This book is the story of two great parties, one which goes awry, and one which hits its mark. Doc is such a swell guy; everyone wants to throw him a party. Mack, who describes himself as one who tries hard, but things just don’t work out for him. And so more than the parties, are the characters involved. Mack and his flophouse friends go on an adventure to find frogs so as to raise money for the first party. They have a great time finding frogs, get drunk, and meet a man who gives them a pup to bring back. They come back with hundreds of frogs.
They are able to use the frogs to purchase all the items they need for the party from Lee Chong, decorations, food, more decorations and alcohol. They only problem is that when they have the surprise party for Doc, in his laboratory, Doc doesn’t show up. As parties will, it gets out of hand, leaving the laboratory in ruins. Many of Doc’s record albums are broken, as is the record player, glass is broken, books are left about; it’s a big mess. When Doc does get home, he finds his place in shambles, and takes out his anger on Mack’s face with a couple hard blows. He then cleans up the mess.
The second party, Doc is expecting, and even though it is a surprise party, he has prepared for the party. His nicer albums he has locked away, as well as other stuff he doesn’t want broken. There are still fights and damage, broken windows etc. But this time Doc is part of the party, in his nostalgic way. He quotes poetry which reminds them all of lost loves. Lee Chong participates, giving Doc a long string of firecrackers, which they set of in the early hours of the morning. This is a party they will remember for a long time.
Mixed in these stories of the parties are the characters. They boy who helps Doc collect from the ocean, who is not allowed to go to school as he has a learning problem, and in his efforts to get something nice for the part sets himself on his way to reform school for stealing; a Chinaman who spends each night by the ocean; Malloy and his wife who live in an old boiler; the flop house friends and their dog-- bums really, but they have a place to stay thanks to Lee Chong. Lee Chong is the Chinese grocer who is shrewd in business, and has everything you might need in his shop—but nothing is ever on sell. There are the characters of the Bear Flag Restaurant-- really a whore house; from the bouncer to the madame.
Understanding characters is what John Steinbeck is about. To understand Doc, one must understand the tides. He is a student of the tides, which helps him in his collecting of animals to sell to universities. He visits La Jolla, collecting octopi. While he is out as far as you can go, before the tide starts coming back in; he comes upon the body of a young woman under the water, wedged between a couple of rocks. She is beautiful in her way, but also scary and mysterious. Doc is affected by this, and reports it to a gentleman along the beach who will inform the police.
This is a fun book. It does not have all the characters in the movie. However I understand there is a sequel, ”Sweet Thursday.” Some of the movie is from that book as well.
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