The Black Pearl (published in 1967 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Ave. No other compensation has been received for the reviews posted on Home School Book Review. I don’t think it’s Steinbeck’s most realistic plot or his strongest story, but even so, it’s still readable and I could see it being a decent entry point for some readers new to Steiny.(1=nothing objectionable 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms 3=some cursing or profanity 4=a lot of cursing or profanity 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)ĭisclosure: Any books donated for review purposes are in turn donated to a library. But overall this book is one of those that angered me at every turn. I particularly liked the descriptive writing in the second half of the story where Steinbeck simultaneously builds suspense and creates a visual landscape of surrounding mountains. There is a ton of symbolism involving social climates and greed. I enjoy the story but it really doesn’t resonate with me any deeper than that. I know it’s not the point but this is the same problem I had with Siddhartha– though I think Siddhartha is better. But since it’s based on a folktale, it reads like one and the people in the story seem like cardboard cutouts with no real depth to them. There’s even some suspense that keeps you reading. So Kino sets out to find a pearl to sell that will save his son’s life. When a scorpion bites Coyotito, the family is unable to get him medical treatment because they don’t have the money. In short, this story is about a poor family on a coast in Mexico made up of a pearl diver named Kino, his wife Juana, and their infant son Coyotito.

Turns out it’s a grown man and only a small portion of the story takes place on a boat rather than going full blown Old Man and the Sea.

I had a vision in my head that it was going to take place in the ocean, with the boy digging for clams in search of a wonderful pearl. Maybe it was actually the Dad and I didn’t look close enough. But it’s not even a grown boy in the story, it’s only a baby. I didn’t really know much about this one going into it other than forming an idea based on the image of a boy and a pearl on the penguin classics cover.

The black pearl john steinbeck