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    The Pearl
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    The Pearl
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    The Pearl
    Audiobook2 hours

    The Pearl

    Written by John Steinbeck

    Narrated by Hector Elizondo

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    First published in 1947, John Steinbeck’s parable is a literary jewel.

    Kino is a Mexican pearl-fisher in the Gulf of California. When he and his wife, Juana, have a baby, their joy is complete . . . until the infant is bitten by a scorpion. Kino finds a great pearl worth a fortune, far more than enough to pay the doctor needed to save the baby's life, but it brings only tragedy and evil to his family. A masterpiece of American literature.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighBridge Audio
    Release dateJun 15, 2011
    ISBN9781101530986
    Unavailable
    The Pearl
    Author

    John Steinbeck

    John Steinbeck (Salinas, 1902 - Nueva York, 1968). Narrador y dramaturgo estadounidense. Estudió en la Universidad de Stanford, pero desde muy joven tuvo que trabajar duramente como albañil, jornalero rural, agrimensor o empleado de tienda. En la década de 1930 describió la pobreza que acompañó a la Depresión económica y tuvo su primer reconocimiento crítico con la novela Tortilla Flat, en 1935. Sus novelas se sitúan dentro de la corriente naturalista o del realismo social americano. Su estilo, heredero del naturalismo y próximo al periodismo, se sustenta sin embargo en una gran carga de emotividad en los argumentos y en el simbolismo presente en las situaciones y personajes que crea, como ocurre en sus obras mayores: De ratones y hombres (1937), Las uvas de la ira (1939) y Al este del Edén (1952). Obtuvo el premio Nobel en 1962.

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    Reviews for The Pearl

    3.5/5

    2,837 ratings91 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A Mexican man finds a pearl of great value on a dive. He, then, attempts to trade it for security and education for his wife and their little boy.Yay! I read another classic. I thought this one was good. It kept me wondering and hoping the family would redeem their fortune. Since finishing it, though, I have pondered the progression of the story and the outcome. I find that I have ambivalent feelings about the moral/theme/lesson. It fits this story, but in general, I'm not so sure I agree. (3.5/5)Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."
    • 4/5
      Steinbeck has this great style - very matter-of-fact, but beautiful at the same time. Steinbeck is exploring a Mexican folk tale on a more personal level, relating it to Kino's quest for riches and success: "It is not a good thing to want too much. It sometimes drives the luck away. You must want it just enough, and you must be very tactful with God or the gods."

      Kino is very in tune with the Earth, the village, and his family. Everything gave off a song to Kino - good or evil: "...This was part of the family song too. It was all part. Sometimes it rose to an aching chord that caught the throat, saying this is safety, this is warmth, this is the Whole."

      When Kino's infant son, Coyotito, is bit by a scorpion, he and his wife immediately set out for the nearest doctor, who never sees the poor people from the village. Kino's family takes their boat out to go pearl diving, in hopes of finding enough quality pearls to afford a doctor's visit.

      Kino does find a pearl - the biggest, most beautiful pearl anyone in the village has ever seen. But when he tries to sell it, the buyers want to rip him off. He refuses their offer and returns home, but now all the villagers are filled with greed and want the pearl. They try to steal it, they beat Kino and burn his house. The village, once peaceful, is now unsettled, and so is Kino and the music in his head: "'Who do you fear?'
      Kino searched for a true answer, and at last he said, 'Everyone.' And he could feel a shell of hardness drawing over him."

      Kino and his family decide to leave the village - to try and sell the pearl in a richer area as well as to escape all who are trying to harm them. Juana keeps noticing changes in her husband's demeanor - he has become crazed and violent, but she still loved him: "He had said 'I am a man,' and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and half god. It meant that Kino would drive his strength against a mountain and plunge his strength against the sea. Juana, in her woman's soul, knew that the mountain would stand while the man broke himself; that the sea would surge while the man drowned in it."

      Overall, it's the typical warning of how greed will spoil you and ruin your life, things you have are more important than what you want, etc etc. But it's well-written and enjoyable.
    • 2/5
      I really didn't like this book. I found it extreemly pretentious. I didn't understand the 'songs' that the author was talking about. Also I found it very predictable. it wasn't suspensful, nor did it have a twist to it. IT also for some reaason bothered me taht I couldn;t tell where the story took place or who the people were. They mentioned a few places/things that seemed to contradict each other.
    • 3/5
      It's been many years since I'd read anything by Steinbeck. I read Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men back in High School. I've re-read Mice and Men once since then. In my ongoing effort to read through more works by the "classic" and "modern classic" authors, I picked up The Pearl. I didn't have any real preconceived notions going in and I definitely don't remember anything of Steinbeck's style so I can't really compare this to his other work or comment on it in terms of other fiction of his day. My initial reaction to the writing were mixed. It had a strange balance of being both simple/rough and also containing well-crafted writing. I wasn't sure if the moments/scenes of stumbling words were perhaps intentional to let the structure of the work comment on the poverty and lack of education or status of the characters or if maybe Steinbeck's overall style is less of a refined, polished work and more a raw compilation of language. Whatever the case, even though some segments felt a bit oddly structured, I found the reading to be very easy and fluid and I was quickly drawn into the tale.The story felt VERY familiar. So much so that I wondered many times if, perhaps, I actually had read this book before. Commentary says that it's based on a Mexican folk tale, so I suspect I've either read this book before or else some other story based on the folk tale. The plot of the story is one of those tales that felt to me to be something that could have influenced countless other stories either directly or indirectly. In spite of the setting this is an almost timeless tale of greed, aspirations and jealousy that could be set in any location or time and follow the same arc.Even though (or perhaps because) the story felt so familiar and flowed so naturally, I was able to find additional depth in it as I thought on the possible moral trajectories the story would take. The initial pages introduce us to a very poor family living in a poor fishing village. The baby boy is stung by a scorpion before the father can stop it and they are unsure if they will be able to save their son. Their poverty leaves them in a very tight place as they interact with the affluent doctor and townsfolk. While the mother applies natural remedies, father goes fishing and discovers an immense pearl. Both mother and father are certain the pearl will bring amazing changes into their lives. The mother fears it is a sign of evil while the father is sure it will provide wonderful opportunities. As you might expect, news of the valuable pearl spreads and suddenly the family is dealing with advances from not only the well-to-do people like the doctor but other desperately poor people in the village. The story continues as you might expect and finally ends with pain and tragedy that came in a slightly different direction than I initially predicted. The conclusion of the book very clearly takes a stance on the effects of such windfalls of wealth and the nature of mankind. And yet, it is up to each individual reader to internalize and decide what moral message to take from the book. Most of the characters are embodiments of greed and manipulation but a few of them represent potential redemption and show that even amid dark times there can be influence for good.Even though I don't remember Steinbeck's other works well, I do remember that his themes and tones are emotional downers. This book follows that same trend. From the beginning to the end there is one tragedy after another. And even in the pages without physical tragedies and struggles we are still given moral difficulties to wrestle with as we watch a father filled with the good, pure desire to provide for his family but struggling with the best way to do so. The simplicity of the story and length of the book make this very accessible. However, the heavier theme and somber events may limit the audience. As such, I can see why schools have students read Mice and Men instead of The Pearl even though they are very similar in length. Still, this story does have a worthwhile moral to think about and is a great piece of literature to stimulate discussions on the nature of good and evil within humanity. If you have a little time to spare, give it a read. It will leave you pondering for a while.***3 out of 5 stars
    • 4/5
      Almost parable like, The Pearl is a quick read with a punch at the end. A young couple faces prejudice and a corrupted economic system as they move from dealing with a sick child to the rush of hope and excitement that comes with the discovery of a valuable treasure. But the treasure is not what it appears to be - instead of bringing fortune, instead the young couple must navigate the envy and villainous schemes of others as they are chased away from home, and into tragedy.
    • 3/5
      Remember that old Homer Simpson bit about beating jury duty by telling them he was prejudiced against all races? I think this book manages to exoticize all races. I wonder if Steinbeck wrote it to beat jury duty.
    • 3/5
      This was a novella from Steinbeck that was honestly very depressing. Without giving any of the story away, the book looks at depressing poverty and the influence that the chance of riches can have on a family's life. Worth the read for any fans of Steinbeck.
    • 4/5
      I am always impressed by Steinbeck's ability to create a powerful story with such a brevity of words
    • 3/5
      The Pearl is about a man, Kino, who finds a large pearl that he hopes will sell for enough money that it will change the life of his poor family. Meanwhile, he lives in an impoverished region of Mexico where the pearl dealers have colluded to rip off the native population by giving them low-ball offers for pearls. I love Steinbeck, but I thought that this one was a little flat for me. In trying to write about a people that I'm not sure that he truly understood, I thought that Steinbeck sucked the humanity out of these characters. They were a white man's interpretation of what a native must be rather than a group of people who changed, grew, and felt emotions that all people feel. Additionally, there was something odd about the cadence of the writing that felt forced to me. The whole thing just felt a little off. It was good for most, but it was disappointing for a Steinbeck novel.
    • 4/5
      Great story that was based on a Mexican tale, I believe. Another fine example of the human condition and how pride and fortune can destroy us if we're not careful.
    • 3/5
      3 stars I admit, I'm not the biggest Steinbeck fan. It's probably because he's too depressing. I, however, do appreciate how much he was able to pack in such a short story. Poverty, social oppression, what it means to be a man, the meaning of family and community, greed, what makes a good woman...I didn't hate the book. I just didn't love it. But I really appreciated the imagery of song - that was pretty cool. In short, I didn't love this book because I was so frustrated by the situations and limitations but did not have anything good to hold on to. I didn't really like the characters - the closest was Juana, the wife. But her character seemed inconsistent - one moment strong, one moment meek without believable reason.
    • 4/5
      This short novel is another sad one from Steinbeck. We get a fable here, set on the Baja California coast where a poor Indian man and his young family live a hardscrabble existence. I've read this one before, though not recently, and it is a story not easy to forget. The descriptions the author gives us of the land and the peoples are the best part of the story for me. The story itself is so bleak, with what seems the entire world of the young man allied against him and his family, when he finds a great pearl, "The Pearl of the World," that is his one chance to break away from his desperately poor existence is crushed. That's my problem with this book - a very well written story, but is the message really as bleak as it seems, that one has no hope, no chance for a better lot in life? One should not dream for a better life for one's child for to merely think some things about the future is a siren call to evil to come for you and what you hold dear.Sometimes Steinbeck gives Thomas Hardy a real run for his money. Kino, Juana and the young baby never had a chance.
    • 3/5
      A beautifully written story of how wealth and greed changes people, not just the one coming into the fortune and how tragedy changes perspectives.
    • 2/5
      It felt like fairy tale with a moral ending.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written -- I love the description of the "background" music playing throughout Kino's experiences. Kino recognizes that the pearl will lead to his son's being educated and that will be his ticket out of poverty. Alas -- this is not to be! Another sad Steinbeck! I hesitate to state, but the conclusion seems to be that if you try to rise above your station in life, your values will change and you are destined for failure. I read this for the first time many years ago so the ending was not a surprise, but it was still very sad.
    • 4/5

      A jewel of a novella, short, suspenseful and moving, The Pearl is the re-telling of a Mexican folk tale. It's the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver, who finds an enormous pearl. He sees it as the path to dignity for his family and an education for his son, but it brings tragedy instead. Essentially a parable, a central message of the work is to be careful what you wish for. The message is obvious from the text and there's nothing subtle about the way in which it's presented. On the other hand, Steinbeck's prose never fails to speak to me, with its beautiful descriptions of the natural world and wonderful use of simile and metaphor. I think of Steinbeck as a compassionate writer with a deep interest in people and the environment in which they live. This is something which shines through the work.
    • 4/5
      Ah, avarice...it's an old story, really, about how greed always corrupts, about how it always tarnishes everything that it comes into contact with.The Pearl by John Steinbeck is one such story. Kino and his wife, Juana, live simple lives. When their small son, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion they set out for the only doctor." Kino hesitated moment. The doctor was not of his people. This doctor was of a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino's race, and frightened it too, so that the indigene came humbly to the door. And as always when he came near to one of this race, Kino felt weak and afraid and angry at the same time. Rage and terror went together. He could kill the doctor more easily than he could talk to him, for all of the doctor's race spoke to all of Kino's race as thought they were simple animals. And as Kino raised his right hand to the iron ring knocker in the gate, rage swelled in him, and the pounding music of the enemy beat in his ears, and his lips drew tight against his teeth -- but with his left hand he reached to take off his hat."Of course the doctor will not see them because they cannot afford to pay his fee. What is it to the doctor? They are nothing to him. Less than nothing. So Juana makes a poultice for her son, and she and Kino do the only thing that they can think of: they pray and venture out to the sea to dive for pearls, hoping that some miracle might occur and they will find a pearl that is worth the life of their son. The pearl that Kino brings up is no small thing - "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.... In the surface of the great pearl he could see dreams form."And this changes everything. This pearl must be not only salvation but also the key that opens doors to a new way of life, one that they had not even dared to dream of before. Of course, news travels quickly in a small town, and Kino and Juana are not the only ones that dare to dream about what this pearl can give them: "The essence of pearl mixed with the essence of men and a curious dark residue was precipitated."Told with Steinbeck's usual care, this simple story is beautifully rendered. I am not sure which I admire more, Steinbeck's ability to describe place so completely that you feel as if you were there, or his ability to provide the reader with physical descriptions of people that also describe their character. I loved the imagery he used to give us the doctor: "In his chamber the doctor sat up high in his bed. He had on his dressing gown of red watered silk that had come from Paris, a little tight over the chest now if it was buttoned. On his lap was a silver tray with a silver chocolate pot and a tiny cup of eggshell china, so delicate that it looked silly when he lifted it with his big hand, lifted it with the tips of thumb and forefinger and spread the other three fingers wide to get them out of the way. His eyes rested in puffy little hammocks of flesh and his mouth drooped with discontent. He was growing very stout, and his voice was hoarse with the fat that pressed on his throat."
    • 5/5
      First line:~ Kino awakened in the near dark ~Once again, what can I say about John Steinbeck. Brilliant writer. How could I not have read more of his works up till now? Thank God for Library Thing and the push that Challenges give me. I would not have looked at these books without the Steinbeckathon! This is a novella, a parable and, to me, reads like a children's fairy tale. And, like many of the tales of the Brothers Grimm, has the requisite good and evil where good triumphs over evil. Or perhaps not triumphs but evil is thwarted. There is recognition that man is basically and intrinsically evil and the evil in not stopped until after much tragedy has occurred. We see that avarice and greed are powerful destructive forces.I enjoy the lyrical prose that is so like poetry. (4.5 stars) Onward to East of Eden.
    • 1/5
      John Steinbeck wrote several bad books (The Red Pony, Tortilla Flat, The Grapes of Wrath...), but this one just might be his worst. His message to the poor and ignorant: "Be glad you're not rich and smart---money and knowledge are the root of all evil and only lead to misery, so take comfort in your community of poverty and ignorance!" Leave it to a successful, well-educated "humanist" to write an absurd, contemptible little parable glorifying these things. It isn't even well-written (even for Steinbeck), and the story is truly ludicrous.At least Steinbeck wrote some good books too, books like Of Mice and Men, The Winter of Our Discontent, and East of Eden...pick up one of them instead.
    • 5/5
      I read this book before, about back when I was reading The Old Man And The Sea, but I didn't know what to say about it then. And I can't say I really do now. But what can I say, really, except: well done, John, well done. (10/10)
    • 3/5
      Kino makes his living searching for pearls in the sea. He is a poor laborer, with a wife and new baby to care for. One day he finds a huge pearl, and begins imagining how it will change their lives. He and Juana will be able to have a proper wedding. His son, Coyotito, will be baptised and go to school. They will join a new social class. The poor villagers envy Kino's new status, and Kino becomes protective and suspicious. But when he has the pearl appraised, he finds it may not be as valuable as he hoped. He decides to travel to the city with his family, and have the pearl appraised there. Fueled by greed, Kino is willing to do just about anything to keep the pearl. And that's when his life begins to unravel. This book was vaguely familiar; I think I may have read it in school. Steinbeck does a fine job showing how greed can make someone irrational. The style and tone were probably spot on when this was first published in 1945. For contemporary readers, the theme is a familiar one, and doesn't have the same impact.
    • 3/5
      This book was a challenge for me and it wasn't my favorite read either. I didn't really like the genre and it seemed a little pointless to me.
    • 5/5
      To say that this is a book about the corrupting influence of wealth would be to do it a disservice. Among the works one could happen across in your local book shop, such tales are two a penny. What this novella delivers in abundance is a love of the human, a love of family, a love of those things we see as being the most fundamentally good in our nature. When Steinbeck describes the effect of the sun, I feel warm. When he describes the food, so simple in its own way, I feel a longing to enter the scene and break bread with the man, his wife and young child. When they receive fortune, my heart lights up for them, and as the tragedy of the story unfolded I felt the heaviness of it myself.
    • 3/5
      Kino and Juana are the proud native parents of their first newborn son Coyotito. For that time they were very happy, until a scoripian stings Coyotito. They rush him to a doctor, but he refuses to do anything without pay. While canoeing, Juana prays that Kino will find a large pearl to pay the doctor when he goes pearl-diving. And her prayer is answered with an insanely large pearl.When Coyotito falls ill violently, Kino hurries to get the Pearl sold so he will have money to pay the doctor and to bring wealth beyond all means for his family. Problem is: Kino suspects the buyers of cheating him for a horribly low price. And when Kino decides to keep the pearl, trackers are after him and his family to get the pearl, and they will stop at nothing to get the pearl into their greedy hands.Wasn't my favorite book. I know it won a Nobel Prize, but IMHO, I can't see why. There was just too much that felt was missing. I can't explain what the problem were, because it was very whole book with a satisfying ending that was very real people with very real emotions who faces problems with equally as real people with equally as real ambitions of menace, so I can't figure out why I didn't enjoy it. Too short? Too fast of a pace? I don't know, but I may be the only person who didn't seem to enjoy it.Rating: Two and a Half Stars **1/2
    • 4/5
      I am a huge fan of John Steinbeck and will only continue to enjoy his simple, realistic approach to telling a story after reading this fable. Kino is a fisherman in Mexico and has a wife and infant son. Their lives are uncomplicated and set to a song in their souls: Song of Family. One day Kino makes an extraordinary discovery in the form of a magnificent pearl, and the Song of Family is joined by the Song of Evil as Kino faces those who would exploit or threaten him, his family, and the pearl.This is a quick read, and in Stenbeck fashion does not offer any easy answers. The reader is faced with his own moral dilemmas with Kino as both must decide what is right while seeking justice among friends who become enemies. A good read.
    • 4/5
      Kino , his wife Juana and his son Coyotito lived in a poor fishing village. One day Coyotito was bited by a big scorpion, so Kino try to find pearl in the sea for a doctor's fee. Then he found very big pearl, but someone broke in his house in the night to steal the pearl, then Kino killed the thief at the end of fight.When I know the truth of the death, I am very scared. I thought this book is a little cruel for poor people. I thought If poor people get a lot of money, they cannot be happy unless they know how to use it.
    • 3/5
      This book was a classic. That is about the best thing I can say about it. It was horrible. I think that was the most abused baby in the history of novels. I know it was supposed to teach a lesson, but it was a sad book, that kept getting worse. I kept waiting for some happy, which never really came. But, a good way to dip a toe into Steinbeck.
    • 5/5
      The Pearl is about a poor Indian fisherman Kino, who lives together with his wife Juana and his son Coyotito. Their home is near to the city La Paz, California. One day, Coyotito got stung by a poiseness scorpion. The day after he finds that his doctor didn't want to help him, Kino found the most valueable pearl, the pearl of the world. He thinks that all the trouble will be gone for now on and at first, it looks like he's right. Then he finds out that the pearl isn't worth much and gets angry. The following days he loses all his property and even his son by defending his pearl from thieves. In the end, he finally throws the pearl back in the ocean.I enjoyed this story a lot, because it's a short book that gets to the point. The story shows a parallel to richness: The more money you get, the worse people want to rob you. Your most valuable properties, your home and your family, will be taken away from you and you won't be able to live a life without fear anymore.
    • 1/5
      Each page I accomplished reading was just that much more in the direction of being finished with it. I didn't like it. Now, I have to figure how to teach it...
    • 4/5
      A wonderful brief tale of the "pear beyond price' and what greed can do.