Червеното пони. Бисерът

by John Steinbeck, Джон Стейнбек, Александър Стефанов (Translator)

THE PEARL
Based on an old Mexican folktale, this is the deeply moving story of the great pearl, how it was discovered, and how it - along with the dreams it represented - was lost. It is the story, too, of a family - the special solidarity of a man, a woman, and their child.

THE RED PONY
On a ranch in the California mountains, a young boy finds both joy and sorrow in taking the responsibility for his horse. The memorable characters include the boy's impatient father; his grandfather, once "the leader of the people", and the hired hand whom the boy believes to be invincible.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, Short Stories, American, Adult Fiction, Adult

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

John Ernst Steinbeck was an American writer. He won 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."
During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward F. Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize–winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.
Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are two of Steinbeck's shorter works combined in a Penguin edition. Perhaps a better description is "just right stories"--beautiful writing with no more words than necessary. The Pearl explores what happens to a pearl diver and his family when he finds "the pearl of the world." We see how the potential of riches transforms the diver's heart as well as his community and how he struggles with the tension between the 'song of the pearl' and the 'song of his family'.

The Red Pony is a rich story of a young boy growing up on a western ranch in the early twentieth century. We find wonder, hardship, growing into early manhood, facing the mysteries of life and death and the perplexities of family.

[diario_de_um_leitor_pjv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leitura obrigatório em inglês na escola secundária. Que bela aventura.

[Aleksandra Jagielska · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And, as with all retold tales that are in people's hearts, there are only good and bad things and black and white things and good and evil things and no in between anywhere.”

[mrzokonimow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dwie nowele amerykańskiego noblisty.

"Kasztanek" to historia chłopca wychowującego się na farmie, poznającego blaski i cienie (chyba głównie cienie) wiejskiego życia, uczącego się odpowiedzialności... Mam wrażenie, że opowiadanie składa się z luźnych fragmentów, początków historii, urwanych, niepełnych, niezbyt spójnych. Czyta się miło, bo Steinbeck miał niemały dar opisywania świata, ale po lekturze pozostaje spory niedosyt.

Co innego "Perła", opowieść zwarta i gęsta, skonstruowana jak solidny thriller z ponurym metaforycznym tłem. Znakomita opowieść o złu, ludzkiej naturze i przewrotności losu. Prawdziwa perła :) I choćby tylko dla niej warto sięgnąć po ten skromny zbiorek.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pearl is a story I had not read since my school days. It's funny, I remembered it as an "island story" but it's really set in Mexico. And man, is it a tragic tale. The end is just too darn sad. But it is superbly well written!

The Red Pony is great, and sad, too! Reading Steinbeck is like talking to a great friend! I read the first story in this collection in school and I'm really glad I re-read it and read the whole thing! The characters are so vivid - Jody, Billy Buck, Gabilan, and Gitano, to name a few - and the settings are alive with the author's vibrant description!

[Nikkie 🧚🏻 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mój pierwszy Steinbeck i jestem absolutnie zachwycona. „Kasztanek” - czułam wszystko. Każde uniesienie nadziei i każdy zawód. Z psychologiczną dokładnością opowiada o małym życiu, jednak niestety tylko dwóch bohaterów, (matka i ojciec zostali pominięci w tym rozdaniu). „Perła” to krótka historia o złu, pod którym nie ukrywają się po prostu pieniądze, a ludzie tworzący system - który jest na tych pieniądzach oparty. To tak naprawdę opowieść typu „ludzie ludziom”, albo może dokładniej - „ludzie ludziom systemem…”? Steinbeck tymi dwoma opowiadaniami pokazał mi jakim jest pisarzem - odsłaniającym cierpienie pominiętych w niesprawiedliwym systemie ludzi, robiącym to w niesamowicie poetycki i przenikliwy sposób. love this and i want more.

[Carina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steinbeck's writing makes my heart twist, turn, ache, and melt. Again, simplicity at its finest. So real, so American (at its core), and very much important.
"The Pearl" was heartbreaking. Yet, so visual. Although paradoxical, the few words "said" in this short story tell a lot, about a people, about a country, about humans. I'll never think of coyotes in the same way again, no pun intended - really, my eyes are watering writing this.
The thought of hugging a horse hadn't crossed my mind in a while and now I miss it. When they brush their heads against you, just like Nellie did to Billy Buck, it makes you feel really special. And in "The Red Pony", the reader can touch this tenderness, even if one has never hugged or brushed against a horse. The perk here is that when reading the book you'll not have to deal with all the flies. Beautiful.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slender volume joins two short works by John Steinbeck. The Pearl tells a parable about the dangers of sudden fortune; a poor young couple, Kino and Juana, find a pearl of magnificent value which brings them only trouble and tragedy. The Red Pony spins a pastel yarn of life in the American west, where a young boy named Jody finds purpose and aspiration when he is gifted a vivacious pony only to learn a tough lesson about how ephemeral life can be.

So in one way these stories mirror one another as both feature wonderful gifts and end in heartbreak, but the lessons are entirely different. In The Pearl, circumstances repeatedly warn Kino and Juana that their great find is a curse as greedy men try to rob or swindle them at every turn. They try to liquidate their asset and build a better life but are stymied at every turn; the pearl becomes more a prison than an opportunity. Juana attempts to throw the pearl back into the sea, but Kino, driven by pride and big dreams, violently blocks her. And this ensures the final, calamitous series of events.

The Red Pony, on the other hand, isn't so much about averting disaster as dealing with what you can't control. When Gabilan, the title pony, catches an infection, no amount of love or care can save him. Jody's choice lies in how he will deal with the death of his beloved friend.

So while these stories were likely packaged to form a volume solid enough to sit on a shelf, together they show both sides of that age-old human conundrum about changing what we can, accepting what we can't and being able to tell the difference.

Edited 8-13-2018

[maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zdecydowanie jestem większą fanką drugiej opowieści z tego zbioru, co nie oznacza, że pierwsza była zła. Steinbeck w niesamowity sposób opisuje ludzką naturę, jestem zachwycona jego piórem i spojrzeniem na rzeczywistość. Kasztanek i Perła to dwa całkowicie różne od siebie historie, ale obie mają w sobie coś co przyciąga mnie jeszcze mocniej do innych dzieł autora. To jest po prostu bardzo dobre.
"Niedobrze jest pragnąć czegoś zbyt silnie. To czasem odwraca szczęście".

[João · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The people say that the two seemed to be removed from human experience; that they had gone through pain and had come out on the other side.”

This tale was recommended to me by my 7th grade Portuguese teacher when I told her I read "The Old Man and the Sea" and it has been in the back of my mind ever since. After reading "The Winter of our Discontent" I was excited to read this but it fell short of my expectations.

I suppose I can't judge it too harshly, it was just a retelling of a Mexican folk tale, but it didn't leave much of an impression in me. It's a cautionary tale about how greed can ruin our lives and it serves it's purpose there; as a story it isn't all that.

This edition also includes "The Red Pony", who's review I'll eventually edit here.

[Simon Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for The Pearl and four for The Red Pony

Steinbeck is just the master story-teller isn't he, writing so sparse yet intensely descriptive and visual, same with the dialogue - and always so powerfully emotive, heart-wrenching. There are no heroes, Kino is a man with a dream but he is flawed, he is violent and allows himself to become obsessed at the expense of any sense of perspective. Similarly with Jody in The Red Pony, he displays a lot of cruelty to animals in his boredom, but his attachment to Gabilan and the idea of a colt of his own show us his soft and tender side, a side his father disapproves of but is defended by Billy Buck, who is perhaps the closest we get to a hero here.

Can't imagine ever not loving anything JS has written.

[Илия Михайлов · Rating 5 out of 5]

Продължавайки моята лична кампания "Препрочитам Джон Стайнбек", оседлах отново и "Червеното пони", което бях яздил преди много години.
От дистанцията на времето вече
не съм съвсем съгласен, че повестта е само за деца и юноши, както е представена книгата от литературната критика в САЩ и по света. Да, фокусът е поставен върху малкия Джоди и неговата огромна мечта да има свое конче, за което да се грижи, но посланията в текста са универсални.
Една книга за ежедневието на обикновените хора от покрайнините на Салинас и за кръговрата на живота, който винаги продължава под различни форми.

[Zuza · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75 ⭐
Miałam ochotę wytelepać za łachy tego chłopaka z Kasztanka - to co on wyczyniał w pewnym momencie z tymi zwierzakami... Drugie opowiadanie bardziej do mnie przemówiło, było dla mnie ciekawsze. Bardzo dużo można wynieść z tych opowiadań, niby prostych nauk - ale jednak.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

две страхотни повести!

"Ако тази история е притча, може би всеки ще я разбере по своему и всеки ще види в нея собствения си живот."

[Hann · Rating 4 out of 5]

oba opwiadania mi sie podobaly ale perła mnie pochłoneła
proste w przekazie i pieknie napisane

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love steinbeck. sometimes you just get a hankering for certain authors, you know? this satisfied.


"I tell those old stories, but they're not what I want to tell. I only know how I want people to feel when I tell them."

[Ayat Alahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was classic!
Tho I'm not convinced to call the 2nd one The Red Pony cuz this character left the story very fast!! Or am I just an old slow turtle seeing everything faster than how it really is? 😆😅

[Kamila Kataryńczuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teraz przeczytalam tylko kasztanka ale nie bylo go osobno wiec trudno.
No jest to Steinbeck no i jak zawsze dobry. Nie wiem co jest w jwgo stylu pisania ze az tak mi sie podoba i ze az tak mnie porusza jakos.
Fabularnie to bylo opisane takie zycie na ranczu i itp. Co bylo super.
Ale te opisy zajmowania sie konmi one byly oczywiscie bardzo dobre ale straszne. No plakalam jak glupia na nich. I na tej koncowke zreszta tez z tym Dziadkiem. Po prostu jak tylko sie pojawiaja starsi ludzie w ksiazkach to placze XDD.
Kurde nie wiem co napisac… jedyny minus ze nie bylo w sumie takiego jakiegos zakonczenia konrtetnego jak bylo w myszach i ludziach czy w perle tylko takie mocno otwarte bylo. To jedyne czego mi brakowalo takiego konretnego zamkniecia historii.
Nie mam nic juz wiecej do powiedzenia.
Ogolnie polecam wiadomo 🩷💪

[Mora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I read this book after reading "The Red Pony." I set the bar low since I hated "The Red Pony", but I ended up loving this book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two very good stories, albeit hard to digest in typical Steinbeck fashion. The Red Pony was more a collection of 4 very short stories than a continuous story.

[Jacob Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really quite enjoyed these two books. Steinbeck continues to be one of my favorite authors - his prose is absolutely top tier and he manages to strike this beautiful vein of subject with each book that worms its way into my brain in the days following my readings.

The Pearl is a fascinating read. It is a story about oppression fundamentally; it depicts the reality of upward mobility for the minority/disadvantaged class. Kino is a working man in a community of working men. He’s raising a small family of his own, a young baby and a wife that he is meant to support through his meager earnings.

One day, his son is stung by a venomous scorpion and seemingly requires medical attention - he does the same thing and visits the (connotatively white, not sure if he is explicitly so) doctor from the nearby wealthier town. The doctor turns him away outright because he is too poor. Kino then goes peal hunting, where he finds the mother of all pearls to pay for this treatment. By this time, though, the baby is recovering naturally and Kino decides to use the Pearl to finance his and his families lives.

From here, the machinations of oppression begin to work at an overtime. The doctor hears of his fortune, and now preying on a man freshly come to wealth, he extorts Kino for a procedure that is unnecessary and potentially even counterproductive for the baby’s health. When he goes to sell the pearl, the corrupt appraisers grossly undershoot the value of the pearl and try to scam Kino.

Upon the failure of each attempted exploit of Kino, the word sees no option but to directly attack this upset in the financial hierarchy. People begin to attack him in the night, ultimately hunting him down in the woods and forcing a murderous confrontation over multiple days that ends in the death of Coyotito, the baby, and the hunters themselves.

The pearl is a symbol of corruption; it is not corrupting so much as the emblem of the corrupted. It is a magnet for the advantaged - a beacon to those who want to place Kino where he “belongs.” He is forced to throw it into the lake. To him, it has done nothing but harm; it has wrought the weight of oppressors fully onto his shoulders.

The Red Pony was my favorite of the two, though. There’s something in the way it is written that feels captivating to me in a way I wasn’t with the Pearl. It follows the coming of age for a country boy named Jody and the disillusionment that comes about when one learns their idols are as fallible as them.

What struck me most about this story was the amount of death and loss. Jody is living in this colorless, dry world that seems devoid of joy or really anything else. The mountains are explored, the natives are killed and exiled, the titular red pony he cares so deeply for dies of cold, and finally his colt is literally ripped from the womb of a dying mare in the end. He is surrounded by death, and he is growing into an awareness of the cost of living.

The grandfather at the end of the story is a poignant character on many levels. A man consumed by the glory of a brutal past looks at the younger generation and sees such little hope for them. The world is explored; there is nothing left. The mountains Jody looks at with wanderlust have been seen - they were conquered before he was born. He is a boy born into the world already known. The people around him are emblematic of this jadedness, his father especially. His father is the character that most clearly falls from grace in Jody’s eyes.

Billy is also a great character. The barbaric image of him killing this mare to rescue Jody’s colt because of a gnawing guilt of failure is a vivid and stark one.

Jody might be a bit of a psychopath, though.

Both were very enjoyable stories and have elements I imagine will crop up in my mind from time to time. The only reason this is a 3 is because I wish both had more air to breathe and get more fleshed out, particularly the second story as I feel it ends rather abruptly despite being the longer of the two.

[Rick Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just reviewing "The Pearl," because I already gave "The Red Pony" some attention when I looked at The Long Valley. Speaking of which, if I hadn't just read "Flight" from that collection, I wouldn't be making what seems like a pretty clear connection between what its main character, Pepe, has to do to try to escape the posse on his trail, and what Kino and Juana have to do to get away from the hunters who are trying to kill them for the pearl. Neither story ends with a successful escape, of course, but "The Pearl" is much more devastating because Coyotito is pointlessly killed in spite of Kino's efforts. Pepe's sacrifice of himself is noble and confirms that he is indeed the man he has always wanted to become, an upbeat ending to a tragic little story.
"The Pearl" is an allegory, undoubtedly, although the journalistic Steinbeck would probably cringe to hear that applied to anything he wrote; even so, there's no missing the contrast between the edenic life of the oyster fishermen and the bloodthirsty Hobbesian evil of those who wish to profit from the pearl. The condemnation of capitalism--at least, the unbridled capitalism which destroys the lives of the working poor, one of Steinbeck's favorite targets--is obvious throughout the story, most cuttingly in the depiction of the venal town doctor. Kino himself dreams of new clothes, school for his child, a proper wedding for his wife--all very down-to-earth and commendable, showing that he is still an innocent--before thinking about acquiring a rifle for himself, a killing tool that he eventually uses to dispatch the last man in the hunting party. The competing songs, the Song of Family and the Song of the Pearl, are rendered in the style of folklore, and from the opening epigram it is clear that Steinbeck is trying to frame the whole story as a sort of legend, but the ultimate effect is positively Marxist. Again, the author would probably resist having "The Pearl" turned into a screamingly anti-capitalist parable, and, to be fair, that is a damaging over-simplification of the story, but it is certainly one of the lenses through which this has to be understood. Again, as a lifelong Steinbeck fan, it is difficult to retain objectivity, but it is a treat to re-re-read this after so many years away.

[I saved the book today · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Opowiadam te historie, ale to nie to, co chciałbym opowiedzieć. Wiem tylko, co bym chciał, żeby ludzie czuli, kiedy je opowiadam”.

„Kasztanek” i „Perła” to nowele Johna Steinbecka, które nie straciły nic ze swej aktualności. Proste historie, piękny język i niezwykła umiejętność ubierania w słowa obrazów i emocji to to, co najbardziej cenię w prozie Steinbecka.

„Kasztanek” to opowieść o dziesięcioletnim chłopcu imieniem Jody, który mieszka na farmie wraz z matką, surowym ojcem i parobkiem Billym. Billy Buck uczy Jody’ego jak opiekować się kucykiem, którego Jody otrzymał od ojca. Choć chłopiec z wielkim zaangażowaniem dba o Gabilana, to wkrótce przekonuje się, że szczęście nie trwa wiecznie.

„Perła” opowiada o biednym rybaku imieniem Kino, jego żonie Juanie i ich synku Coyotito. Pewnego dnia Kino znajduje wielką perłę, wspaniałą jak księżyc. Wieść o tym, że Kino wyłowił Największą Perłę Świata rozpełzła się szybko po całym miasteczku, a istota perły, zmieszana z istotą ludzi, przyspieszyła dalszy rozwój ciekawych i smutnych wypadków. Perła Kina stała się treścią snów, planów, potrzeb i żądz wszystkich mieszkańców La Paz, a Kino stał się przeszkodą w ich realizacji. Ta historia to przypowieść, w której każdy znajdzie swą własną prawdę i odczyta z niej własne życie.

„Ponieważ historię tę powtarzano bardzo często, zapadła ona głęboko w pamięć wszystkich. I jak we wszystkich opowieściach, które trwają w ludzkich sercach, zostały w niej tylko strony dobre i złe, rzeczy białe i czarne, czyny szlachetne i podłe, a nie ma nic pośredniego”.

[Cam Larsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 / 5 stars

The Pearl -
Moral tale about exploitation of the impoverished. After the pearl is found, not one good thing happens in this story and the cause of its discovery also stems from negativity. The natives' abuse of oysters (ripping them open and searching for pearls then discarding the dead oysters, flesh and all, back into the ocean) was sharp symbolism of how the colonizers abuse the villagers for monetary gain; Steinbeck hints at it again when Kino puts his leg across a trail of ants for his amusement. I appreciate a tragedy as much as anyone but when babies are involved it hits different.

The Red Pony -
If The Pearl didn't rip your heart out enough, The Red Pony will finish the job. This is more like three short stories in one, because the chapters about Gitano and the grandfather were disconnected from the pony-centric arc. This one really shook me and not in a pleasant way, just when the story of the pony is reaching a satisfactory and realistic ending in The Promise chapter, Steinbeck decides to traumatize the reader simply because he can. I guess that's life on a farm. We still don't know what happened of Black Demon (Black Spawn?) and there's absolutely no mention of it in the The Leader of the People (final) chapter.

Steinbeck's descriptions are phenomenal as always, but the plots could use some work. I enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath but I'm uncomfortable with his tragic tropes here. I appreciated The Red Pony more than The Pearl however I'm left sick to my stomach.

[Eric J F1]

In the beginning of the story, Jody is an innocent boy who has always begged his father for a pony. One day, his father finally decides to give him one, and Jody becomes all happy. His innocent character is displayed when he seems to not care about the life and death of the pony. Jody was living under the illusion that the pony will live forever. Jody is excited about showing off about it to his friends; he imagines how jealous his friends will get. However, he soon realizes that he must care for Gabilan(his pony), or else Gabilan might not survive. One day while he’s about to go to school, the ranch hand Billy Buck assures him that there will be no rain on that day, but Jody is still worried. In school, he realizes that a downpour has begun, and he rushes home to check on Gabilan, only to find out that he got a cold. Billy Buck assures that he will cure Gabilan’s cold, but fails to do so, leaving Gabilan to die. Jody isn’t able to accept the truth of this tragedy, but soon realizes that Gabilan’s death was random and natural, and it wasn’t old age that killed him—it was a downpour. 

From this first story of The Gift, a child’s joyful beginning of owning a pony he could show off to his friends about turns into a disaster where the pony dies—not of old age, but of a downpour. Jody grows up to learn that death is inevitable. It comes whenever it wants to, and it simply cannot be stopped—unless it wants to be stopped. This is what I learned from the book.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perła: dobrze się czytało, super napisane, prosto ale z jakim napięciem, chwilami emocje jak thriller. Ogolnie przesłanie proste a może nawet za prost: chciwość jest zła chciwość wyzwala w ludziach co najgorsze plus ciesz się z tego co masz i nie chciej więcej.
Powtarzane: pies perły pieśń zła pięść rodziny itp
Bardzo biedna rodzina Indian znajduje największą perłę świata i od tamtej pory wsyztsko zaczyna być gorzej a jak wiadomo i Steinbecka nigdy nie jest tak źle żeby nie mogło być gorzej. Nagle wszyscy chcą ich oszukać okraść a najlepiej to zabić i zabrać perłę. Podpalają im dom itp więc muszą uciekać do innego miasta ukrywając się, żeby tam spróbować sprzeda perłę. Pododzaja za nimi tropiciele, oni ukrywają się w jaskini a tropiciele przypadkiem koło nich rozbijają obóz na noc. Bohater postanawia w nocy wyjść i ich zabić bo to ich jedyna szansa, i udaje mu się to ale kiedy na już na nich wybiegać w jaskini ich malutki syn krzyknął i oni myśleli że to kojot i strzelili w tamtą stronę. Bohater ich zabił ale jak się potem dowiadujemy oni zabili jego syna. Małżeństwo zrozpaczone wraca do wioski w żałobie i wyrzucają ostatecznie perłę spowrotem do morza.

[David Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Steinbeck is a master at opening a story and setting a scene. These two novellas - the second being a quartet of short stories based around the lives of a late 19th century California farm family - are perfect partners for each other because they give great example of his method. In "The Pearl" he begins with the main character Kino waking and greeting the dawn. "The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east." In "The Red Pony", chapter 4 (The Leader of the People) he starts out with "High in the air small clouds like puffs of cannon smoke were driven eastward by the March wind. The wind could be heard whishing in the brush on the ridge crests, but no breath of it penetrated down to ranch-cup." I found myself going back and rereading previous pages just to take in the beauty of his words.

[Ariel Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steinbeck doesn’t know how to write happy stories! I love what the back of the novel says, though: “Two classic stories, in one volume, celebrating the spirit and courage of ordinary families.” That sums up this book perfectly. The Pearl is about an extraordinary event that happens to a very ordinary man. V depressing, would not recommend if you enjoy stories of progression or improvement; poor Kino & Juana. The Red Pony is a tale about an even MORE average boy, Jody, and all of his time spent anticipating great events, just to face letdowns. Beautiful language and descriptions of lovely landscape, deep feelings, & complicated characters.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book which is a collection of two even shorter books. This is one I remember other kids reading in high school, but my class never did.

The Pearl is about a Mexican who dives and finds a large pearl which he hopes to sell to provide for his family, but it only brings difficulties.

The Red Pony is about a boy on a farm and the various harsh lessons old writers insist on traumatizing young characters with.

The character observations are subtle, straightforward, and ring true.

There are illustrations in my copy. The illustrations for The Pearl are genuinely terrible. The illustration of The Red Pony look like they were watercolor, but the reproduction quality isn't good.

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 2 out of 5]

When no one ever asks the question, "What were you reading the day you turned 40?" I will never have to answer, "This book."

I've probably had this book following me around since I was 12, which is a good enough reason to read it. Another vacation read -- you'll see a trend of short novels and graphic novels this trip. Neither of these did a hell of a lot for me. "The Red Pony" worked more than "The Pearl," but the end didn't do anything for me.

And now, to the dustbin of history, the book and the reader.