There is a tension in this book from start to finish. A sense of expectation and dread that Steinbeck manages to heighten and lessen but alw...

Half way into this book and life seems to be going reasonably well for the Wayne clan headed by Joseph. He has set up the farm of his dreams...

I don't know why this has just struck me because I have read Steinbeck before and particularly East of Eden when family is the main the...

If there are two things that John Steinbeck does really well it’s being able to describe a time and landscape in American history and combi...

In a Steinbeck world it is almost a crime, a sign of weakness to show any sentimentality. Real men just get on with the daily drudgery and f...

This book is based in the one location – the ranch but in a way each chapter could have been its own individually written short story – ther...

Whenever you pick up a Steinbeck you start to fell that you might have read it somewhere before. That is not to say it might be unoriginal b...

This is one of those books that was part of the staple diet when I was at school and might well be on the curriculum now because it is able ...

The phrase be careful what you wish for was never more apt than with this final chapter of The Pearl. Gripping until the very end there is a...

Things go from bad to worse for poor old Kino as the greed and anger bubble up and result in reducing all of his options except that of leav...

Everyone dreams of winning the lottery because of what they think the money will be able to do for them and their immediate family. But ther...

Be careful of what you dream for particularly if you are a poor man living in a tight knit community because as you fear at the end of chapt...

The Pearl was one of those books that were part of the school syllabus but it was only recently I picked up a copy at a second hand booksho...

When a writer undertakes a work that is based loosely on their own lives they seem to want to try and create a bit of space in the text to j...

This is the last book in my series of five that was part of the Winter Reading Challenge and although it was almost the longest it was a gr...

A large number of people rate Steinbeck very highly and you think you know why after reading Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath but there is...

There are less than 100 pages left and the tension is building as this book reaches its climax and some characters decide its all too much a...

As the book starts to move towards its end it becomes clear that it is all about love – the powder of it, the consequences of the absence of...

Steinbeck has the ability to bring a lump to your throat and a smile to your face sometimes in unison but always at the right time. Powerful...

The parts of the book describing the departure of Samuel Hamilton are very moving and he departs having shaken Adam out of his reverie once ...