the pearl | book review

The Pearl

“Luck, you see, brings bitter friends.” ― John Steinbeck. 

Instant classic story that taught us about desire, greed, violence, jealousy, anger, hope, fear, internal struggle and pain   of the poor fisherman called Kino.

The story is a roller coaster of events shifting from good to bad like waves pulling you closer just to draw you away, Kino found The Pearl of The World moments after his toddler was stung by a venomous scorpion. The pearl was so big like no other on this planet, luck stroke Kino just as he needed cure for his son but was overwhelmed with greed. The pearl brought nothing but a curse to the fisherman, his wife Juana and child Coyotito. 

Overtime the story painted a picture on how there was an eternal battle between luck and misfortune, who won the war and did that impact Kino and his family's lives?

John Steinbeck unveiled how social status and money was the only ticket to privilege, the poor were thrown out of the luxurious town to live at the shores and were treated worst of the worst, but how will that change for one specific person? And what is his poor village neighbours viewpoint about the whole situation?

In addition, Steinbeck's writing was a little unorthodox for my taste, acute descriptive methods as it flowed very smoothly. The story line's sequence was at order, compiled structurally. Huge recommendation for anybody who is a fan of adventure-driven stories that are compiled as a short novel expressing vivid details in such a blunt yet sincere manner. Beautiful in its simplicity. 

Subscribe via email to get notified whenever I post something here!