The Pearl (Centennial Edition) [Paperback]

John Steinbeck (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 8, 2002

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In this short book illuminated by a deep understanding and love of humanity, John Steinbeck retells an old Mexican folk tale: the story of the great pearl, how it was found, and how it was lost. For the diver Kino, finding a magnificent pearl means the promise of a better life for his impoverished family. His dream blinds him to the greed and suspicions the pearl arouses in him and his neighbors, and even his loving wife cannot temper his obsession or stem the events leading to the tragedy.

For Steinbeck, Kino and his wife illustrate the fall from innocence of people who believe that wealth erases all problems. Originally published in 1947, The Pearl shows why Steinbeck’s style has made him one of the most beloved American writers: it is a simple story of simple people, recounted with the warmth and sincerity and unrivaled craftsmanship Steinbeck brings to his writing. It is tragedy in the great tradition, beautifully conveying not despair but hope for mankind.

The Great Books Foundation Discussion Guide for The Pearl is available at www.greatbooks.org.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

February 27 marks the great Steinbeck's 100th birthday, and the publishing world is celebrating appropriately. The Library of America volume collects the author's little-known 1942 novel The Moon Is Down along with popular standards Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), and East of Eden (1952). If you prefer individual copies, Penguin is also releasing top-quality paperback Centennial Editions of several of Steinbeck's titles, which in addition to those listed above and those in the Library of America collection include his travelog Travels with Charley in Search of America (ISBN 0-14-200070-1) and the Pulitzer Prize winner The Grapes of Wrath (ISBN 0-14-200066-3), perhaps the greatest American novel of the 20th century. Penguin, which publishes Steinbeck's 26 works, reports that the volumes still sell more than one million copies annually. Happy birthday, big guy!
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“[The Pearl] has the distinction and sincerity that are evident in everything he writes.”—The New Yorker

“Form is the most important thing about him. It is at its best in this work.” —Commonweal

“[Steinbeck has] long trained his prose style for such a task as this: that supple unstrained, muscular power, responsive to the slightest pull of the reins.”— Chicago Sunday Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142000698
• ISBN-13: 978-0142000694
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (586 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,612 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.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#43 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#43 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 104 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding the Real Treasure September 30, 2002

By Patrick Shepherd VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Most people born and raised in America cannot even imagine the depths of poverty that most of the rest of the world are forced to live with. This story illuminates this fact, as we enter the world of Kino, a pearl diver and occasional fisherman, his wife Juana, and their baby son, Coyotito. All they have is a grass shack house, a few clay cooking utensils, and their prize possession, Kino's boat, inherited from his father and grandfather. The boat is the family's livelihood, providing the means to put a meal on the table and to provide a few pesos for store bought goods by selling the small pearls Kino is able to find.

But Kino and his family, far from being depressed or unhappy, have a great treasure, the love they have for each other and their satisfaction with life as it is, with few disturbing dreams of greater things. But their quiet, routine life is turned upside down the day that Kino finds a Great Pearl. Suddenly Kino can dream of better things: a rifle for himself, school for his son so he will be able to read and tell what is really in the books, a real house. But dreams can be deadly things. Dreams lead to desire, and desire to greed, and greed to violence.

What happens to Kino and family from this point on is not a pretty story. Now we see that underneath the quiet, idyllic seeming small town and its inhabitants lie the seeds of cheating, betrayal, collusion, fear, and murder. And we see the gradual loss of Kino's real treasures. By the end of the book, events have reached the level of real tragedy, and you, along with Kino, are liable to end up in a state of emotional exhaustion.

Steinbeck's prose for this book matches his characters and situation very well, a very minimalist sentence structure and set of speech patterns. As a parable, the story has a strong moralistic point, but Steinbeck does not overdrive his thematic message, but lets his story speak for itself. One of Steinbeck's great strengths was his ability to capture on paper the characters he saw around him, and this book is a showcase for that talent. The characters of Kino and Juana are exquisitely drawn, real people you can relate to even though their lifestyles may be very far from your own. And because they are real people, it is very hard not to get drawn into their lives, where their dreams and their pains very readily become your own.

This may not be Steinbeck's greatest book, as it is too short and with too limited a focus to compare to something like his Grapes of Wrath. But within its own territory, there are very few other pieces of literature that are even half as good.

54 of 67 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Variant On A Tale That�s Eternally Valid November 16, 2000

By taking a rest HALL OF FAME

Format:Paperback

Referring to this novella, as a variant is in no way meant to detract from the work, or suggest that it is lacking in originality. The two other works Steinbeck's book "The Pearl" is sometimes linked to, add to the reading experience, and reinforce the transcendence of its message.

"The Pearl Of Great Price" from a parable in the Gospel of Matthew, attempts to teach with the same jewel from the sea. Mr. Steinbeck was also a great reader of medieval texts, and one of these morality plays was in the form of a poem written in the 14th Century, entitled "Pearl" although the Author is unknown. These three works are separated by millennia, but their commentary on the human condition is consistent.

Mr. Steinbeck wrote this after his triumph "The Grapes Of Wrath". The work was a monumental bestseller, it brought The Pulitzer Prize to the Author, and was rapidly made into a movie that is a classic in it's own right. Superficially one could argue Mr. Steinbeck achieved all that a writer might conceivably want, fame, fortune, and critical recognition.

Unfortunately, like his work, often when you feel something good is about to happen, a positive change for his characters that have struggled, and fought to survive, he slams you face down on bedrock's reality. The acclaim for his work brought him great discomfort as well. He was labeled a socialist, a communist, an agitator, and became the focus of FBI attention, and not because they liked his book. He viewed and detested the treatment the racism toward Mexicans in Southern California, and witnessed the so-called "Zoot Suit Riots" that resulted.

"The Pearl" might be called the lottery if it was written today. The ticket that vaults a person from the troubles of day-to-day life, and is thought to leave them "set for life" all too often is a quick financial ride up and a crash back down.

Sudden wealth when thrust upon a person, changes the person, and everyone around them. All their reference points, their friends, and all that their lives have not prepared them for, surround, threaten, and many times destroy them.

This book is very brief, but it communicates as much as a novel 10 times its length. The ending is brilliant, tragic, and redemptive. It is a story that few could write, and even fewer could make work. The emotional scenes he brings the reader to are at times almost violent in there reading. And then with a turn of phrase he can change the mood time and time again.

A wonderful novella from an Author known for sweeping sagas.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Steinbeck Classic February 28, 2007

By Jeffrey T. Munson

Format:Paperback

John Steinbeck has written a novel with a powerful message; sometimes, things are best just the way they are.

The story, based on a Mexican folk tale, centers on Kino, Juana, and their baby son Coyotito. Kino is a poor fisherman/pearl diver, relying on his canoe which was passed on from his grandfather down to him. His family lives in a small grass shack and they have very few possessions, but they have each other and they are happy. However, one day, baby Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion which made its way into his crib. Immediately, the poison begins to take hold, despite Juana's frantic efforts to suck the poison out of the baby. Desperate for their baby, Kino and Juana take him into town to see the doctor.

However, once in town, they are informed that the doctor is out on another visit, when in reality, he doesn't want to see Kino's family at all. Disheartened, Kino heads for his canoe.

Once out on the water, he goes through his regular routine of gathering clams and searching for pearls. But this dive turns out to be like no other Kini has ever experienced, for when he opens one of the clams, he sees the biggest pearl he's ever seen; The Pearl of the World. It is as large as a seagull's egg, and as perfect as the moon. Kino sees the immediate end to all of his problems, for with this pearl, he will have wealth beyond his wildest dreams: or will he?

Almost immediately, things begin to change in Kino's life. He begins to watch people a little more closely, fearing that they may try to steal his pearl. He dreams of owning new clothes, a new rifle, and having his son attend school someday.

He decides to venture into town to sell the pearl and collect his fortune. But, what he finds out there is not what he expected. The buyers tell him that the pearl is too large and because it is so large, it is not worth much money. He is offered much less money than he expected. Enraged, Kino and Juana head back to their house, and he buries the pearl in the dirt floor. But, during the night, someone sets his house on fire. Everything is quickly consumed, leaving only a few items. Kino then goes to check on his canoe, but he finds that someone has punched a hole in the bottom, rendering it useless.

Determined to get what he thinks the pearl is worth, the family decides to head to the capitol and sell the pearl there. But, Kino soon realizes that they are not alone; three trackers are following them. Kino tries to stay ahead of the trackers as they head off into the mountains. Will Kino succeed in selling his treasured pearl, or will the trackers catch up to them?

This is an excellent book, and it carries an important message; sometimes, things are better off the way they are rather than changing them. Kino was a humble and hard-working young man trying to raise his family the best he could, but once he found the pearl, everything about him changed. He became suspicious, greedy, and disrespectful to Juana. Granted, his intentions were good, but his actions were not. In the end, Kino ends up losing two precious things.

I highly recommend this classic work by John Steinbeck. Its message is clear; sometimes, things are best just the way they are.