Steinbeck is best when writing about the land. He’s able to imbue so much meaning and feeling into his depictions of nature.

This short collection of stories, all following a young boy growing up on a farm in the Salinas Valley, is quintessential Steinbeck. The morality tales bring Jody up against themes of death, aging, and the complications of living. It’s a simple set of four stories told across a few years of this young boy’s life and highlights Steinbeck’s astute observations on humanity.

All four stories felt fairly similar to me and while I enjoyed the reading experience, these don’t leave as much to ponder as his other work.

People, places, and things play a large role in this coming-of-age tale. We see Jody deal with the harsh realities of growing up on the remote ranch with his callous, slightly formidable father, with dreams and desires in view yet just out of reach. On the other hand, while at times it all seems bleak and joyless, we also see Jody experience some of the softer moments that gladden and lift the spirit. As he learns the lessons from these people, places, and things, his hopeful and youthful optimism may be tempered, but he also gains a respect for the mature wisdom that comes with the passage of time.

There's a lot to take away from these short, interconnected stories; I wish I had been able to connect with them more.

John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony is a sweet book about a ten-year old boy named Jody who lives with his family on a ranch near the Gabilan mountain range in northern California. The book is novella length and has four chapters although each is a distinct story.

Set in the period following the last wagon trains from the East, this is a homestead Western that’s concerned with the family’s daily routines. Mainly, though, it’s about the world seen through a boy’s eyes. There is nutrition for the soul as Jody is given a pony and learns up close the meaning of life as it sows courage and doubt and trust and belief in his heart.

I especially admire the depictions of dogs and horses. They are described using much more than physical details. They have personality in their need for their humans and their capability of standing on their own.

Descriptions of the country and the weather are very pleasing. The reader feels the power of the landscape as it gives refuge from disgust and sustenance for the body and mind. There is cool water from a spring and food growing on arable hills. Boundaries between property and property and property and road imitate the boundaries erected in the thoughts of the characters.

This is a powerful set of stories that will wash over you if you let them. You will be left indelibly changed. I am reminded of The Dubliners by James Joyce, a storybook of vivid and dour views of life that are written with little comment from the narrator. Only you and the characters make up your mind of the meanings.

Thanks to Mischenko for bringing The Red Pony to my Attention. You can find her blog post on the book at: https://readrantrockandroll.com/2018/....

You can't protect children from pain.

That is a painful realisation in itself for most parents of my generation. We tend to feel the need to shield our beloved sons and daughters from the more disturbing aspects of life and death as long as possible, and that includes thinking carefully about the reading materials we give them or put on the curriculum in school.

This became very evident to me the other day when I held The Red Pony in my hand, pondering on the harshness of the message, the sadness of the main character's situation, and the possibility of a student becoming very upset by the brilliant short novel. Should I recommend it or not? Could the student take in the STORY of love and death even remotely as well as Steinbeck's character has to learn to cope "in his reality"?

We tend to find it easier to confront our children with pain if it is eased in the end, offering a positive outlook on better times ahead. Steinbeck does not do those kinds of fairytale delusions. He does reality with empathy. And it takes a lot of maturity to deal with reality with empathy, so are our young ready for that?

There is this catch 22 we always discuss when students are looking for their first jobs: "work experience" is inevitably asked for, but how are you to gain work experience without having a few "first" jobs to learn in? The same goes for reading painful literature, I believe: we have to start to develop that very special reader's empathy at some point, and the first sad stories of life and death and injustice described with heart will be the worst.

I recommended it. And I am ready for potential parent complaints. For that's the era I live in: the diametrical opposite of Jody's environment.

خب من عااااشق اشتین بکم و طبیعتا هرچی بنویسه
اصلا حتی ننویسه(برخلاف معمول که عاشق کور میشود من چیزای خلق نشده ازش رو هم میبینم☺) هم میخونم و دوس دارم

"Να το αλογάκι σου.Στο υποσχέθηκα.Να'το, λοιπόν.Έπρεπε να το κάνω,έπρεπε."

Μέχρι τώρα δεν έχω καταφέρω να γυρίσω την τελευταία σελίδα βιβλίου του Steinbeck με στεγνά μάτια.

Ήθελα να διαβάσω το "Κόκκινο Αλογάκι" από τότε που διάβασα για πρώτη φορά τη Ματίλντα ,όπου υπάρχει μια σκηνή με τον πατέρα της να σκίζει το βιβλίο και να το αποκαλεί "σκουπίδι".Διαβάζοντάς το λοιπόν,τόσα χρόνια μετά,αισθάνομαι ότι ξεπληρώνω κάποιο παιδικό μου χρέος(όσο κουτό κι αν ακούγεται)!

4 ιστορίες με πρωταγωνιστή τον μικρό Τζόντυ και τη ζωή του στο ράντσο.4 θλιβερές ιστορίες,γεμάτες με σκληρές αλήθειες για τη ζωή,τους ανθρώπους και τη φύση.Η ικανότητα του Steinbeck να προκαλεί τόσο μεγάλη θλίψη,που φτάνει μέχρι την ψυχή,χωρίς να χρησιμοποιεί μελό συναισθηματισμούς,είναι ένας από τους λόγους που τον θαυμάζω τόσο πολύ.Πέρα από το να δημιουργούν κόμπους στεναχώριας στο στομάχι,οι ιστορίες αυτές "ζωγραφίζουν" τη ζωή εκείνης της εποχής στα ράντσα και μεταφέρουν τον αναγνώστη στην Αμερική των αρχών του εικοστού αιώνα,δημιουργώντας μια περίεργη νοσταλγία για έναν τρόπο ζωής που ούτε ζηλευτός είναι,ούτε σχέση έχει με το δικό μας παρελθόν.

Η εικονογράφηση πανέμορφη και πολύ ταιριαστή.

4,5 αστεράκια και το προτείνω σε όλους!

"Μακάρι να'χε ζήσει κι αυτός στα ηρωικά χρόνια, μα ήξερε πως δεν ήταν φτιαγμένος από ηρωική στόφα."

I sometimes don’t enjoy Steinbeck because his storylines can make me mad at the world. He’s not really known for happy stories, is he? Having known Steinbeck usually goes from bad situation to worse, I was not expecting a heartwarming horse story a la Misty of Chincoteague when I picked up The Red Pony. I daresay I was right. Staying true to form, it is free and clear of clichés, sentiment, and last minute miracles. If you hated the movie Spirit, you'll be pleased.

The Red Pony is a collection of four short stories, each involving a boy named Jody and his family on their ranch. In the first story, Jody gets a red pony. In the second, a stranger comes to the ranch. In the third, Jody cares for an expecting mare. In the fourth, Grandpa comes for a visit. All of the stories are more about people than any pony. I think they could be read separately but are more poignant when read in sequence. While the events in each story are not influenced by the prior ones, the character's mindsets are.

John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony is a drama illustrating how life on a farm for a boy named Jody, is one of blood, sweat, and toil, but also a life surrounded by the beauty of nature and the sentimental relationship between humans and animals.

Jody contends with an ever-growing list of responsibilities, a father that is bitter and reserved, and the challenges of grief and loss.

The farmhand, Billy Buck, is a product of the old west. He expertly handles the horses, and any other difficult tasks at hand.

Then there’s the horses, as noble and complex as any of the men or women that inhabit the farm.

As always, Steinbeck never shies away from the harsh reality of living and dying. One could even call him depressing. So many haunting scenes. It’s as if Steinbeck was obsessed with mortality.

However, some humourous dialogue is peppered throughout to lighten the load, particularly during an unexpected visit.

The shy, wise, and caring Billy Buck is a wonderful character, and is easily one of my favourites from Steinbeck’s works.

It’s a difficult story to define. On the one hand, it’s written in a simplistic but endearing style, almost like some finely crafted juvenilia.

On the other hand, some scenes are so sad it’s probably best not to subject it to children (or adults for that matter), that are sensitive to animal death.

Either way, The Red Pony is another example of Steinbeck’s mastery of storytelling.

Steinbeck Read:

The Moon is Down
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
The Pearl
The Red Pony

Steinbeck To Read:

Cannery Row
Tortilla Flat
East of Eden

Well. That was something. I see why it's got such a low rating, in that the pony should come with a trigger warning, but I don't know if I should spoil it? I'll hide the review I guess. This was a very depressing and deeply sad little book that I was unprepared for. The death of the pony was rather unexpected, then the death of an old man, and at that point, halfway through, I dnf'd. This is just way to bleak for me. It's almost worse than Flowers for Algernon. Have your tissues ready, because while this was beautiful writing, damn this was rough. 2.5 ⭐

Este autor nunca defrauda, aunque te esté contando las noticias del telediario, no es lo que cuenta (que también es importante) sino como lo cuenta. Con su escritura precisa relata unas historias, en este caso cuatro episodios de la vida del adolescente Jody Tiflin, que, aunque no sean grandes hazañas, hacen que te enganches a su lectura. Un escritor clásico que ya he leído en más de una ocasión y que siempre está ahí por si necesitas cambiar a algo tranquilo y entretenido. Lo recomiendo.

Well it wasn't my favorite, beautifully written though, but I remember now why Steinbeck wasn't my favorite author when we read a few of his (not this one though) in middle school. I still don't understand why they pick such dreary novels for middle school students to read, the years of teen angst, peer pressure, & growing pains could certainly use a few comedies or adventures that might promote love of reading instead of only required reading.

I give this book by John Steinbeck 3 stars. It's a slim volume (120 pages) like "Of Mice and Men" but not at all on the same level or even on the same level as "The Pearl." I have to say I was disappointed. It's just not much of a story, just snapshots of life on a California ranch. Still, it's Steinbeck and so, 3 stars, still a worthwhile book to read. Actually, this book includes a story--"Junius Maltby"--which I found to be more interesting than "The Red Pony." And it's rather amusing!