13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thomas Steinbeck proves he's a very good writer, October 28, 2002
This review is from: Down to a Soundless Sea (Hardcover)
I would not want to be Thomas Steinbeck. Imagine: you spend half of your time explaining who you are, the other half explaining who you aren't, and wait for the inevitable question, "Do you write, too?" Steinbeck has blazed his own path, acquiring large if quiet success as a photojournalist, cinematographer, and screenwriter. And, yes, he does write, too. And quite well.
The conundrum one encounters when approaching DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA is approaching it on its own terms without using John Steinbeck as a reference and comparison point. Steinbeck could have avoided at least a portion of the dilemma by writing in a specialized genre, such as science fiction or horror and thus rendered intergenerational comparisons moot. He instead meets the problem head on; the short fiction collected in DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA are Steinbeck's literary transcriptions of tales he grew up hearing from his father and from others who dropped by his household. Steinbeck wisely avoids disclosing to his readers who some of these "others" were, but anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of John Steinbeck's friends and contemporaries can easily guess. The settings for these stories --- Big Sur and the California coast --- were also frequently used by Steinbeck the Father. Thomas Steinbeck, however, has found his own voice, and his own words. He passes, and surpasses the "John Smith" test: if DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA was written by John Smith, it would be worth picking up, and reading.
DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA consists of seven stories; if there is a common thread it is one of men following dreams and remaining true to their internal vision, though not always wisely, not always successfully. Thus, in "The Wool Gatherer," a young John Steinbeck, retained by a rancher as a wrangler for summer work, finds his attention from the job distracted by his sighting of a giant bear, supposedly extinct. His efforts to find the bear, again, result in his wages being docked and his summer effectively wasted. Yet, there is a nobility found in the story that rings true for its time. The ending to this little tale resounds quietly but is writ large, so that it is not so much an entertainment but more a tacit lesson, not sugarcoated but nonetheless easy to swallow.
"Blind Luck," one of the two longer stories in the book, encapsulates the life of Chapel Lodge, whose childhood was so devoid of love and caring that he at one point believed his name to be "Hey you! Boy!" Possessing an innate, canny intelligence, Lodge comes to believe that his luck --- if it is to be had and utilized --- is to be found not on land, but on the sea.
"The Night Guide" is, perhaps, a tale of the supernatural, but more so it is the story of a quiet, but indestructible bond between mother and child, a fable and a history. It does not seem like much, at first, but it echoes with the reader even as the other stories herein are read and digested. The same is true of "An Unbecoming Grace," a deceptively simple little tale involving a traveling physician who plays inadvertently a most important role in the lives of three people, and in the happiness of two of them.
In "The Dark Watcher," meanwhile, an unassuming, untenured college professor sets out to make his academic mark and succeeds in a way that he did not anticipate. "The Blighted Cargo," one of the shortest tales in the book, is also the weakness, though, it is a fine enough entertainment, being a story of an ill-fated venture in the slave trade where the individual involved is, as is said in some parts, caught in his own juices.
The undisputed gem of DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA is, however, "Sing Fat and the Imperial Duchess of Woo," the final story in the book. Almost one hundred pages long, this tale of romance and traditional Chinese engagement between a young widow and a student apothecary is practically worth the price of admission in and of itself. A quick reading of Steinbeck might leave the reader with the feeling that he takes two long to get the point of his stories and then dispenses with it far too quickly. Such an impression misses the point; every building, no matter how beautiful or utilitarian, is no stronger than the foundation upon which it rests. So too, with Steinbeck's short stories, and particularly with this last one, in which we come to know young Sing Fat, and to a lesser extent his erstwhile bride and the Imperial Duchess. It is unfortunate that stories like this or so rarely written in these politically correct, supposedly liberated days; it makes the beauty of this one resonate all the more strongly.
Steinbeck is reportedly working on his first novel. It will be interesting to see what he is able to do when given the room, and the inclination, to stretch his stories out to cover a larger canvas. He will certainly, on the basis of DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA, have an audience ready, and waiting, to greet him on his own terms. Highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Collection of Stories to Read by the Fire, October 31, 2003
Living on the central coast adds to the richness that is this book of short stories created by the son of John Steinbeck. I'm sure that many readers will gauge what Thomas Steinbeck does here by the works of his prestigious father. But I chose to read them for the sheer enjoyment of discovering a new author who happens to live in the same area I do. I wasn't disappointed.
It is worth noting that Mr. Steinbeck likes to tell his stories with narration, not dialogue. You'll find little of the latter in this collection. But what you WILL find is an anthology of stories that all take place on or near the sea (thus the title), and more readable while sitting around a campfire, giving your kids or family an earful as you read the tales aloud. They'll get a peek into the local legends around the Monterey area that will surely remain with them for years to come.
The first story in this collection, 'The Night Guide', is about a young boy named Frank Post (of local Post Ranch fame) and his early heritage growing up as a half-breed Native American. When his mother (a native Rumsen Indian) goes missing during a terrible storm, young Frank is visited by a vision and shown where his mother is at. The child rescues his mother from underneath a downed tree. The boy becomes somewhat legendary because of this event. That, and he was probably 'the first child born in the high Sur under the American flag.'
'The Wool Gatherer' pays homage to Thom Steinbeck's father. Young J.E. Steinbeck Jr. works his summers as a ranch hand down in Big Sur on The Post Ranch, and on his way to the ranch one summer, John sees a legendary beast staring down at him from a high cliff vantage point. Then it vanishes. John squanders away his entire summer trying to find the creature again, but never does.
'Blind Luck' is the story about a boy named Chapel Lodge who has to make his own destiny and his own luck after his parents abandon him on the central coast. Chapel becomes an able seaman and heroic figure during the sinking of the Los Angeles near Point Sur.
'An Unbecoming Grace' is a cute little junket that ponders the fate of men based on their social graces and caring of one another. When a local doctor (Doc Roberts) is called upon to care for a cranky and mean-spirited central coast patient, his ability to uphold the Hippocratic oath will be tested.
'The Dark Watcher' is an intriguing tale about Professor Solomon Gill who tries to find out about the ancient tribes that used to encamp on the hills of the Big Sur area. And he soon sees a dark specter just ahead of him . . . on every rise. Is this friend or foe? The tale seems quite dark in the beginning but becomes very light-hearted by the end. This was one of my favorite stories.
'Blighted Cargo' is the tale of Simon Gutierrez O'Brian and his evil ways helping in the slave trade on the central coast during its mining days. And fate WILL catch up to him in the end.
'Sing Fat and the Imperial Duchess of Woo' is the final story in the book. With a chuckling title like this, who couldn't help but be drawn into it. At near novella length, this is the longest story in the collection and shows Mr. Steinbeck's powerful grasp of characterization. Sing Fat was born in China but forcefully relocated to California. Here he goes from working the mines to an apprenticeship for an apothecary named Chow Yong Fat. And it is with his apothecary teacher that Sing Fat will find the love of his life, the beautiful Sue May Yee. Thom Steinbeck shows us the power of love and loss during a Chinese 'revolution' on the central coast.
Again, a great book to read out loud. Enjoy.
A+ short stories.
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