Burning Bright (Penguin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

John Steinbeck (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Modern Classics | Publication Date: August 2003

'A man can't scrap his bloodline, can't snip the thread of immortality.' Such is the strength of Joe Saul's desperate longing for a child, that he feels as if a dark curse is upon him after three unfruitful years of marriage. Yet unbeknown to him, he is sterile. His beautiful, young, devoted wife loves him so much that she secretly conceives the child of another man. But when Joe discovers her deception, his anguish is greater than ever before...This is a powerful, tragic and deeply moving tale.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. His complete works will be available in Penguin Modern Classics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books, Limited (UK) (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141186062
• ISBN-13: 978-0141186061
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,988,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Steinbeck (1902-1968), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, achieved popular success in 1935 when he published Tortilla Flat. He went on to write more than twenty-five novels, including The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprising twist makes the potentially dumb book, genius., May 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Burning Bright: A Play in Story Form (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

I love Steinbeck, and read as many of his books as I can. I had recently bought this book, and when I needed to read a book for school, took the chance to read this one. It is different in the fact that it is a "play-novelette," as Steinbeck calls it, and is divided not into chapters, but acts. This is a fine mixture of the good qualities of both a play, and a novel. Essentially, it is a novel that can be done as a play without losing any of the author's intentions. However, by the end of the first act, I almost started a new book, as Burning Bright seemed dissappointingly to be the type of book that I could pick up on a trashy romance novel clearance shelf. But I decided to start the next act, since I had little time to turn in my report. It was then that I saw Steinbeck work his magic, and show in a completely unique way that certain things in life are no respecter of class, status, circumstance, or geography. A very well written book, which, like most all of Stenbeck's books, deals with human struggle to lead not only a life, but a life with meaning. I highly reccommend this book to any Steinbeck fan, or anyone else that is looking for a book with peculiar twists, and good insights.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trapped in a Paradox, August 9, 2006

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Burning Bright: A Play in Story Form (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

In reading almost all of John Steinbeck's work, this one has to be one of my favorites. Exploring a situation in which human emotions are pushed to the edge, the reader knows what is going to happen. Yet in much the same way drivers crane their necks to see an accident on the highway, the reader goes on in fascination.

Joe Saul's first wife died without bearing him a child. His second wife Mordeen has yet to bear him a child. The strain of not having a child is wearing on Joe Saul's happiness, forcing his wife to take action. Most people believe Joe Saul is the reason his wives were never able to conceive. With the seedy Victor as a suitor, Mordeen becomes pregnant while Joe Saul assumes he is the father. Just as Joe Saul's world could not get any brighter, Mordeen's lie begins to unravel. The reader only discovers in the final pages if Joe Saul will accept "his child".

John Steinbeck's ability to paint human emotions in detail is in peak form in "Burning Bright" While this work is not as noted as some of his other works, it certainly deserves to be ranked among his elite work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Into the Darkness, August 1, 2008

By 

R. Chaffey "beckahi" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Burning Bright - Acting Edition (Paperback)

John Steinbeck is one of the great American writers of the twentieth century. His was the ability to paint vivid and stark portraits of America and its people in a minimal amount of words. "Burning Bright" is written in a style Steinbeck referred to as 'play-novelette', a short novel that reads like a play and one that could easily be adapted as such. The story is necessarily compact to fit this format, but Steinbeck explores emotions and actions that reach far beyond the page.

Joe Saul is a man who is eager to pass on his knowledge and his blood to a son. His first wife died childless, while his second wife, Mordeen, has yet to conceive after three years of marriage. Joe Saul is beginning to wonder if the problem lies with him. Mordeen, while younger than Joe Saul by many years, is deeply in love with him and would do anything because of that love. She knows of his desperation for a child and takes matters into her own hands, using a fellow worker as the surrogate father, letting Joe believe that he has finally conceived a son. Yet as the story progresses towards its climax, Joe discovers Mordeen's secret action and must come to terms with what this child means to him.

"Burning Bright" is a fast-paced, dialogue-driven exploration of what people will do for those they love. It is a question that readers can identify with, and Steinbeck offers answers that are truthful and just. The universal storyline shines with intensity and focus, putting it in excellent company with other short Steinbeck works such as "Cannery Row" and "Of Mice and Men".