The Pearl of the World

Ok - back to blogging. After driving 23,490,234 miles [at least!] I am finally back in the comfort of my own home. 

So, here is the plot of Mr. John Steinbeck's The Pearl:

Kino, Juana, and baby Coyotito live in a tiny Indian village where they enjoy the simplest of lives. They live in a thatch house, they have a canoe, they have each other, and they have their baby. They seem happy, until Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. Trying to find money to get care for the baby, Kino goes diving for pearls. He finds a giant one – The Pearl of the World – and from there destruction seems to fall on the family.

Kino decides that he wants to change his life with the wealth that he believes the Pearl will bring. He wants Coyotito to go to school, he wants to be married to Juana, and he wants to buy a rifle. Right after he says these things, you know that bad stuff is about to go down. Steinbeck gets all ominous and ill-omened towards the pearl. The only thing that Kino actually received from his list of things he wanted was the rifle. But, he got it in ways that brought absolute misery to their family.

This is not a very happy book. If you want to read something that is going to make you laugh and be like “Aww, how sweet was that?” Do not read this book.

I didn’t bawl after I was done reading it, but I wasn’t full of joy either.

I felt like Steinbeck was just trying to rail it into my head that you can’t buy happiness - that people should just be content with their lives. I was finally like, OK ALREADY. I get it! Pearl = destruction. Pearl = opposite of a happy time. Got it! Great.

This novella is good for a quick Steinbeck fix… if that’s even a thing people feel they might need… but I probably would have rather read East of Eden again.

Tomorrow will be my review of The Great Gatsby, but until then, on to reading!