes of the book delve into the strange relationships that can be formed between people as well as manipulating someone in the attempt to help them.I summarised the book as follows. "It's a fun, zany tale of caring but foolish oddballs. It had me laughing throughout at the absolute mayhem of their schemes. The only downside is that I could have easily handled another 50 pages in the middle of the book. The ending as well was a bit 'meh', and only wish it could have been a bit more climactic. It is similar to the enjoyment I got while reading 'Cat's Cradle' by Kurt Vonnegut."As always, we hope you enjoy, Mere Mortals out!Timeline:(0:00) - Synopsis(1:48) - Relationships: Improbable and shouldn't work, but they do(3:40) - Manipulation: Control/influence in a skilful manner(6:12) - Personal Observations(8:04) - Summary(9:13) - Pragmatic Takeaway: Life is too short not to read funny booksConnect with Mere Mortals:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show