Customer Reviews

The Short Novels of John Steinbeck

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Steinbeck's novels are wonderful to read. I'm not writing this review for these iconic stories. My critique is for the Kindle Edition. I do love using the Kindle to read, particularly with a book like this that might be a bit large to hold for a long period of time. Yet again, and again, on the Kindle I encounter formatting problems that don't exist in the print editions. In the mad rush of offering all books digitally, publishers are not taking the time to make sure Kindle edition books are of the same quality. I've found may words in this book split in half (a space in the middle of the word), about every ten pages. It doesn't make the book not worth buying, but it is distracting and it can easily be fixed with adequate proofreading.

This is an outstanding collection of the best know shorter works by Steinbeck, or more accurately a collection of his novellas. The writing is exceptional and this is a highly recommended buy.

The stories are short and they cannot be compared with his best known novel "Grapes of Wrath." But this is a superb collection containing his best short work and first novel "Of Mice and Men." Also, it contains "Cannery Row," another great story. And, it has his interesting novel "The Moon is Down." It is about resistance to an invading force. We can assume that it is probably Norway during World War II, and their resistance to Germany, but Steinbeck keeps it a bit vague which broadens the appeal of the book. It could apply to any invading force.

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, so the present collection is a great buy.

The collection has his famous short works and is not a heavy read. Each of the works takes one evening to read. I liked all the stories. Readers will appreciate the clarity of the prose, the characters, and the messages. This is a great value purchase and an interesting reading experience.

Although no one else has reviewed this new edition of Steinbeck's shorter fiction, you'll find plenty of readers' comments on each of the component novels. Often readers are surprised that Steinbeck's works, being frequently cited as a modern classics, are easy reads. It is the characters and situations in Steinbeck's stories that are compelling -- not a lot of flowery language. I have to admit I somehow missed The Red Pony, but if it's as good as the other five (and people seem to agree that it is) this compilation easily deserves five stars.

I have a little deal with my grandsons. I find some books and challenge them to read them. Some are a bit advanced for their understanding, some are a little tough to understand due to language (Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn), some, they think are "little kid's books"(Alice in Wonderland- not the Disney book) I thought I was doing great when I could buy this Steinbeck book for them and they were actually reading 6 little books. They were told that each story had very deep meanings. Not just the boy with a Little Red Pony, or someone who was poor finding The Pearl. This was a wonderful experience. We could discuss it across the 3000 miles that separate us. It was wonderful when a teacher assigned "Of Mice and Men" to the class, and my grandson had read it 2 yrs before in his Steinbeck book.

I also paid my 5th grader $20 to read Watership Down. His older brother teased him about reading a "bunny book". When my grandson finished it (it was agony in some parts), he said, "It sure wasn't just about rabbits was it"? Well worth the $20.

I often buy used books for the grandkids. The Amazon venders are so good. New books for presents, used books for a mental exercise.

Don't let these short works of Steinbeck get past you; they are pure entertainment. I'm a little sorry I did not know to read them many years ago, but then again, they are now a pleasant suprise. I'll be looking for more copies to give to friends next Christmas. Book makes me happy!

Back in junior high reading was never as much fun as it is now. It takes the fun out of reading when you're told to read ... and then turn in a book report. I was constantly looking for books without too many pages that lent themselves to those "uh-oh! I have a book report due tomorrow and I haven't read a book!" moments. Consequently, John Steinbeck's short novels like The Pearl and The Red Pony seemed ready made for the book report procrastinator.

Eventually (translation: after I reached a point where I would no longer had to write book reports) I learned to appreciate Steinbeck's longer works like East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath. Both those books are on a short list of my favorite novels. But after stumbling across this collection while searching for Tortilla Flats I figured I'd re-read some of the books that served me so well as last-minute book reports.

Re-reading The Pearl, Of Mice and Men and The Red Pony was a revelation. There were depths of meaning and nuance there I completely missed when I was parsing out the protagonists, antagonists, themes, central conflicts, etc. for book reports. There is a sparse beauty to Steinbeck's short works. He is among a mere handful of writers that can paint entire scenes with only the sparsest brush-strokes of words. Even the works I had not previously read - The Moon is Down and Tortilla Flats - held wonders just waiting to be discovered. Somehow it never connected with me that Steinbeck was re-telling the tales of King Arthur through his characters in Tortilla Flats.

I came away from the experience convinced that I should re-read Steinbeck at least every decade to see what new revelations jump out at me.

Being a huge Steinbeck fan, I love this book. Although I had most of the novels on my shelf already, it's nice to have the short novels together in one book.

These six short novels came highly recommended to me, since I enjoyed Travels with Charley by the same author. Steinbeck is a very powerful, thought provoking writer and I enjoyed this collection very much. I second the recommendation.

I will endeavor to describe each book separately....

The Red Pony - It's about a boy and his pony. Or is it? Excellent writing, but there's a deeper meaning here that's left to the reader to determine. Animal lovers be warned: bad things happen to two animals in this story and it was VERY hard to read - and hard to scrub from the brain afterward. I know stuff like this really happens, it's just difficult, that's all.

The Pearl - Wow. Powerful writing. The story of what happens to a simple family in poverty when they discover a valuable pearl. It is incredibly tragic and I admit that I cried. I cried, and then I thought.

Of Mice and Men - The story of two men - one who is small and smart and his friend who is large and 'not too smart'. The large man, Lennie, is kind but hurts the things he loves by accident. He doesn't know his own strength. His smart friend George tries to look out for him and protect him from the damage he causes. Read this and see if you can guess the shocking conclusion. Steinbeck demonstrates the expert use of subtle foreshadowing here. My English teacher should have used this book for class! I'm glad to have finally read this.

Cannery Row & Tortilla Flat - I have to group these together because they are so similar. Both novellas are about a poverty stricken community and the people who live there as they struggle to survive. These are real people - all their flaws and inner beauty are shown. Steinbeck introduces these people to the reader and they become the reader's friends. The heroes of both books are a group of guys who never hold down 'real jobs' while somehow managing to survive - and thrive. They drink too much, they steal, they lie, they fight...but when you go with them on their daily lives you will come to love them. How does he do that?

The Moon is Down - By far, my favorite of the six. A town is conquered by an invading army during a war. The invading army rejoices over their victory, but have they really WON? Hmmm...

John Steinbeck's short novels are among his finest works. Of Mice and men must be one of the most powerful novellas ever written, while both The Pearl and The Red Pony are simple yet wonderfully moving too. They're also a good introduction to Steinbeck's work, as if you don't like these you probably won't like his longer novels.

This is a wonderful book containing several of Steinbeck's best short novels. He is one of greatest writers of modern or any other time. He is very descriptive so that you feel like your witnessing the events as they unfold. The book is very well binded, etc. This was a great buy.