The Long Valley [Mass Market Paperback]

John Steinbeck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

This classic collection of short stories serves as the ideal introduction to Steinbeck's work. Set in the idyllic Salinas Valley in California, where simple people farm the land and struggle to find a place for themeselves in the world, these stories reflect many of the concerns key to Steinbeck as a writer; the tensions between town and city, labourers and owners, past and present. Included here are the celebrated tales, The Murderer and The Chrysanthemums.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

John Steinbeck knew and understood America and Americans better than any other writer of the twentieth century. (The Dallas Morning News) A man whose work was equal to the vast social themes that drove him. (Don DeLillo)"

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140080384
• ISBN-13: 978-0140080384
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Of the Doomed and "Virgins By Intent", November 12, 2005

By 

WILLIAM H FULLER (SPEARFISH, SD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Long Valley (Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

Of Steinbeck's short stories, I wonder if "The Red Pony" is perhaps the best known, or at least the most widely read in high school or college literature survey courses? Or perhaps that distinction belongs to "The Chrysanthemums." In any event, those are the only two stories from this collection that I can recall having read elsewhere, leaving the other eleven to delight me with their novelty. The "delight," however, is that which comes with the discovery of intensely thought-provoking stories, not, with one exception, the delight that comes from encountering light-hearted, uplifting tales of an optimistic bent, for that is far from Steinbeck's style.

For the most part, the short stories reveal the same dark universe in which unenlightened and certainly unsaved men struggle to survive, a struggle that they occasionally lose, spiritually if not physically. A certain hunger, an unfulfilled need, and a pre-ordained suffering doom most of Steinbeck's characters. Existence is filled with cruel ironies that dash hope upon the vicious and inescapable rocks of reality. We see happiness in a vicarious dream of escaping the entrapment of an unchanging existence dashed by a pile of flowers unceremoniously dumped in the road. A youth's attainment of manhood is marked not by joy but by the guilt of a murder, ruthless pursuit, and a hard rifle bullet. We see the cultural anchor of a town destroyed by an unimaginable sin. And so the stories go.

Apropos of Steinbeck's view of the human condition is the title of the collection. While "the long valley" certainly describes California's Salinas River valley, the general setting for many of Steinbeck's stories, it also suggests the spiritual valley in which his characters typically dwell.

One may argue that the people in Steinbeck's stories bring suffering upon themselves through their own ignorance and unthinking acts. Yet, if we look closely at their intents and motivations, we often see situations unfold that seem to force the characters into the acts that in turn become their undoing. It is as if the Fates play with men and rejoice in their destruction.

Earlier, though, I mentioned an exception to this dark, brooding atmosphere and theme. The exceptional story is "Saint Katy the Virgin." This story is not what one expects to find in Steinbeck. It is a wonderful bit of humorous satire, lightheartedly poking a little fun at some of the tenets of Catholicism. Had Steinbeck written his major novels in this vein, his reputation would have been that of a sublime humorist.

I recommend this collection of short stories to two very different groups of readers, those who have never read Steinbeck before and wish to sample several brief selections before investing their interest in a major novel, and those who have enjoyed Steinbeck's other works already and should not neglect his short stories. All will discover that these stories are fast paced, interest holding, and thought provoking. I believe I shall now go light a candle to Saint Katy the Virgin. Won't you come along and join me by enjoying her story also?

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars California Tales, May 29, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Long Valley (Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

My first Steinbeck book! O.K., I should have read "Mice and Men" when it was assigned in the 9th grade, but you know how that goes. The five years I have spent in college have awakened a love of the classics, making Steinbeck essential reading at some point. This book is a collection of his short stories written in 1933-34. In the introduction, written by John Timmerman, we find Steinbeck slaving away on these stories while taking care of his ill mother. We also discover that Steinbeck wrote his stories on a notebook copped from his father's desk. Timmerman points out that "The Long Valley" stories constitute an important bridge between Steinbeck's earlier efforts and the later canon of literature that secured his lasting fame.

The first two stories are the kind of works that English teachers love to assign; they involve women trying to break out of social roles. In the first story, Steinbeck starts his tale with: "The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot." Obviously, someone is trapped. I don't care for these two stories because I've read so many like them over the years, usually at the threatening point of a grading pen.

But as the book progresses, I quickly discovered that Steinbeck is an excellent writer. My favorite stories were "The Harness," "Johnny Bear," "Saint Katy the Virgin," and "The Red Pony." In "Johnny Bear," Steinbeck writes a freaky tale about an idiot savant that has an odd talent, much to the chagrin of the community. I figured out how it was going to end ahead of time, but it was still great fun. "Saint Katy the Virgin" is a strange tale, set in the Middle Ages, about a pig who converts to Christianity. This story does seem to be a criticism of the Catholic Church, but there is enough ambiguity in it to make me wonder if the story is actually pro-religion.

"The Red Pony," which is actually a cycle of four stories, has to be the best of the lot. I seriously believe Steinbeck could have made a comfortable living by turning this into a series. The stories focus on Jody, a boy living on a ranch in California. What impressed me most about these stories is the emphasis placed on discipline, hard work, and clean living. Along the way, Jody learns valuable lessons about death, old age, and respect for his elders. While reading about Jody, it is impossible not to draw comparisons with the pampered youth of our era. Almost no child living in this country today could maintain the patience Jody shows while waiting for the birth of his colt.

I thought Steinbeck would be stodgy reading; I was quite worried when I pulled this off the shelf and made a go of it. I can't say I'm going to dive right into his other works right away, but if his other stuff matches up to some of the stories here, they will be good reading.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a stand-alone, September 20, 2003

By 

Jack Purcell (Placitas, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Long Valley (Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

I'd have to give this one a slightly lower cheer than the other of the pair if I was forced to see the two as separate works. Pastures of Heaven and The Long Valley are a matched set in the Steinbeck library. The two should probably be included together as a single work. It's difficult to separate the two books because they overlap so. With a writer of the Steinbeck sort a reader might experience difficulty declaring, "This is my favorite." I agree completely. However, if John Steinbeck had never written Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, and Travels with Charlie, I'd probably have to say Pastures of Heaven and The Long Valley are my favorites.