The Short Novels of John Steinbeck: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Somehow I grew up in the United States of America and never read Steinbeck in high school. We even lived about a mile from Cannary Row when I was in the Army but still never got around to reading Steinbeck.It took until my son was in high school for me to read, "The Grapes of Wrath" but that is another review entirely.So about a month or two ago I decide that it is time to catch up on my Steinbeck. I read "Travel's With Charley" and enjoyed it, but it's was (mostly) non-fiction.I really enjoyed each of the stories in this collection. I did not enjoy reading them as an ebook collection in my Kindle. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading, and commenting, on my Kindle. But I'd have preferred to read each story individually on my Kindle.I'm not going to go through and discuss each story. They really are classics and show a glimpse of life long gone.Read Steinbeck!Read every day and read for fun!

John Steinbeck is without question an author who is worthy of your reading. Each story tells a different tale of America and many portray the landscape and people of the Monterey Peninsula. His characters are vivid and easy to visualize.

I absolutely love the romantic story telling of writers from Steinbeck's time, be it Faulkner, or Hemmingway. The book has a great cover and appearance, and I really enjoyed all of his stories. I'll rank the stories from my least to most, personal, favorite: The Pearl, The Moon is Down, Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and Cannery Row. I rated the stories in based on my own emotional reactions for different scenes in each of the short novels. Cannery Row ends pm a mystic note, which the reader should discover and feel for themselves... The Red Pony is a heart wrenching story about a boy's love turned mournful, a promise with a tragic twist, mountains beyond and man with a home lost, and the passing of old glories. Of Mice and Men is, in my understanding, a character observation of the definition of masculinity and people's senses of pride and promised property. Tortilla Flat is also another elaboration on property, more so tying in the bonds between people and a community in the absence of family, and the obligations of people to one another. The Moon is Down seems to me to be one of Steinbeck's more thematically deviating novels: much of the subject matter seems to be, at the surface, about war and the unconquerable nature of community and nation. The Pearl, I liked the least, not saying it was bad, but it was not on the same level as the others. The Pearl was definitely, compared to the other five, the darkest and most brooding; themes about the failure of capitalism and the viciousness and greediness of people in the fortune of others are clear.In aggregate, the collection is AWESOME!!!!!! I had a blast reading them, and Steinbeck really makes you work to extract meaning from his novels. His writing has a pastel quality in all of his descriptions; whether it be an diving town, Monterey, a surrendering village, a farm in the countryside, in my mind's eye his settings are stylized like pieces by Monet. I'm currently working on Grapes of Wrath, and have East of Eden and The Winter of Discontent in my lined up in my queue.

Book received was the edition described as Penguin Classics, Deluxe Edition, but was disappointing because the page edges were not trimmed, leaving rough and difficult-to-turn pages.

When a poor fisherman in Mexico finds the largest, most perfect pearl, he immediately sees a better future for his family. The pearl buyer tries to cheat him and others try to steal the pearl. Bad things keep happening, forcing Kino to flee with his wife and child. Instead of good fortune, the pearl brings evil into their lives.

The book has a great feel and is ready to read.Definitely a good collection of short stories.Page design (opposite spine) looks great

Loved these books when I was in school. Some were required reading but I always enjoyed them, so they were never a chore to read😁.Great classics that survives the ages.Wanted to re-read and freshen up my memory.Also I bout this set for my personal e-book library. It was an awesome deal.🥰These books I highly recommend.

eran para la escuela de mi hija, todo muy bien

I purchased the Penguin Deluxe edition of Steinbeck's collection. This edition is a beautiful paperback; with a front cover that folds out like a dust jacket. Steinbeck was a great writer - one of the greatest of all time - and this edition allows one to collect several of his works, in one volume. It really is great value and a wonderful addition to your collection. Recommended.

The pages of the book are badly cut ! This is the first time I see that especially for a Penguin classics, which are usually of good quality. However the number of stars does not reflect the quality of Steinbeck writing.

This is a great book to have as it has six of this great authors works...thoroughly enjoying it as we are “self insolating at this time 4/2020.

Great novels, but poor quality of the book with uneven cut pages. Disappointed!