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Publisher's Summary

A classic novella about the fallacy of the American dream, THE PEARL is Steinbeck's flawless parable about wealth and the evil it can bring. When Kino, a poor Mexican pearl-diver, finds a magnificent pearl - 'the Pearl of the World' - he believes that all his dreams can come true. He will marry his wife in the church wearing fine new clothes, their infant son will never want for anything - least of all the medicine so recently denied to him - and the boy might one day go to school, learn to read and write. But Kino's vision of a bright future blinds him to the greed and fear the pearl arouses in his neighbours and in himself, and his shining dream begins to blacken and twist...
©1945 John Steinbeck (P)2011 Hachette Digital

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  • Gilmara Lima Mendes
  • 25-01-2014

Lots of lessons to learn from this one.

This book was inspired in a Mexican parable, which means that it brings lots of teachings about moral values, and especially, about what wealth can do to us all.
I read this book for a lit class. It is not a happy book, so if this is what you are looking for, turn around and find a happier book. However, if you want to teach someone about money, ethics and moral values, this might be a good place to start.

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  • Del
  • 13-08-2016

An all time classic and steinbeck is a legend

yet another Truely brilliant book by a Truely brilliant author. I say READ it and or listen to a well spoken emotive audio listen

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  • Katee
  • 27-04-2016

Lovely!

Really enjoyed it! A fab illustration of how greed can corrupt integrity! About how dreams and intentions can cross path! A true classic

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  • uhhuhlex
  • 16-02-2016

A gripping parable of fortune and misfortune

I enjoyed this short novella. It definitely has something of the moral story/parable about it - Kino finds a pearl and thinks his luck is in, but sometimes great fortune also brings great misfortune. It also suggests something about how the wealthy plot to hold on to wealth and exclude those lower in the pecking order. The lessons here are as relevant in 2016 as they were in 1947!

I found that in this novella, Steinbeck's descriptive prowess was applied to the characters more than the landscape. The family at the heart of this tale are well drawn - and while in some ways they do remain slightly unknowable, great attention is paid to how they move and their emotional shifts (especially Kino). That comes across as almost cinematic - the actions and threat is also quite dramatic.

I've listened to a lot of Steinbeck now, but I imagine if you are new to his writing and want a flavour of it, this short work would be an excellent introduction.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 18-05-2018

Disappointing

Not a great listen, disappointing in use of language...reader kept saying ‘a little’ in a lot of his descriptions which I found distracting. Nicely described the family in the opening scene though.

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