I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: The PearlAuthor: John Steinbeck
Published: 1947
Language: English
Pages: 96
Rating: 3/5
Summary:
A poor pearl diver, living with his wife and first child, comes upon a massive pearl, the value of which makes him dream of brighter days, but which also stirs greed and complicates his and his family's life.
Review:
This was a very good novella. I always find it really impressive when authors manage to pack so much into so few pages, but this one does it fairly well.
The writing in this is beautiful and just descriptive enough to bring to life people, place and emotion. I really like the setting of this and I thought the characters were interesting, even if a lot of them feel a little one-dimensional and are maybe only there to represent certain things. I really like how we get to see this whole town be shaken and turned upside down by the finding of something of such value and I thought it was really interesting the way this story explores greed and family.
There is something predictable about this story and at least for me, I got a sense very early on as to where it was going to go, and I was right. I did definitely enjoy getting there though, even if there weren't really a lot of surprises along the way.
I think what makes this a good story is all the layers there is to this and I think it's one of those books that's great to discuss. That being said, it's not my favorite thing I've ever read, not for any particular reason; it just didn't make that much of an impact on me.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
