From Amazon.com:
Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the Kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull’s egg, as “perfect as the moon.” With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security….
A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man’s nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love.
John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. You’d expect some hefty volumes with his signature on them, but the truth is that his most memorable works are quite short.
The Pearl is difficult to define. It’s Steinbeck’s equivalent of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. It’s a simple story, yet the universe it describes alters one’s soul. It offers insight into the realities of human nature, the bitter truth of our souls.
Great books expose us to ourselves. It’s more than entertainment.
The Pearl is also a story of hope. Hope against adversity, against fear, against cruelty.
An excellent novel, one of Steibeck’s most ethereal works.
I am a huge fan of Steinbeck. The Pearl is not one of my favorites, but it has it’s place. It is a good comparison to The Old Man and the Sea. I do think Of Mice and Men, of his shorter books, is the best. You are right, though: “his phrases are perfect, no clumsiness, no lazy words.” He was a great writer. Thanks for this post.
We are reading Grapes of Wrath for American Lit 3. I have read Tale of Two Cities and absolutely loved it… read The Pearl in high school and didn’t love it so much.
And another two great short novels by John Steinbeck are amongst my favourite reads: Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday.
A must read classic
I agree; I read The Grapes Of Wrath in a high school English class, and around that time I also read East of Eden. But the one I’d come back to for a re-read is The Pearl. It’s simply beautiful.
East of Eden is also a masterpiece. Not the kind of book one re-reads, but a true masterpiece. I read it in just one day. Couldn’t put it down. I can’t even describe what it was that I liked so much about it.
Yes, it was compelling, but in a disturbing way!
All great art is disturbing in a way. And comforting at the same time.
I like writing that makes me think, but I prefer to be inspired! Maybe I was too hung when I read East of Eden.
“I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?”
I haven’t heard that before. Where is it from?
East of Eden…
Aha 😉
I love how your review mirrors the book’s very own.