The Pearl

There's a vague memory somewhere in my mind of reading Steinbeck's The Pearl back in high school. Mostly what I remember is I didn't like it very much and it was one of the stories that put me off Steinbeck for a long time. Since then I've read Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row all of which I enjoyed immensely. When I tell people about my kayaking trip near La Paz many of them say "oh, that's the setting for The Pearl, good book". So I thought I should give it another chance. And now I must report I still don't like the book very much. The heart of it is the characters which I didn't like or admire or find at all interesting. To be fair Steinbeck is retelling an old Mexican tale, and maybe something gets lost in the retelling. Not everyone is going to like every book and at least I was able to confirm my vague feelings about the story so next time someone mention The Pearl to me I can say with confidence, not my favorite story.