"La esencia de la perla se combino con la esencia de los hombres y de la reacción precipitó un curioso residuo oscuro. Todo el mundo se sintió íntimamente ligado a la perla y esta entró a formar parte de los sueño, proyectos, frutos, deseos...de todos y cada uno, y solo una persona queso al margen, convirtiéndose en el enemigo común."

Ακόμα ένα κορυφαίο έργο του Στάϊνμπεκ, άκρως διδακτικό, αν και δεν φτάνει τα δύο μεγαλύτερα σε όγκο Ανατολικά της Εδέμ και τα Σταφύλια της οργής.

John Steinbeck, a Nobel and Pulitzer prize recepient is an interesting character. I've read his novel—Of Mice and Men and I quickly fell in love with his writing. This novella is another testament why he is among the giant of american letters.

The Pearl is a timeless classic, provocative and would make you ponder about greed. How a man's desire to escape poverty could lead him to the depths of avarice. A man who for a moment forgot that he already has everything—his family.

This book showed that anyone could lose their soul for a taste of power and wealth. Anyone.

About the introduction. It kinda dragged a little bit. Had me questioning if it was supposed to be that way. Haha. Like, the summary of the Novella was basically mentioned in the introduction. Hey, wait, isn't the intro supposed to be about John Steinbeck and a short overview of The Pearl?

When Kino, a poor pearl-diver, finds a big pearl one day, at first everything seems good - now they can afford things they have dreamt of with the money they'll get. But trouble starts brewing immediately, for others want it either cheap or by force, and things keep escalating...

Written 1944-45, released in 1947, this is a story on what evil sudden great wealth can bring. This book is critical of the American dream, the selfishness of wealth. There is selfishness in the people already wealthy in the book (the doctor, the pearl-buyers, the man who chases the family at the end of the book, with his trackers, horse, and the rifle which Kino gets for himself with a bitter, crushing price). For Kino, owning the pearl changes him too, even before selling, but not completely without a good reason.

The drawing in my book were a great adding to the story, giving it rough intensity. This Penguin book also has a good, if spoilery introduction.
The pearl is a "pearl of great price", but actually a source of evil, seen even in just what song it brings into the family song of family, and the songs each part of the couple has (Juana also has the ones of old and newer religion within her). It is interesting to see where the trouble comes from, and not all people Kino and Juana are in contact with have plans for taking it, whatever ways it takes; a lot of them are just curious, excited, and having innocent thoughts of what they would do with the wealth the pearl brings.

And the dreams of Kino and Juana, what they would do with the wealth, are pretty innocent too: a proper church marriage, some new clothes, a rifle, and the most persistent of them all - a good education for Coyotito, their son, the education they've never had. Kino's brother gives some wise advice, but Kino is so stubborn; still Kino's right about being wary and alert...

I was also thinking about the role of Juana here, in this book. Her religious beliefs, her acceptance of her role in the family, her one attempt at throwing the pearl back into the water yet acceptance of Kino's rough, physical 'no' against this action, how she takes all the things that happen in their life after trouble rises. I think she's the balance, the 'let's see where this will go' acceptance, the wisdom. She doesn't hold the pearl except during that one attempt but does wish the same things for what it can bring.

Where the things end is so raw, intense, and fading into the air: when they come back home to toss the pearl away, Coyotito dead against the back of Juana - now they are facing their son's burial, the possibility of law coming after them, an uncertain future - but they can now see the ugliness of the pearl, and as they toss it, they may have an open, grim future ahead, but they are free of this burden, the evil of its wealth-promise. The book starts with nature, and ends with nature settling down again. Their story will be a story talked for many generations, and that's another thing what makes this ending so good, and this book so good. Slim but intense kind of a (great) book.

John Steinbeck's writing is as diverse as his literature. Nonetheless, there is a common denominator in the American author's charming writing: the story is always rooted in the orality of the tales and legends that the ancients transmit over time to new generations so that they never forget they came. Here, he is inspired by a traditional Mexican story.
This little parable can be read in one go, as the writing is rich and limpid. The themes dear to the author and familiar to many of these novels are still omnipresent.
Steinbeck portrays misery to raise awareness of unhappy lives, but above all, he denounces pearl fishers' living conditions, which he describes as exploited and enslaved by the merchants of precious stones.
He denounces protests repeatedly against the social divide and the painful and hopeless misery it generates.
Dreams and flourishing imagination bring life to life. But the goals of the poor are systematically trampled on by the most powerful.
Despite a realistic but very pessimistic vision of society, all of Steinbeck's finesse illuminates The Pearl, whose melancholic music is permanently embedded in my memory.

n  n    "Não é bom desejar muito uma coisa. Pode arredar a sorte. Basta desejá-la um pouco, porque é preciso muito tacto com Deus ou com os deuses."n  n

A Pérola é uma novela de J. Steinbeck - provavelmente o meu escritor favorito -, publicada em 1947. Como a sinopse anuncia, é baseado num conto popular mexicano.

O tom da leitura foi-me muito familiar. Recordou-me sobretudo A Um Deus Desconhecido (1933), que é um dos meus livros favoritos. Tem a mesma carga mística, profética, quase divina desse outro volume.

Uma vez mais, creio antever algum socialismo nas exposições deste autor californiano. Steinbeck volta a pegar num núcleo de pessoas desfavorecidas e atira-os aos lobos. Nesta curta leitura de 98 páginas, nem por isso menos intensa, apresenta-nos a Kino, Juana, e ao filho do casal de pescadores de pérolas, Coyotito. Kino é o chefe da família, é sobre os seus ombros que assentam os seus alicerces. Juana é o lado espiritual, a voz que procura conter os impulsos de bestialidade do bicho-humano. São nativos mexicanos, falam a "língua comum" há pouco tempo, e vivem à beira mar, que lhes traz a cada dia o sustento. Isolados do burburinho da cidade e um pouco à margem das suas regras, não cultivam ambições nem procuram ser mais do que são. A fonte de rendimentos é o barco que Kino herdou do pai, e que pertencera, em tempos, ao seu avô. É com ele que mergulha em busca de pérolas, que depois vendem aos negociantes da cidade.

Steinbeck consegue enlear-nos em toda a sociedade de La Paz (California Sur), e apresenta-nos os muitos defeitos dos extratos que a compõem. Esses defeitos tão humanos são postos em evidência quando Kino encontra uma pérola de valor e dimensão extraordinárias.

O até então pobre, ignorante e marginalizado Kino, é alvo da curiosidade de toda a cidade. Em breve as coisas escalam e a ganância do padre, do médico, dos outros pescadores e dos compradores de pérolas, põem em risco o equilíbrio sólido da pequena família de nativos que, até então, pouco tivera e menos ambicionara.

Creio que Steinbeck queria mostrar os efeitos nefastos da ganância na sociedade. Diria que esta ganância é a mesma que expôs em As Vinhas da Ira (1929), quando parte da população americana perecia de fome, e a outra aproveitava o seu desespero para progredir pagando baixos salários e explorando-os até à última gota de sangue. Os princípios são os mesmos. Steinbeck deixa também claro o quão difícil é, para alguém à margem, entrar numa sociedade que é aparentemente aberta e heterogénea, plena de oportunidades, mas que no fundo é viciada e corrupta. Deixa evidente que há uma tendência para que o humano tire proveito de outro humano que se lhe apresente vulnerável. A prova disso é que, a partir do instante em que Kino descobre algo valioso, algo que desperta a cobiça de todos os outros, é como se toda a cidade se unisse para o esmagar e expropriar do que poderia significar, para ele, uma possível ascensão social.

Senti as emoções que me acompanharam nestas outras leituras. Injustiça. Desespero. Uma vez mais, o autor conseguiu imprimir uma aura quase de um Jesus Cristo, ou de um profeta, ao seu personagem masculino central. E Juana, por sua vez, é como uma Maria sofredora e mãe. Acima de qualquer coisa, é mãe.

Lê-se muito rápido e é uma excelente introdução à obra deste Nobel (1962) americano.
Recomendo vivamente!

“They had made songs to the fishes, to the sea in anger and to the sea in calm, to the light and the dark and the sun and the moon, and the songs were all in Kino and in his people – every song that had ever been made, even the ones forgotten.”

Can you hear it?
A melody shrouded in ancestral mystery can be heard amidst the roaring waves lapping at the shores of this pulsating narration. Summoning songs of despair and songs of hope, soothing lullabies and wrathful incantations, this folkloric tale unfolds between oscillating paeans to love and hate, repression and freedom, good and evil and ponders about the thin line separating the power of dreams from blinding ambition.
The ritualistic tradition of simply drawn characters and linear storytelling becomes even more distinctive in this novelette, in which Steinbeck’s unpretentious lyricism blends with the gist of thought and spirit.

A pearl of unparalleled beauty disrupts the life of a humble fisherman and his family and leads them to a fatal outcome following the style of classical tragedies. The impossibility of defeating fatum, that adverse destiny that enslaves mankind with the manacles of greed and pride and nurtures self-destruction is the beguiling voice and true protagonist of the story.
On this occasion, lethal music embodies what is common in John Steinbeck’s books: a criticism of social injustices, a history built on rulers and subjugated, abuse and spoliation, illusion and treachery.

But the dominating melody of the author’s outspoken nonconformity is not what stayed with me after I turned the last page of this slim volume. For it is in the nacreous surface, in the seductive roundness of the pearl where the real dilemma arises.
Is purity of beauty more deadly than the venom of a scorpion?
Is man unworthy of divine exquisiteness?
Can you hear the echo of deception that hides behind the mask of flawless perfection?
Steinbeck did. And so he wrote a song to exorcise mankind’s despair after realizing he can’t capture the beauty of the world neither with melodies nor with poetry. It is only the reflection of his own shadows that he is after.

“If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it.”

One can only hope for fleeting moments of bliss when the vertiginous currents of poetry wash away the mediocrity of existence and cruelty is smothered with tenderness and the song of doom is interrupted by the purity of silence.
Can you hear it?
Steinbeck could.

Steinbeck's tragic novella is about a poor pearl diver, Kino, and what happens to him and his family after he finds "the pearl of the world". This great pearl should bring incredible wealth to it's owner, but the ways of the world are not set to benefit Kino which he quickly learns. This book is likable and easy to read, even for people who are not generally fond of Steinbeck's writing, I would think.

7th Grade me hated this book and middle aged Greg is a tad more tolerant. Why this book is taught to middle schoolers is beyond me. I'm pretty sure the message is be resentful about your place in the world, but by no means try to lift yourself up. Maybe bend over, spread your ass and take the fucking the world is going to give you. It's ok to bitch and moan about it, but don't dare strive to break free of it. If you want to be a bitter yet good employee there are valuable lessons contained within!

اللؤلؤة
"ليس جيداً ان ترغب بشيء اكثر من اللازم . فهذا أحياناً ، قد يسوق الحظ بعيداً . عليك أن تتوقف عن الرغبة فيه ، وتكون واثقاً من رأفة الله أو الآلهة ."

على مبدأ ( خاف من الموت يأتي إليك ، اركض خلفه يبعتد عنك )
ولكن يبقى هناك شواذ عندما يكون هناك فقر يصاحبه جشع يجاريه الاستغلال

الحلم كمركب صغير وجد نفسه فجأة في عرض بحر هائج بسبب طقس عاصف تتقاذفه الأمواج حتى يرتطم بصخور الواقع فيتحول إلى بقايا لا تغنِ ولا تسمن من جوع

إذاً فالاحلام ممنوعة؟؟
لا أبداً ، ولكنها ليست لكل الناس لأنها ليست بالمجان
فهي باهظة ، وقد يكون ثمنها في بعض الأوقات " حياة "

ما احتلت رواية مكان النوم في عيني مسبقاً كما فعلت هذه
رائعة .. رائعة .. رائعة

John Steinbeck's chilling novella The Pearl is the short story selection in the group catching up on classics for January 2017. In his retelling of a Mexican folktale, Steinbeck tells the tale of a fisherman named Kino who finds the pearl of the world on one of his dives. Showing how money is the root of all evil, Steinbeck delivers a poignant tale.

First published in 1945, The Pearl is the story of Kino, Juana, and their baby Coyotito who one day discover a giant pearl on one of their fishing expeditions. All of a sudden, their entire village measures time against when Kino found his pearl. Even though fish and pearls are the source of Kino's livelihood each member of the village desires part of his newfound wealth. Rather than congratulating him on his prized discovery, each villager offers their unique suggestion as to how Kino should spend his winnings.

Tragedy strikes. Coyotito is bitten by a scorpion, and Kino and Juana rush to town in attempt to persuade the doctor to treat their child. In a situation permeated with racism, the doctor of Spanish descent refuses to treat the apparent Native American Kino unless he comes up with substantial monetary payment. The only item of value that Kino possesses is the pearl, and he assures the doctor that he will be rewarded once the pearl given to brokers.

Just like the doctors, the pearl brokers attempt to swindle Kino. Even though Kino has large dreams of what to do with his money, tragedies continue to befall him throughout the novella. Juana urges him to rid himself of this object that is clearly an agent of the devil. Through this folk tale, Steinbeck conveys that money is the root of all evils in the world. Underlying is a message of socialism, which was the world's response to the fascist dictators defeated in World War II.

Although Steinbeck's skills as a master storyteller are evident in this novella, The Pearl does not resonate with me the way it does with others. At first I was elated that a poor villager found a jewel that could turn his life around only to see him face tragic tests. A literary masterpiece that should be read nonetheless, I rate The Pearl 4 stars- 5 for Steinbeck's prose and story telling skills, and 2.5-3 for a story that does not captivate me enough as perhaps it should.

ممکنه چیزی رو مایه‌ی خوش‌شانسی بدونیم و از به دست آوردنش احساس خوشبختی کنیم ولی با گذشت زمان بفهمیم که اون چیز برامون بدبختی آورده!!
باز هم عالی بود اشتاین بک جانم ♥️