Steinbeck, John "Cannery Row"

1945

Reviewed by Marianne
from Let's Read


 

I have read several John Steinbeck novels and loved them all. With this one, I was expecting something along the line of "The Grapes of Wrath", some story about the people who lived during the Great Depression and how they managed. Instead, I read about a group of unruly people whom I couldn't care for.

I'm sure you have read novels where your thoughts did not stay with the plot. Where you had to go back and read whole paragraphs over and over again. I had this with this story, well, I wouldn't even call it a story. It was an amalgamation of characters who couldn't bring together one decent idea.

I have heard several times that this is a funny novel. I cannot agree with that. I didn't see any humour in it. Sorry.

From the back cover:

"Unburdened by the material necessities of the more fortunate, the denizens of Cannery Row discover rewards unknown in more traditional society. Henri the painter sorts through junk lots for pieces of wood to incorporate into the boat he is building, while the girls from Dora Flood’s bordello venture out now and then to enjoy a bit of sunshine. Lee Chong stocks his grocery with almost anything a man could want, and Doc, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love. Cannery Row is just a few blocks long, but the story it harbors is suffused with warmth, understanding, and a great fund of human values. First published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is - both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. John Steinbeck draws on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, and interweaves their stories in this world where only the fittest survive - creating what is at once one of his most humorous and poignant works. In Cannery Row, John Steinbeck returns to the setting of Tortilla Flat to create another evocative portrait of life as it is lived by those who unabashedly put the highest value on the intangibles - human warmth, camaraderie, and love."

John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception".

Read my other reviews of the Nobel Prize winners for Literature.  

Original Post on "Let's Read".

Steinbeck, John "The Pearl"

1947


Reviewed by Marianne
from Let's Read

I absolutely love John Steinbeck. Whether it is a large saga or a short story, he manages to describe the characters so well, to let them come alive, to give you the feeling you are there. I have never lived in the United States, I have actually never been to the United States but the way he describes it, it makes me feel like I have. Well, at least during his times. And he also describes the landscape so vividly, it feels almost like looking at a painting only someone is explaining it to you.

The story is a sad tragedy, telling of the problems of the indigenous inhabitants of Mexico, how they have to struggle through their daily lives and yet never can hope to get anywhere. Even when they seem to find a treasure, others manage to ruin it for them. Another story about how the invaders exploited the natives. Apparently an old Mexican folktale, the story rings true to your mind.

This story is a parable, full of symbolism. We have the pearl fisher and his family, we have the evil that threatens them in many forms, we have the richness that is about to come to them but taken away. We have the pearl telling its own story. It changes its music that you can almost hear, it changes its soul the same way as the story takes its path from the beginning to the end. The characters change throughout the book as well as the relationship between the characters develop, an interesting view into the lives of this culture.

A very powerful story, as anything by this fabulous author who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception". Well deserved.

From the back cover:

"In the town they tell the story of the great pearl - how it was found and how it was lost again. They tell of Kino, the fisherman, and of his wife, Juana, and of the baby, Coyotito. And because the story has been told so often, it has taken root in every man's mind."

Find the other John Steinbeck books I read here. 

Read my other reviews of the Nobel Prize winners for Literature.  


Original Post on "Let's Read".

Steinbeck, John "East of Eden"

1952


Reviewed by Marianne
from Let's Read



I have watched the movie ages ago and always wanted to read the book. I'm glad I did. Steinbeck is a wonderful author, his writing is almost poetry, his thoughts philosophical and, yet, his stories are so alive. You have the feeling you're there with the characters, you laugh and cry with them.

Steinbeck talks about problems as old as mankind, he retells the story of Cain and Abel, only here they are called Caleb and Aaron (the father is still Adam, though), and they live in his native California.

An excellent report about growing up, growing in different directions, about good and evil, young and old, a very moving story, so many lives that you fear and hope with.

In the meantime, we have discussed this book in our international book club. We had a great discussion, everyone seemed to be getting something out of it, even if we disliked the characters.

Some of our comments:

"I loved written style. Breathtaking, descriptive power, opening page. I usually go fast over descriptive things of nature but not this time. I really like his writing, like the many details. Just looking at the first chapter, you can picture yourself there, smell the smell, feel the wind, the characters are very structured. Even though I don't like sad books, I find this fascinating. He is a good writer, carries you along.
He tried to document what it was like in the Salinas Valley at the time. It reads like a Western.
Why haven't I read this before?
Biblical Story: A rabbinical-like exegesis of free will. It stopped the characters from developing.
I got wary about his insistence of the biblical story, I'm not dumb, got tired of him repeating it all the time
I didn't like the good and evil, the black and white.
Did he make the biblical references on purpose?
I thought this was a retelling of the bible, so the characters had to act the way they acted.
Characters: The author constrains his characters that they have to act in a certain way.
Hated Adam. He got off too easily.
Cal the anyone who could back out because he struggled with himself.
I hated most of the characters, the ones I liked had some backbone.
Heavy, pigeon-holed characters, Steinbeck put them in a box.
Loved the relationship between Lee and Samuel.
Kate is based on his ex-wife who wouldn't let him see his two sons. Maybe that's why she was so negative.
Loved Lee, stories repeated themselves.
Abra was interesting, I always asked "why did you pick the loser brother, why did you wait?"
I was repelled by the characters you keep turning the pages. Samuel was too good to be true (the Hamiltons were modeled after Steinbeck's family), his kids were the only ones who did have a real chance to develop as they liked."

I can highly recommend this book.

We discussed this in our book club in September 2012.

From the back cover:

"Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity; the inexplicability of love; and the murderous consequences of love’s absence."

I also really enjoyed "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men"

John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception".
 

Read my other reviews of the Nobel Prize winners for Literature.  

Original Post on "Let's Read".

Steinbeck, John "The Grapes of Wrath"

1939

Reviewed by Marianne
from Let's Read

 

I read this with my RL book club a couple of years ago. What a book! I love Steinbeck's way of writing, his descriptive painting of people, scenes, environment, situations. Fabulous.

Granted, it was sad. But I loved how the people helped each other out, how they shared the little they had if it was more than others had. I loved the descriptions of everything, be it the land, the people, actions, the situation. I also loved the little chapters in-between.

As a book club, we learned a lot from this book. 

Our society becomes a conglomerate, you have no recourse to solving your problem. Communities within communities are still created today. The poorest people are the most humane people. We go to great extremes to keep our children but for them it was life or death. There is so much about the story, intense poverty; start of unions, people's tricks to make money. You can feel the dust, hunger, fear, hope, and strength. As one member said: you could taste the grains of sand in your mouth. The book had tons of symbolism, really well developed. There were so many fundamental issues, power, capitalism, financial crisis. The irresponsible use of the land led to the dust bowl.

The author made his characters ugly, got you aware of social injustice, all these complaints about the unions now and further about how it came in the first place.

Effective, short introductory chapters, he introduced the scene and then got in depth. The benefit of that was we knew more than they did, a good literary device. Interesting perspective for the reader.

The main lesson: There is always hope, the strength of hope to carry people through.
And also: the story could have been written today.

I think I repeat myself but this is definitely a novel worth reading. I also really enjoyed "East of Eden" and his short story/novella "Of Mice and Men".


John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception" and the Pulitzer Prize for "The Grapes of Wrath" in 1940.

We discussed this in our book club in March 2009.


Read my other reviews of the Nobel Prize winners for Literature.  

Original Post on "Let's Read".

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Reviewed by: Gillian Valladares Castellino

"The music of the pearl drifted to a whisper then disappeared". 

That is the last line of The Pearl.  As far as 'hooks' go, Steinbeck could not have chosen a better one to reel in a reader who tends to read last lines of books before first ones. A little gem of a book, The Pearl begins with the promise of extolling the virtues of a simple life. It delivers something quite different: an invitation to examine ugliness, beauty, inequality, greed, randomness, basically all the complexities that underpin human lives. All this and more, delivered in under one hundred short pages.

Reviews of The Pearl are quick to point out that the novella is not one of Steinbeck's critically acclaimed works despite the fact that it has been a textbook for American middle and high-schools for many years and is thought to have influenced Hemingway to write The Old Man and the Sea (1952).  The story was first published in 1945, in the Woman's Home Companion, where it was called 'The Pearl of the World.'  It is claimed that some versions are entitled 'The Pearl of La Paz.' Also, a line of thought that suggests that the novella was penned as a result of Steinbeck's interest in the teaching of Carl Jung, specifically the issues of "human greed, materialism and the inherent worth of a thing".

The best introduction to the story is in Steinbeck's own words ...

"as with all retold tales, that are in people's hearts, there are only good and bad things and black and white things and good and evil things and no in-between anywhere.
If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it..."

So what is the novella about?  Set around the turn of the last century, in colonial Mexico, specifically in the rural town of La Paz on the Baja Penninsula, it is the story of Kino, a young Mexican-Indian pearl diver, his partner Juana and their baby Coyotito. The plot line of the story is simple, but that is not it's point at all. It's significance and beauty lies in the "telling". 

The story begins as follows: Kino, a simple fisherman, his wife Jauna and son Coyotito live an idyllic existence until the little boy is stung by a scorpion. The town's doctor refuses to even see the child as the parents are poor. Kino in desperation dives for and retrieves a large valuable pearl. "The essence of pearl mixed with essence of men and a curious dark residue was precipitated. Every man suddenly became related to Kino's pearl and Kino's pearl went into the dreams, the speculations, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs, the lusts, the hungers of everyone, and only one person stood in the way and that was Kino, so that he became curiously every man's enemy.....The poison sacs of the town began to manufacture venom, and the town swelled and puffed with the pressure of it....But Kino and Jauna did not know these things.  Because they were happy and excited they thought that everyone shared their joy.....in the incandescence of the pearl the pictures formed of the things Kino's mind had considered in the past and had given up as impossible."

Without giving too much more away, let it be said that the finding of the pearl becomes a transformative event in the most foul and tragic sense of the term. After the tragedy devastates Kino and Jauna, they throw the pearl back into the depths of the ocean.

Though short in length, The Pearl deals with three major themes - First, the destructive role of greed. Second, the part that fate and human intention/action play in shaping individual lives. Though human beings may focus on and work towards specific goals, fate often intervenes in an apparently random manner and changes everything. The third theme is colonial society's oppression of native cultures. The novella depicts the arrogance, condescension, self-centredness, greed and dismissiveness that colonizers displayed towards the natives. This behaviour has a negative effect on its targets, transforming them from innocent, pious, pure societies into perverted extensions of the colonizer's mentality. Yes, despite the folkloric beauty of its prose, this is a very dark tale.

Recurring motifs in the book are nature imagery and Kino's songs, especially 'The Song of Evil' vs 'The Song of the Family'. These two motifs are used throughout the narrative to progress the plot and develop the themes.

There are also three main symbols used in the story. These are: the pearl (obviously), the scorpion (which precipitates the action) and finally Kino's canoe, which represents native cultural heritage and the spiritual understandings implied within them. Though undervalued in colonial society, for Kino, his canoe underpins who he is, providing both a means of livelihood and a means to find the pearl of great value. It's destruction foreshadows the shattering of his own innocence.

Original post on Healing Scribbles:
http://jillvc-artstuff.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/the-pearl-by-john-steinbeck-and.html

The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

Reviewed by Edith LaGraziana

After my Christmas digression into light Irish literature, I return to my usual set of deep and thought-provoking reads already with this week’s review. More precisely I picked a Nobel read for My WINTER Books Special, the only one that I could find, namely The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck. The members of the committee of the Swedish Academy mentioned especially this last novel of the American author when they awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to him in 1962. It’s the story of a good and honest man who finds his morals corrupted by the requirements and habits of post-war America where virtually everything seems permitted to achieve financial wealth and social status.

John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, USA, in February 1902. He grew up in the rural atmosphere of his birth town at the sea surrounded by many migrants, an environment that later often appeared in his literary work. After high school he studied English Literature at Stanford University until 1925, but his mind was already set on becoming a great American writer and he never earned a degree. In 1929 he brought out his first novel titled Cup of Gold, but success didn’t come before Tortilla Flat was published in 1935. The California novels followed, among them In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939). Others of his most notable novels are Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), East of Eden (1952), and The Winter of Our Discontent (1961). He also wrote the script to Elia Kazan’s famous film Viva Zapata! (1952). In 1962 the author was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. John Steinbeck died in New York City, New York, USA, in December 1968.

Ethan Allen Hawley is a descendant both of the Pilgrim Fathers and of whalers, maybe even pirates, and thinks of his life as The Winter of Our Discontent. For generations his family belonged to the honourable and rich of fictitious New Baytown on Long Island, but when the whaling industry went down, also their decline began. Upon Ethan’s return from World War II, his father was dead and all that was left of the former wealth were the old Hawley house and the town’s grocery shop. Harvard-bred only in letters and trained for war, not business, Ethan soon was forced not just to sell the shop, but also to stay on as the clerk of the new owner, an Italian immigrant called Alfio Marullo. In April 1960 Ethan still works as grocery clerk keeping the shop that he once owned. He hates his job that barely suffices to cover the expenses of his family consisting of his wife Mary, fourteen-year-old son Allen and thirteen-year-old daughter Ellen. On Good Friday morning on his way to work he meets the bank teller Joey Morphy who shares with Ethan his thoughts about how to rob a bank without getting caught. Later Mr. Baker, president of the bank, drops in on Ethan to convince him to invest his wife’s six-thousand dollars and to restore his family to wealth, power and prestige, but Ethan refuses because it’s Mary’s money and security. Coming by to check on the shop, Marullo points out to Ethan that a good businessman needs always to “look out for number one”, ie for money because it is at the heart of success and nothing else matters. As an honest man to the backbone Ethan won’t listen to him, though. So when a travelling salesman, previously announced by Mary’s attractive and men-hunting friend Margie Young-Hunt, offers him money behind Marullo’s back in return for placing orders with his company, Ethan refuses because he won’t betray his boss. Probably none of this would trouble Ethan, if the same day his wife and his teenage children didn’t make it clear to him that they too crave for money and the prestige it implies. Since he wants the best for them, he begins to question his attitude and convinces himself that it’ll do no harm to put aside his moral scruples at least temporarily – like he did as a soldier. He acts accordingly and the expected results materialise on Independence Day weekend 1960, but Ethan is full of remorse.

The Winter of Our Discontent is the author’s lament over moral decline in post-war America which manifested in a huge number of scandals making the headlines at the time of its writing and before. Through his choice of title John Steinbeck also alluded to Richard III by William Shakespeare of which Ethan quotes the respective passage at the end of part one. In the novel’s world – like in the world in which we are living today – money isn’t just the driving force of economy and personal progress, but its cult is at least on an equal level with religion. Baker’s bank house is described as a “red brick basilica” and in one scene the bank teller compares the opening of the safe in the morning with a lodge meeting of the freemasons where “Father Baker genuflects and opens the safe and we all bow down to the Great God Currency.” Nobody except Ethan seems to see any harm in bribery, chicanery and treachery. The novel centres on his inner conflicts confronted with the need to give up his high moral standards for the sake of his family’s happiness. Consequently, most of the story is told from Ethan’s point of view, thus in first person, and only the introducing two chapters of each of the two parts are third-person narrative. The Swedish Academy praised John Steinbeck “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception”. All of it can be found in this last novel of his, too, and in addition I noticed a bitter undertone of the kind that seems to be characteristic of advancing age. Already some time ago I realised that every parent or grandparent generation laments over moral decline – in fact I catch myself at it occasionally.

All in all, The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck has been an absorbing and worthwhile read although in my opinion it doesn’t stand comparison with Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, the author’s other two works that I could finish so far. Considering today's economic situation and the often reckless behaviour of businessmen, the novel has lost none of its importance.

Original post on Edith's Miscellany:

http://edith-lagraziana.blogspot.com/2015/01/winter-of-our-discontent-by-john-steinbeck.html

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

1937

Reviewed by Marianne from "Let's Read"

No wonder this author is so highly regarded by so many. He can make a short story, alright, a novella,  into an epic tale, one that will never leave you.

This book is so full of everything, it touches so many subjects, it's amazing. Of course, as in all his works I have read so far, the story takes place during the Great Depression, this time he talks about migrant workers. In just a few pages, he pictures the life they lead and you are right in the story. You can take this story as an example for so many bad parts of society, prejudice, racism, the poor and ugly side of the world and people dreaming of a better one.

Steinbeck is the best author to explain what has gone wrong with the American dream, he describes the downside of it, the people who don't fit in, even if they try hard. His phenomenal writings cast a shadow into the next century. Nobody describes people and situations better than he did. Nobody draws an image of society as well as he did.

"Of Mice and Men" is certainly one of the gems of world literature that should be read by everyone. You know what is going to happen but you desperately don't want it to happen. Simply beautiful writing.

From the back cover:

"The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simple-minded man, calming him and helping to rein in his immense physical strength."

John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception".

Read my other reviews of the Nobel Prize winners for Literature.

A Russian Journal by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. his citation reads "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception", and A Russian Journal is an example of the power and perception of his non-fiction reportage.

It's a wonderful little book, and quite an eye-opener. Written a scant three years after the end of the Second World war, when the world was coming to terms with the advent of the Iron Curtain, John Steinbeck and his photographer Robert Capa set out to see for themselves what Russia* was like.

Not surprisingly, they met some obstacles in the form of Soviet bureaucracy and prohibitions, and since they had to rely on government-approved translators, everywhere they went they were at their mercy and had no alternative but to assume the translator had integrity. Still, much of what is written has the ring of truth because Steinbeck insisted on meeting ordinary people wherever he could.

There’s a droll slyness to the reportage. Steinbeck affects a simplicity that belies his reputation as one of America’s foremost writers. He asserts again and again that they’re reporting only what they saw and heard for themselves, but of course choices were made about what to include and what to leave out. He chooses to include commentary about idiosyncratic plumbing and queues and bizarre airline schedules. He chooses also to explain that much of the inefficiencies he sees are due to having to make-do in the period of post-war reconstruction. He chooses to omit information about schools and health care and disparities in income.

But in other ways, with the wisdom of hindsight, the journal seems naïve. We, reading this book today, know much about Stalin that Steinbeck could not: about the purges, the famines, the gulags and the ruthless repression. So when he tells us without apparent guile that Stalin’s portrait is everywhere and how people make pilgrimages to his birthplace and revere him as a father-figure, we see a different figure to the one that Steinbeck portrays. The surveillance that Steinbeck finds mildly amusing had sinister connotations, but Steinbeck could not have known about that at that time.

What Steinbeck makes clear, in his inimitable style, is that ordinary Russian people were no more keen on the idea of war than the West was, and felt equally threatened by the other side’s hostility.

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2011/06/15/a-russian-journal-by-john-steinbeck/

I read and blogged my review on June 15, 2011.

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

What is a paisano? He is a mixture of Spanish, Indian, Mexican and assorted Caucasian bloods. His ancestors have lived in California for a hundred or two years. He speaks English with a paisano accent and Spanish with a paisano accent. When questioned concerning his race, he indignantly claims pure Spanish blood and rolls up his sleeve to show that the soft inside of his arm is nearly white. His color, like that of a well-browned meerschaum pipe, he ascribes to sunburn. He is a paisano, and he lives in that uphill district above the town of Monterey called Tortilla Flat, although it isn’t a flat at all. – from Tortilla Flat, page 2 

Danny, the hero of John Steinbeck’s novella Tortilla Flat, is a paisano. When he inherits two small houses in Tortilla Flat, his friends soon discover that living beneath a roof is preferable to sleeping in the woods. Pilon, Pablo, Pirate and his pack of friendly dogs, Joe Portagee, and Jesus Maria soon move in with Danny. Together, they commit petty theft, drink far too much cheap wine, and engage in a number of sexual liaisons with the town women. They also develop strong friendships with each other – friendships based on a common philosophy that material goods are not what create happiness, and freedom comes in choosing to live unencumbered by traditional social mores. The paisanos are loyal to their comrades over all else.

Based loosely on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable, Steinbeck’s classic novel explores the growing friendships of the paisanos and their skewed view of morality. They often steal from their neighbors, yet unselfishly assist those in need; they are quick to come to the rescue of the local women, but do not deny themselves sexual gratification. They share stories to help teach each other the lessons of life. Steinbeck clearly loves this scrappy band of brothers and with humor and sensitivity he creates memorable and likable characters. At times, Tortilla Flat feels like a collection of short stories or parables.

Steinbeck sets Tortilla Flat during the Depression era in a town just outside of Monterey, California and with his signature style captures the flavor of that time period and geographic area.

It will not surprise anyone that I thoroughly enjoyed Tortilla Flat. I have long come to recognize Steinbeck as an astute writer who crafts his characters with detail and empathy. Although this novella has a different feel and style from his better known novels such as East of Eden or The Grapes of Wrath, it is of the same high quality. In less than 200 pages, Steinbeck succeeds in drawing the reader into the world of the paisano and leaves her wanting for more.

Highly recommended.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

First line: Kino awakened in the near dark.

I've been meaning to say a few things about this slim but packed book. This may be required reading in US schools, but here in the Philippines, I've seen more than a few of old browning copies languishing in school libraries.

Which is a pity. Steinbeck has written a beautiful parable of what greed can do to even the kindest, most upright man. It traces how in your quest to find the "solution" and eventually have the "solution" in your grasp, that you slowly realize that you have subconsciously turned into the very type of person you despise.

More importantly, I feel that it brings us back to basics, in a rather dramatic fashion - pointing out the obvious: that money can never take the place of the a happy family and a sense of community.

Two paragraphs sum up the transformation of the pearl and Kino:

" ... there it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon. It captured the light and refined it, and gave it back in silver incandescence. In the surface of the great pearl he could see dream forms." (p. 25)
"And the pearl was ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth" (p. 117)

I read this in a day, but what I got from it is invaluable. Good and evil both reside in men, cliche as it may sound, and what one must do to fight the evil often means learning just how ugly one's soul can be.

It does also raise more questions: Are things sometimes better left alone? Does this mean we shouldn't strive for a better life, and become complacent? How does one deal with temptation, when one is so ill equipped to do so?

Last line: And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared.
[Original post on aloireads.wordpress.com]

The Pearl by John Steinbeck (Wendy)

Kino deftly slipped his knife into the edge of the shell. Through the knife he could feel the muscle tighten hard. He worked the blade lever-wise and the closing muscle parted and the shell fell apart. The lip-like flesh writhed up and then subsided. Kino lifted the flesh, and there it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon. it captured the light and refined it and gave it back in silver incandescence. It was as large as a sea-gull's egg. It was the greatest pearl in the world. -From The Pearl, page 26-

Kino, his faithful wife Juana, and their young child Coyotito live in a small fishing village in Mexico. Their simple lives are transformed overnight when Kino finds "The Pearl of the World" in the sea one day.

Steinbeck has written a parable about how wealth may erase innocence and bring evil into our lives. With his lyrical and beautiful prose, he brings the story to life. Juana symbolizes wisdom and common sense - she is Kino's partner and supports his dreams and idealism while being wary of the pearl's lure. Kino's brother is the voice of reason and caution - he represents the history of his people, recognizing that they will always be cheated and must not show too much ambition lest everything that is good will be torn from them. In less than 100 pages, Steinbeck pulls the reader in and makes her care deeply about the characters - we reluctantly turn the pages knowing that only disaster awaits Kino and his family as the pearl becomes Kino's soul and desire. The tale is archetypal as it represents ideas common to all people - greed and desire for wealth. Steinbeck uses the idea of music (the song of family, the song of evil, the song of the pearl) to create a dreamlike story. His attention to detail adds complexity to his character, as when Kino and Juano prepare to go out to sell the pearl.

Kino put on his straw hat and felt it with his hand to see that it was properly placed, not on the back or side of his head, like a rash, unmarried, irresponsible man, and not flat as an elder would wear it, but tilted a little forward to show aggressiveness and seriousness and vigor. There is a great deal to be seen in the tilt of a hat on a man. -From The Pearl, page 49-

The Pearl is felt to be a deeply personal story for Steinbeck who wrote it soon after his overnight success with The Grapes of Wrath. Disillusioned and overwhelmed by the reaction to that novel, Steinbeck turned inward to examine his own motivations. The Pearl also reveals Steinbeck's understanding of people of poverty, including the underlying discrimination he witnessed against the Mexican people in the 1940s.

The Pearl is another masterpiece by this Nobel Laureate.

Highly recommended; rated 5/5.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” is a fascinating book that traces out story of two generations of two families whose lives are somehow interlinked. We can say that it's by chance rather than design. Their lives are correlated to land and nature as was the norm in those times and even now we can see that in our world. In that way nothing has changed in all those years. The rebuilding of the man in the face of adversity, the tenacity of mind and body, mind eternally seeking and questioning, trying to find answers for his faith and belief and in some case just acceptance.

Are we not all questing to find answers about ourselves, our convictions or about the paradox called life?

It has well etched characters….so well that we can identify with them.

LEE: I think he is one of best character in the book. He is unlike any other servant. He himself says that a servant can be the master of the man he is serving. But we never see him imposing on Adam Trask at any place. He is more of a family to them than anyone else. He is the one who brings up Cal and Aron single handedly. It is he who keeps them together. He is practical, down to earth and lots of philosophy going inside him. Even when he leaves for his dream bookstore, we want him to come back as soon as he leaves. He does come back when he realizes that it is only thing he wants and they are the only family he ever had. Hence we see him unpacking his things and making a home for himself. It is he who teaches about choices and from him we learn that it is what we want ourselves to be and not the blood, which flows within us. His study of the Old Testament goes much beyond mere academic interest. He reminds us of Timshel----“thou Mayest.”

LISA: Somehow she made a great impression in my mind. Loaded with faith, belief, practicality and hard work, she knew how to look after her large family. She with her no frills, no nonsense attitude reminds me of the matriarchs of our own land. As long as there is plenty of food on the table, other things did not bother her. She kept her family together and accepted life and death, as they should be.

TOM and DESSI are like any other brother and sister…. loving and affectionate. Despite that they could not communicate with each other as both had a few demons to slay and did not want the other to worry about those. Maybe if they had shared, both would have lived. Maybe….who knows…

CAL and ARON: of the twins Cal is more interesting. He behaves like any other sibling in the circumstances where he knows that his brother is more loved and favoured. Just one look at Aron, everyone loves him but Cal has to fight for it. Most of us have gone through these phases in some way or the other. So we can identify with him. Best thing about Cal is, he knows what he does is wrong but in his jealousy he does not realize it. It comes later after the deed is done. He has deep love for his father and his twin, Aron. He does not hate his mother either. He is simply indifferent towards her.

Aron lives in a world of his own. Where everything is perfect. Only goodness and brightness prevails. Even the girl he loves is perfect in his eyes with no flaws. He cannot accept imperfection. He cannot accept that his mother is a whore. He seeks escape the only way he knows by joining the army.

CATHY/KATE: Much has been written about her. She being evil, a monster, what drove her to it no one knows. But we do see flashes of loneliness. I think even she was not aware of those. In her world, there is no place for any one other than herself…no one and nothing. She is beyond redemption.

Like in this timeless novel, East of Eden, we can still find people just like those. We have Sams, Lees, Adams, Charles, Lisas, Toms, Cals, Arons and above all Cathys amongst us. Good and evil have to coexist or how do we distinguish one from the other. If there is GOD, there is SATAN too.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck - Wendy's Review

There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: was it good or was it evil? Have I done well - or ill? -From East of Eden, page 413

I have yet to be disappointed by anything John Steinbeck writes ... and East of Eden is no exception.

Set in the heart of the Salinas Valley, the novel spans three generations of two families whose lives overlap - the Trasks and the Hamiltons. Samuel Hamilton, an Irish immigrant and dreamer who believes in the goodness of mankind, raises his family without financial wealth but rich with love and family unity.

He came to Salinas Valley full-blown and hearty, full of in inventions and energy. His eyes were very blue, and when he was tired one of them wandered outward a little. he was a big man but delicate in a way. In the dusty business of ranching he seemed always immaculate. His hands were clever. He was a good blacksmith and carpenter and woodcarver, and he could improvise anything with bits of wood and metal. -From East of Eden, page 8-9

Adam Trask descends from wealth, and the conflict of sibling rivalry and moral weakness.

These usually bought land, but good land, and built their houses of planed lumber and had carpets and colored-glass diamond panes in their windows. There were numbers of these families and they got the good land of the valley and cleared the yellow mustard away and planted wheat. Such a man was Adam Trask. -From East of Eden, page 13

Narrated in the philosophical voice of Samuel's grandson (who flavors this all-American classic with his thoughts and observations of the politics and economics of life in America at the turn of the century), Steinbeck uses the timeless story of Cain and Abel to draw his characters - and with this adds a greater depth to a novel rich with symbolism.

As in all of Steinbeck's novels, the characters drive the story. Lee, a Chinese servant, surprises and delights the reader with his wisdom and gentle nature. Cathy (later Kate) surpasses the stereotypical evil character, allowing reader empathy to exist side by side with revulsion and demonstrating no one is all good or all bad. The overriding message of East of Eden seems to be that man (or woman) are free to choose their path regardless of inheritance or circumstances - in fact, perhaps in spite of them.

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. -From East of Eden, page 132

Now there are many millions in their sects and churches who feel the order, 'Do thou,' and throw their weight into obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in 'Thou shalt.' Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But 'Thou mayest'! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win. -From East of Eden, page 303

Steinbeck's fine sense of place resonates throughout the novel. It is easy to see why East of Eden is considered his greatest work.

A classic which is a must read, this novel is highly recommended; rated 5/5.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (Laura's Review)

East of EdenJohn Steinbeck
600 pages

First sentence: The Salinas Valley is in Northern California

Reflections: East of Eden is an epic novel which tells the story of two interconnected families, and explores the themes of good and evil through a loose retelling of stories in the book of Genesis. It is set in Northern California in the early 1900s. Samuel Hamilton is an Irish immigrant who settled in the area and bore a large family; one of his daughters was Steinbeck's mother. Adam Trask grew up in Connecticut and, after the death of his father, moves west with his new wife Cathy. Cathy is the very embodiment of evil, yet Adam is blind to her manipulative ways. She bears twin sons, Caleb (Cal) and Aron, but leaves them as infants and goes to work in a brothel. Adam is left to raise the boys with the help of Lee, a Chinese housekeeper.

Throughout the novel, each character grapples with issues of good and evil. This is especially evident in Cal, who struggles to overcome the darker tendencies he inherited from his mother. The father-son relationships are sometimes strained and quite poignant. Steinbeck reveals the evil present in each person, while also showing the individual struggles and choices that can overcome evil.

This book was published in 1952, late in Steinbeck's career. Ten years later he was awarded the Nobel Prize, "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." While this book did not have as much impact on me as Grapes of Wrath, I found the story captivating and thought-provoking. ( )

My original review can be found here.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Laura's Review)

The Grapes of WrathJohn Steinbeck
502 pages

First sentence: To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.

Reflections:I know this is a classic, and there would be little debate about its place in American literature. I probably don't have any unique commentary on this work. But I was surprised at how much I was "sucked in" to this book, and how much it stayed with me during the times I was not reading.

The powerful themes in this book, for me, were 1) the desperation of the migrant families, and 2) the intense drive to keep families together. Steinbeck is able to convey the sense of desperation so vividly, both through the Joad's experiences and through the chapters describing the world around them: the car salesmen, the people who buy off farmers' assets, the growers/canners in California, the effect of the heavy rain. And then Ma Joad's intensity around keeping the family intact throughout, and her ultimate failure to do so, is just heartbreaking. I can't imagine what it felt like, in an age without email and mobile telephones, to have one of your children go off in search of a better life on their own.

I know the ending is meant to cast a ray of hope, but I was left wondering what would happen next to these poor people, stranded in a barn in a flood with no money, no food, and no hopes.

Another thread running through my mind as I read was about society's apparent need to find a lower class who can be mistreated. In this book, and in that time period, it was the migrant workers. Today, we have found immigrants to do similar labor and their living conditions in many cases are not much better than the Joad's. There are many other groups who are also marginalized. Why is this? And why is it so difficult to eradicate this pattern of hate and discrimination?
My original review can be found here.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Wendy's Review)

The best laid schemes o' mice and men
Gang aft agley [go oft awry]
And leave us nought but grief and pain
For promised joy!
by Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759 - 96)

John Steinbeck's classic novel, Of Mice and Men, is one of three novels he wrote exploring the California agricultural labor phenomenon of the 1930s (the other two were The Grapes of Wrath and In Dubious Battle).

In this novel, Steinbeck focuses on the friendship between two men - George and Lennie - and their shared dream of owning land and a home of their own. The story is simple and occurs over the span of three short days on a Salinas Valley ranch where the two men have found work as farm hands. Thematically, Steinbeck explores the idea of dreams and how plans may go awry through forces beyond one's control.

Given the time in which the novel was written, his handling of the mentally handicapped Lennie is tender and compassionate. Steinbeck describes setting beautifully, and wraps it around the characters whose personalities emerge through their dialogue and relationships with each other. There is enough foreshadowing to predict the novel's tragic end.
Highly Recommended; rated 5/5

Travels With Charley In Search Of America by John Steinbeck (Wendy's Review)

I have never passed an unshaded window without looking in, have never closed my ears to a conversation that was none of my business. I can justify or even dignify this by protesting that in my trade I must know about people, but I suspect that I am simply curious.

-From Travels With Charley In Search Of America, page 90-

John Steinbeck is best known for his fiction. So I was surprised when I learned that he had written several nonfiction books, including Travels With Charley In Search of America - a bittersweet and philosophical travel memoir. In 1960 Steinbeck felt he had lost touch with his country, and this feeling (along with what might have been a late mid-life crisis) prompted him to make a journey from New York to California and back again. He chose to take no companion with him except for his aging standard poodle, Charley. They journeyed in a truck named Rocinante which Steinbeck outfitted with a camper shell and all the supplies he would need. Steinbeck's plan was to avoid the major highways, instead following the wavy backroads of America where he could see the country and meet the people.

This book is a delight on many levels. Steinbeck's wonderful descriptions of Charley made me laugh out loud at times.

Actually his hame is Charles le Chien. He was born in Bercy on the outskirts of Paris and trained in France, and while he knows a little poodle-English, he responds quickly only to commands in French. Otherwise he has to translate, and that slows him down. -From Travels With Charley In Search Of America, page 7-

In establishing contact with strange people, Charley is my ambassador. I release him, and he drifts toward the objective, or rather to whatever the objective may be preparing for dinner. I retrieve him so that he will not be a nuisance to my neighbors - et voila! A child can do the same thing, but a dog is better. -From Travels With Charley In Search Of America, page 51-

Steinbeck is amazingly prophetic in this slim book. He expounds upon the environment ('...I do wonder whether there will come a time when we can no longer afford our wastefulness.' - page 22-), entertainment ('...what of the emotional life of the nation? Do they find their emotional fare so bland that it must be spiced with sex and sadism through the medium of the paperback?' -page 109-), migrant workers ('I hope we may not be overwhelmed one day by peoples not too proud or too lazy or too soft to bend to the earth and pick up the things we eat.' -page50-), and racism ('And I know that the solution when it arrives will not be easy or simple.' -page 207-).

In true Steinbeck style, he recreates the natural world using beautiful and simple language, and then weaves the heart of the people into the setting in which they live.

This book made me want to read more of Steinbeck's nonfiction, including a book of nearly 1000 pages of his letters to family and friends over his lifetime (Steinbeck: A Life in Letters, edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten and published in 1975).

Travels With Charley In Search Of America is a must read and highly recommended; rated 5/5

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Wendy's Review)

In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage. -From the Grapes of Wrath, page 349-

In John Steinbeck's most renown novel, The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad gets released from prison and returns to a home decimated by technology:

"Le's look in the house. She's all pushed out a shape. Something knocked the hell out of her." They walked slowly toward the sagging house. Two of the supports of the porch roof were pushed out so that the roof flopped down on one end. And the house-corner was crushed in. Through a maze of splintered wood the room at the corner was visible. The front door hung open inward, and a low strong gate across the front door hung outward on leather hinges. -From The Grapes of Wrath, page 41-

Thus, this sweeping novel takes us on a journey with the Joad family as they join thousands of migrant workers seeking a better life in the West. Steinbeck fills his novel with homespun characters and the bitter reality of life in the 1930s during the Great Dust Bowl migration.

This novel has been banned, burned and challenged since its publication in 1939 for reasons such as "vulgar language" and "sexual references." In addition, Steinbeck angered many for his honest depiction of the political and economic landscape in the 1930s, where large landowners artificially inflated the cost of goods by destroying surpluses and drove down wages by luring thousands of workers to a California that could not support their numbers.

Steinbeck is a genius at characterization and using symbolism to draw images for the reader. Tom Joad represents all the survivors who joined together and found strength in numbers; who fought back when the future looked the bleakest; who rose up to fight for their families; and who refused to lose dignity even while camping in Hoovervilles.
The women who people this novel are wonderful - strong, authentic, the glue that holds the family together. Ma Joad's tough, realistic character drives the novel and tugs at the reader's heartstrings:

She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken. And since old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt and fear, she had practiced denying them in herself. And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials. But better than joy was calm. Imperturbability could be depended upon. And from her great and humble position in the family she had taken dignity and a clean calm beauty. From her position as healer, her hands had grown sure and cool and quiet; from her position as arbiter she had become as remote and faultless in judgment as a goddess. She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone. - From The Grapes of Wrath, page 74-

Beautiful descriptions of a desolate country; use of symbolism; amazing characterization; compelling dialogue; a vivid and honest portrayal of the family; and an ending which will shock…are all reasons why Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is one of the few great American novels. A must read. The Joad family will stick with the reader long after the final page has been turned.

Highly recommended; rated 5/5

Following are some of my favorite passages from the novel.

About the countryside:

66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership, from the desert's slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight, and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight. -page 118-

About Granma:

Behind him hobbled Granma, who had survived only because she was as mean as her husband. She had held her own with a shrill ferocious religiosity that was a lecherous and as savage as anything Grampa could offer. Once, after a meeting, while she was still speaking in tongue, she fired both barrels of a shotgun at her husband, ripping one of his buttocks nearly off, and after that he admired her and did not try to torture her as children torture bugs. As she walked she hiked her Mother Hubbard up to her knees, and she bleated her shrill terrible war cry: "Pu-raise Gawd fur victory." -page 78-

About symbolism (the turtle):

He came over the grass leaving a beaten trail behind him, and the hill, which was the highway embankment, reared up ahead of him. For a moment he stopped, his head held high. He blinked and looked up and down. At last he started to climb the embankment. -page 14-15-

About community:

In the evening a strange thing happened: the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all. The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the West was a dream. And it might be that a sick child threw despair into the hearts of twenty families, of a hundred people; that a birth there in a tent kept a hundred people quiet and awestruck through the night and filled a hundred people with the birth-joy in the morning. A family which the night before had been lost and fearful might search its goods to find a present for a new baby. -page 193-