The Pearl (Centennial Edition) by John Steinbeck
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.99 You Save: $7.01 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.94 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Pearl (Centennial Edition)
Book Review: Good But Short - Buy As Part of a Collection
Summary: 4 Stars
This is Steinbeck's eighth novel or more accurately a novella. The writing is exceptional and it must be ranked as average or better, but it is short and cannot be compared with his best known novel "Grapes of Wrath." It is almost as good as his other famous novella "Of Mice and Men," which was his first novel. However, "The Pearl" is very short and some might not like it. I have read most of his works including the present, which is an interesting and a must read for Steinbeck fans. It has interesting prose and good drama, and it is very well written. I would rank it just below "Cannery Row" and "The Moon is Down." It is similar to but better than "Tortilla Flat" in my opinion - based on the writing.
It is about a young family living in a warmer climate where the couple earns their living by fishing. They have a single child who becomes ill. It is a story about greed and how it can change lives.
John Steinbeck (1902 - 1968) was among the best known American writers of the 20th century. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize for literature. His 1939 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, "Grapes of Wrath" has over ten million copies in print.
Steinbeck was born in rural California, went to Stanford, and spent most of his life in California. He has been associated with the plight of farm workers and others. His books have been very popular and many were made into movies and stage productions. He won an Academy Award nomination for best story in 1944.
I have read a number of his novels and am still surprised with the quality of his work - especially his short stories and short novels and this is another good example. The present work is short and probably ranks among the middle of his 17 novels and novellas. Readers will appreciate the clarity of the prose even if the story is short.
It is not a heavy read and takes one evenings to read. I liked the book and give it a positive recommendation, and it would be high on my list of Steinbeck novels.
As a suggestion, do not buy the book alone, but rather would buy it as part of a collection such as Steinbeck's book: "The Short Novels of John Steinbeck," from Viking Press in 1953, and updated versions of that book.
Book Review: Book Review: The Pearl
Summary: 4 Stars
The Review
I vaguely remember reading this book in high school and over-analyzing it TO DEATH. As soon as I started to read the story, the details of it came back to me rather quickly. It's one of those perfect "the moral of the story is..." books. This tale is about what greed does to the human spirit. All along, Kino's wife can see what the greed is doing to their family, shrouding it with evil. However, all Kino can see is his pride. All of his focus centers around obtaining monetary wealth as the result of his discovery of this great pearl. However, Kino will lose what is the most precious and important of all to him along the way.
Is happiness a little shack on the beach... with food, family, friends and a meager lifestyle? Is happiness the truth of the love that you've surrounded yourself with? Will greed and pride bring the ultimate destruction of what you love the most? Perhaps. Steinbeck said,
"For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have."
On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"
This book is a quick, yet powerful reminder of appreciating what you have. I think that Steinbeck is an incredibly gifted writer. He writes like a painter, painting a canvas with thoughts, scenes, people, and pictures. His immense talent is very much appreciated, however this wasn't my "favorite" book of his. Although, I think it's a story that would be great for my girls to read and discuss with me afterwards. It lends itself to great discussion.
For the genre Fiction: Classics, I am going to rate this book an 8 OUT OF 10.
Book Review: Literary Classic? [3.5 stars]
Summary: 4 Stars
I listened to this book on audio. The story focuses on a very poor man with a sick son who finds a gigantic pearl that is destined to change his life forever. The story is short (the print version only takes 96 pages) and action-packed. It is well written, but I didn't find that I sympathized all that much with the main characters.
I will caveat that my 3.5 stars may be due to the fact that I listened to this book in the final hours of a 24 hour car ride to Virginia. Also, the previous book that I listened to was very similar. In both stories (one being fiction and the other non-fiction), the main character stumbles across a great fortune, and in both stories, it ultimately ruins (or at least makes much worse off) their lives. That similarility may have led me to not like the second iteration as much.
Book Review: Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Summary: 4 Stars
Kino and his wife, Juana, have a beautiful baby boy, but one morning he gets stung by a scorpion. He is rushed to the doctor, who will not treat him because they have no form of payment.
The parents get in their boat to look for a pearl to use as payment, and, amazingly, find one that is referred to as the "moon" -- and is about the size of a goose egg.
What happens when they go to the dealers to collect their money? You'll have to read this classic novel to find out.
THE PEARL is a very short book that, honestly, I wouldn't have chosen to read except that it's for school. It's a very basic story, but everything in the book also has a double meaning, which is thought-provoking.
Reviewed by: Taylor Rector
Book Review: An Old Tale In a New Light
Summary: 4 Stars
John Steinbeck's version of The Pearl comes from a tale he was told while researching the Amazon with his good friend John Rickets. His surpreme telling of the story is like no other. My personal taste is not of stories of this nature but I was very enthralled and deeply pulled into the story. I've never read any of Steinbeck's other works which is a travesty in itself. This story is an easy quick read of good literature that anyone can really enjoy. If you're looking for something quick, well written and interesting this is the way to go.