The Pearl

Author: John Steinbeck
Genre: Fiction

I finished this for AR over the weekend.  It only took me a week to read, which made me happy because I have other books I want to read, that are not school related.  If you're in the same spot, this one's  a pretty easy read- only a little over 100 pages.

Kino is a fisherman in a poor village in the 19th century.  When his baby boy is stung by a scorpion, he and his wife, Juana seek medical help, but cannot afford it.  While pearling, however, Kino finds "the Pearl of The World."  It is huge and very valuable.  Soon everyone in town wants there hands on it.  Greed quickly takes over everyones' thoughts, and violence begins to break out.

They make the theme of good vs. evil very apparent.  Kino hears in his mind the "song of the family" while his wife cooks breakfast, and the "song of evil" when the scorpion appears.  Both of these are repeated many times throughout the book.

The story line in itself was decent.  Being so short, there was not a particularly complex plot developed.  But, the story kept moving pretty well.  It was not boring at any parts, and there were some action moments.  The characters are not incredibly relatable to this day and age.  There are some kinda depressing moments, especially near the end.  Not really sad, but a sort of feeling of despair.

Rating: 3/5