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Cover of The Pearl by John Steinbeck

The Pearl

John Steinbeck

  • 118 pages · about 2 hours
  • First published 1945
  • 143 editions
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1 About this book

The Pearl is a piece of literature by the American author John Steinbeck. It was first published as a short story in 1945, and later published as an expanded novella two years later. The story follows a pearl diver, Kino, and explores man's purpose as well as greed, defiance of societal norms, and evil. Steinbeck's inspiration was a Mexican folk tale from La Paz, Baja California Sur, which he had heard in a visit to the formerly pearl-rich region in 1940.

The Pearl is one of Steinbeck's most popular books and has been widely used in US middle and high school classes. The Pearl is sometimes considered a parable.

The book was adapted as a Mexican film named La Perla (1947) and as a Kannada-language movie Ondu Muttina Kathe (1987) in India.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Good for readers who want: historical fiction, a thriller, and a short read.

  • Historical fiction
  • Mexico
  • Thrillers
  • Fiction & literature classics
  • Family life
  • Fishers
  • Men
  • Avarice

2 About John Steinbeck

1902–1968

John Ernst Steinbeck ( STYNE-bek; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and novelist. He was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". He has been called "a giant of American letters".

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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