I have become a fan of John Steinbeck's writing and was happy to find this little gem of a book at my local used bookstore recently.
It concerns a poor Mexican fisherman who finds the largest pearl ever - The Pearl of the World - at the bottom of the gulf. He stares at it as if it were a crystal ball and sees all the riches and good things it can provide for his small family. With it comes responsibility and danger when word gets out about the pearl's discovery.
It is a cautionary tale reminiscent of Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist", but with tense moments of desperation. W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw" also came to mind.
You don't need to be a fan of Steinbeck or like the two stories I have mentioned above to read this marvelous treasure. It has stand-alone greatness.
Very highly recommended.

[2.4⭐]

‭The Pearl, John Ernst Steinbeck

The Pearl is a novella by American author John Steinbeck, first published in 1947.

It is the story of a pearl diver, Kino, and explores man's nature as well as greed, defiance of societal norms, and evil.

Steinbeck's inspiration was a Mexican folk tale from La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, which he had heard in a visit to the formerly pearl-rich region in 1940.

In 1947, it was adapted into a Mexican film named La perla and in 1987 into a cult Kannada movie Ondu Muttina Kathe.

The story is one of Steinbeck's most popular books and has been widely used in high school classes.

The Pearl is sometimes considered a parable. When Coyotito, an infant, is stung by a scorpion, Kino, his father, must find a way to pay the town doctor to treat him.

The doctor denies Kino, an indigenous fisherman, out of racism, which enrages him. Shortly thereafter, Kino discovers an enormous, lucid pearl which he is ready to sell to pay the doctor.

Everyone calls it "the Pearl of the World," and many people begin to covet it. That very night Kino is attacked in his own home.

Determined to get rid of the pearl, the following morning he takes it to the pearl auction in town; however, the auction is actually a corrupt sham and always has been.

The buyers normally fake auction each pearl and pretend bid against each other, but in reality they are all paid a salary by a single man, they all turn the pearls over to him and he resells them outside the village, thus cheating the locals.

The corrupt pearl buyers try to convince Kino that the pearl is the equivalent of "fool's gold" and they refuse to pay any more than incredibly low amounts of money.

Kino decides to go over the mountains to the capital to find a better price. Juana, Kino's wife, sees that the pearl brings darkness and greed, and sneaks out of the house late at night to throw it back into the ocean. When Kino catches her, he furiously attacks her and leaves her on the beach. ...

Characters: Kino, Juana, Coyotito, Juan Tomas, Apolonia

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دوم ماه اکتبر سال1974میلادی

عنوان: مروارید؛ اثر: جان اشتاین بک؛ مترجم: محمدجعفر محجوب؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، نشر آرمان، چاپ چهارم سال1349، در203ص، چاپ پنجم سال1353؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م

داستان یک «مکزیکی» فقیر است، که بزرگ‌ترین «مروارید» دنیا را می‌یابد، و در دل، آرزوی خوشبختی خانواده‌ خویش را دارد؛ اما گنج، ارمغانی جز نابودی آنها ندارد؛

شخصیت‌ها: («کینو»، شخصیتی مغرور و غواصی فقیر، «جوآنا» همسر «کینو» شخصیتی اندیشمند، که نشانه‌ های هشدار را که «کینو» از پذیرفتن آنها خودداری می‌کند، می‌بیند؛ و به خاطر وفاداری، و فرمانبرداری دیرینه از همسر، یارای دیگر کردن آنها را ندارد؛ «کویوتیتو»، پسربچه «کینو» و «جوآنا»، که در آغاز داستان، عقربی او را نیش می‌زند؛ «جوآن توماس»، برادر «کینو»؛ «دکتر»، شخصیتی که فاقد ارزش‌های اخلاقی است؛ او از درمان «کویوتیتو»، تنها برای اینکه، آنها پولی ندارند، سر باز می‌زند؛ اما پس از شنیدن خبر یافتن گنجی گرانبها، توسط «کینو»، خود جهت درمان بچه، به خانه ی آنها می‌رود)»؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 19/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 25/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی