I shamefully admit this is the first book of the great John Steinbeck I read.
I could have read his books years ago, but I always prioritized other great writers, especially of those Europeans and Latin Americans for their rich and vibrant culture I know. I don't know much about the American history, and I have this bias regarding their short history. I know JSO loves his books and always wanted to go to his home in Salinas, but I always bailed saying he is just an American writer. MY BAD!!!
But, for some reason, after watching movies all weekend, I picked up this book.
I did buy this book years ago, I just never read it. I also have East of Eden on my shelf, but I never touched it.
The Pearl was more attractive because it's got only 90 pages on it.
It's an easy one-seating reading.
Honestly, I picked this book up for the first time last March when I went to Napa for a George Winston concert alone. I was thinking about reading it at the lobby, but I was distracted with people after reading 10 pages or so. I, with a great memory of course, picked up exactly where I left off in last March.
The Pearl was a fantasy, hope, happiness, greed, misunderstanding, and misfortune.
The Pearl was everything but present; everything but reality.
It was neither good nor bad... but the society made it bad.
A change is a struggle; being a loner is a struggle.
More often than not, it's a failure.
The Pearl also portrays racial and social class issues, but they are not my concern.
But still,
Amazing how a shorty story of 90 portrays so many sides of a life and society in its simplicity.
No fancy words, no fabricated sentences.
Every sentence and every word was simple just like the lifestyle of Kino and Juana until they got the pearl of the world.
And to imagine that these are actually the words used by the author, it's absolutely amazing.
One thing I did not pay attention much (although I should have had) while reading works of Latin American or European writers is that those are not the original choices of words used by the author. At least one translator is involved, so the meaning of the words might not capture 100% of what the author intended. Reading Steinbeck in English certainly raised the issue I ignored and felt such a vibrant feeling that the words I read were actually the very choices the author intended to use.
The 90 magical pages grasped my mind to the full.
I can't wait to finish other books I am reading so that I can start on other books of Steinbeck.
PS: NorCal rocks!!! (SoCal sucks!!!)
