Book Review for Shelfari, February 26, 2009

The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Dear Book Club,
The Pearl is a 102-paged novella of a Mexican folk tale by John Steinbeck, and is a classic among books nowadays due to its timeless themes and morals and the vivid writing of Steinbeck. The Pearl is about Kino, a poor diver, finding “The Pearl of the World,” a pearl the size of the space an index and thumb pressed together create. The pearl Kino found was flawless, big and obviously worth a lot, sparking greed in the hearts of who ever set eyes on it. The pearl itself had no special aspects to it, other than its size, but the effects it had on people were very special, driving them to break into Kino’s hut and harm him and his family, break his prized canoe, and eventually burn his house down, out of greed, envy and anger.

The Pearl was a simple story, although it had powerful morals, themes and aspects about it. For example, Kino and his wife, Juana, hear subtle songs with the mood and feelings of their surroundings. “The Song of the Family came now from behind Kino. And the rhythm of the family song was the grinding stone where Juana worked the corn for the morning cakes.” Kino and supposedly all his people can hear music to all that they do, maybe if it’s something familiar and enjoyable, such as waiting for your wife to finish making breakfast, you will hear a sweet melody, described as the song of the family. “Perhaps he alone did this and perhaps all of his people did it. His people had once been great makers of songs so that everything they saw or though did or heard became a song.” From this, and other parts of this story I concluded that those who are native to the land they live in, and who’s lives are simpler, are more connected in what they do, feel, hear and see. As Kino’s senses are so keen to wake in the middle of the night to catch a thief only by the sound of scratching, I am positive the European doctor could do no such thing.

In The Pearl, Steinbeck uses perfect analogies, metaphors and other figurative writing to keep the reader interested, making the novella that much better. For example, instead of simply saying, lots of people are coming out of their houses to see, Steinbeck used, “The houses belched people; the doorways spewed children.” He also used other brilliant metaphors, “all of the neighbors hoped that sudden wealth would not make a rich man of him, would not graft onto him the evil limbs of greed and hatred and coldness.” For me, when I look back on this novella, one of the things I will remember most is the figurative language used in it.

Overall, this book is very satisfying to read, and its story is touching in the way that its very simple, yet has very deep meanings behind it, one of which is to not be overcome by greed, such as the way Kino did, and Juana didn’t. Greed ruined their previously content lives, and possibly the lives of others. This novella is worthy of the title of “classic,” because its morals and writing is timeless.

Amritesh Brady (8th grade)