مراعي الفردوس

by John Steinbeck, جون شتاينبك, خديجة خطاب (Translator)

A cycle of twelve loosely connected short stories typifying Steinbeck's early writing style. Each story in the text is linked to the others by setting and the appearance of the Munroes, a family that comes to live on the abandoned and seemingly cursed Battle farm in the Pastures. The text offers an in depth exploration of individual and family problems against a backdrop of farming in rural central California.

Steinbeck's objective narration allows readers to enter the psyche of the characters and to judge the actions and decisions of those characters for themselves. Throughout the book, Steinbeck explores themes familiar to his later works, such as farming in rural America, the importance of landscape, human frailties, and family and marital relationships. He also delves into controversial subject matter such as mental instability and the oppression of Native Americans. He uses the fertile valley named Las Pasturas del Cielo, or the Pastures of Heaven, not simply as a backdrop, but as an entity that plays an integral role in the success or failure of the residents.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, American, Literature, Novels, Historical Fiction

269 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

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

[Dolors · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is something that will remain embedded in my mind about this collection of short stories is that there is no such thing as an earthly paradise but rather a barren land brought to life by the joys and miseries of its inhabitants.
In his second book, Steinbeck manages to demystify the natural resources of the physical place in favor of the characters that populate it with all their prejudices and superstitions, generosity and disinterested fellowship, idealized aspirations and humble dreams. Community can become a safe haven, but it can also be the origin of ruthless intolerance. The consequences of unrequited love, the constant struggle between fate and chance that leaves track through generations, the shameful secrets people try to conceal with whitewashed camaraderie to convey an appearance of dignity or control… these are the kind of issues that give and take from the characters in Steinbeck’s portrait of rural life in California at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Even though the stories stand on their own and can be tackled independently, they build on each other if read in succession. The same protagonists keep reappearing shown through the eyes of secondary characters, whose perspectives blend harmonically with inner thoughts and concealed yearnings disclosed in later chapters, constructing three-dimensional and psychologically rich character portrayals that transcend the formal boundaries of the narration.

Steinbeck’s descriptive prose is powerful without being overwritten, sober and efficient but with the required poetic brushstrokes that tint the stories with that evocative glimmer so typical of his style. The overall tone is darker and less humorous than other of his works, maybe closer to the Southern Gothic tradition but with a not so gloomy stance on the vicissitudes and hypocrisies of life.
At the end of the day, dreams tend to collapse under the heavy weight of reality, but what would be of us without them? Steinbeck chooses a hotchpot of serendipity and optimism to keep the spark alive in spite of the overwhelming odds and the indignities of everyday life, something that will keep me returning to his books for years to come.

[Tim Null · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven it occurred to me that Steinbeck was describing a community in California that had many similarities with the community of Bucyrus, Kansas where my Dad grew up. That thought added dimensions to this story I wouldn't otherwise have felt.

I suspect that short stories were Steinbeck's comfort zone. At least they're my comfort zone when it comes to Steinbeck's writing. Although I'm no fan of the Steinbeck novels I've read, I do love his short stories. At least I loved the stories in The Pastures of Heaven.

[Cathrine ☯️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★
Steinbeck is the man. Well, one of them anyway. It is always a pleasure spending time with his prose and this was no exception.
“Katherine was not pretty, but she had the firm freshness of a new weed, and the bridling vigor of a young mare.”

“Alice grew and became more and more beautiful. Her skin was as lucent and rich as poppies; her black hair had the soft crispness of fern stems, her eyes were misty skies of promise.”
I read that the third Mrs. Steinbeck typed his manuscripts and I can’t help but wonder if he talked about her like that; Elaine's fingers roost on the keys like an ivory-billed woodpecker extracting the letters that become the nectar for my sentences.

I have a particular fondness for his verdant Salinas Valley settings and their interconnected short stories populated with oftentimes grotesque and abnormal characters who do things you don't expect. Let not the pastoral title fool you. Think more along the lines of the heavenly pastures of wrath and tribulation where ploughshares are beaten into swords.
Dr. Phillips conferring with the mother of a mentally disturbed girl:
“You love the hair shirt,” he growled. “Your pain is a pleasure. You won’t give up any little shred of tragedy.” He became furious…"I think I’m a mild man, but right now I want to beat your face with my fists.”
How’s that for professional consultation? He was right though, she should have put Hilda in an institution and joined her there.

In his introduction to this collection, James Nagal wrote that these were “stories of broken dreams, disillusionment, and painful realizations that awaited people who moved into the valley…Perhaps it is not too much to claim that the central components of the greatness of Steinbeck’s work, his basic style and subject and fundamental themes, have their origin not in his most celebrated novels but in an often ignored collection of stories that appeared, unceremoniously in 1932; The Pastures of Heaven.”

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 2 out of 5]

All sorts of mental sickness and disbalance and social maladaptation are represented here. Even though it's a classic it's not my cup of tea. Mothers killing their daughters, neurotics of all sexes, child problems, even a father hoarding his daughter's virginity, gosh! This is not the sort of things one looks for in books.
Beautiful language, even though I didn't think highly of the subject in many cases.
Q:
He had been pleased with the funeral. (c) I wasn't pleased with this book.
Q:
Shark had never known his Aunt Nellie very well, but he had thoroughly enjoyed her funeral. (c)
Q:
Before Alice had ever seen the boy, Shark forbade her to see him. He spoke with such vehemence that a mild interest was aroused in the dull brain of the girl.
“Don’t you ever let me catch you talking to that Jimmie Munroe,” he told her.
“Who’s Jimmie Munroe, Papa?”
“Never you mind who he is. Just don’t let me catch you talking to him. You hear me! Why! I’ll skin you alive if you even look at him.”
...
And again—“You haven’t been talking to that Jimmie Munroe, have you?”
“No, Papa.”
“Well just don’t let me catch you at it.”
After a number of repetitions of this order, a conviction crept into the thickened cells of Alice’s brain that she would really like to see Jimmie Munroe. (c)
Q:
They thought I meant to kill him. And now everybody knows. I haven’t any money. (c)
Q:
He is not crazy; he is one of those whom God has not quite finished. (c)
Q:
All his life he had been an alien, a lonely outcast, and now he was going home. As always, he heard the voices of the earth—the far-off clang of cow bells, the muttering of disturbed quail, the little whine of a coyote who would not sing this night, the nocturnes of a million insects. But Tularecito was listening for another sound, the movement of two-footed creatures, and the hushed voices of the hidden people. (c)
Q:
Seemingly she hungered for tragedy and life had lavishly heaped it upon her. (c)
Q:
“What would you suggest?” she asked huskily.
“A hospital for the insane,” he said, and it delighted him that his reply was brutal. (c)
Q:
every man must some time or other want to beat a woman (c)
Q:
Junius Maltby read books by the stream while his wife and children died. But this was only partly true. On the day of their seizure, he dangled his feet in the stream, because he didn’t know they were ill, but thereafter he wandered vaguely from one to the other of the dying children, and talked nonsense to them. He told the eldest boy how diamonds are made. At the bedside of the other, he explained the beauty, the antiquity and the symbolism of the swastika. One life went out while he read aloud the second chapter of Treasure Island, and he didn’t even know it had happened until he finished the chapter and looked up. During those days he was bewildered. He brought out the only things he had and offered them, but they had no potency with death. He knew in advance they wouldn’t have, and that made it all the more terrible to him.
When the bodies were all gone, Junius went back to the stream and read a few pages of Travels with a Donkey. He chuckled uncertainly over the obstinacy of Modestine. Who but Stevenson could have named a donkey “Modestine”? (c)
Q:
I didn’t know my wife nor the children very well, I guess. Perhaps they were too near to me. It’s a strange thing, this knowing. It is nothing but an awareness of details. There are long-visioned minds and short-visioned. I’ve never been able to see things that are close to me. For instance, I am much more aware of the Parthenon than of my own house over there.” Suddenly Junius’ face seemed to quiver with feeling, and his eyes brightened with enthusiasm. “Jakob,” he said, “have you ever seen a picture of the frieze of the Parthenon?” (c)
Q:
Robbie’s effect on the school was immediate. The older boys let him entirely alone, but the younger ones imitated him in everything, even tearing holes in the knees of their overalls. When they sat in the sun with their backs to the school wall, eating their lunches, Robbie told them about his father and about the sycamore tree. They listened intently and wished their fathers were lazy and gentle, too. (c)
Q:
The teacher sighed with relief. “Then you do understand they weren’t doing as well as usual? I’m glad you know that.” ...
“If I thought they were doing their best, I’d close the school,” he said. (c)
Q:
“I think he was embarrassed,”...
“But why should he be? We were nice to him.”
...“I think, you see—why, I don’t think he ever knew he was poor until a moment ago.” (c)
Q:
They were childlike and jovial and not very clean. Sitting in the chairs they waited on fortune. (c)

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Cup of Gold was John Steinbeck's first novel, and he spent five years working on To A God Unknown before putting it aside, The Pastures of Heaven, published in 1932, was the world's introduction to Steinbeck, whose social insight and intellectual depth are woven into stories about the struggle for survival in and around Steinbeck's hometown of Salinas. This novel consists of ten tales set in a thinly veiled version of Corral de Tierra, a valley in the hills twelve miles from Monterey, which Steinbeck names "Las Pasturas del Cielo." It's a pencil sketchbook, a minor work from Steinbeck, which means it would rate it a masterpiece by most anyone else.

The Pastures of Heaven is a beguiling collection similar in structure to Tortilla Flat or Cannery Row. If any character can claim to be the main one, it's Bert Munroe, a failed businessman who purchases the old Battle farm, a vacant property regarded as cursed by the people of the valley. Two generations of Battles were beset with epilepsy, madness and bad luck, while the family that came in 1921 vanished one day without a trace. While the Munroes find their success in the valley and are good neighbors, each character Bert Munroe associates with encounters some malady, directly or indirectly due to his presence.

Edward Wicks maintains a peach orchard and vegetable garden. Eking out a living, he derives pleasure in being considered a wealthy man, studying stocks and bonds and keeping a ledger in which he tracks his fantasy investments. His neighbors come to respect Wicks as a shrewd businessman and dub him "Shark." When his homely wife Katherine bears a gorgeous daughter named Alice, Shark becomes obsessed with protecting her virtue. All boys and men are suspected of having evil intents toward his girl, and when Shark returns from a funeral, the storekeeper T.B. Allen reports on Alice's mingling at a town dance with Bert Munroe's son, a cad named Jimmie.

As Shark walked quickly along toward the Munroe place, his thoughts raced hopelessly. He was sure of one thing, though, now that he had walked a little; he didn't want to kill Jimmie Munroe. He hadn't even been thinking about shooting him until the shopkeeper suggested the idea. Then he had acted upon it without thinking. What could he do now? He tried to picture what he would do when he came to the Munroe house. Perhaps he would have to shoot Jimmie Munroe. Maybe things would fall out in a way that would force him to commit murder to maintain his dignity in the Pastures of Heaven.

Franklin Gomez is a rancher whose hired hand stumbles home one morning with the story of a devilish child left in the brush next to the road. The baby, abandoned due to its physical deformities, is raised by Gomez by the name Tularecito, "Little Frog." At the age of six, Tularecito can do the work of a grown man, and exhibits masterful artistic ability carving animals. He nevertheless unnerves his neighbors. At the age of eleven, Tularecito is enrolled in school, where his first teacher discovers what happens when anyone destroys Little Frog's art and quits in hysterics. His second teacher, Miss Molly Morgan, breaks through to the boy by reading him faerie tales and Tularecito goes in search of his people, the gnome people, a quest which takes him to Bert Munroe's ranch.

Munroe pays a visit to a new resident, Helen Van Deventer, who has moved to the valley with her emotionally disturbed teenage daughter Hilda, who informs her mother that she plans on running away with Munroe. Junius Maltby is a clerk from San Francisco who moves to the valley for health and marries his widowed landlady. An unapologetic bookworm who's allergic to work, their orchard and vegetable bottom falls into ruin, but Junius cannot be any more happy as long as he has a book. When his wife dies of black fever, he's left to raise their son. Robbie grows up in squalor, dirt poor but happy, until Bert Munroe's wife ruins it all by donating some clothes to the boy.

Rosa and Maria Lopez are left forty acres of rocky hillside by their father and go into business making tortillas. The sisters begin providing special favors to male customers who purchase at least three items. Nothing is made of their enterprise until Bert Munroe decides to play a joke on the wife of the ugliest man in town, who he catches accepting a ride to Salinas in Rosa's carriage. Munroe is elected to the school board, where he meets their new schoolteacher, Miss Molly Morgan. Molly has lost contact with her father, but maintains romantic illusions about the life he's living, fantasies that are shattered when Munroe regales the board with tales of his drunken ranch hand.

One time their father went away, and he never came back. He had never sent any money, nor had he ever written to them, but this time he just disappeared, for good. For two years they waited, and then their mother said he must be dead. The children shuddered at the thought, but they refused to believe it, because no one so beautiful and fine as their father could be dead. Some place in the world he was having adventures. There was some good reason why he couldn't come back to them. Some day when the reason was gone, he would come: some morning he would be there with finer presents and better stories than ever before.

The people of the Pastures of Heaven can't catch a break around Bert Munroe. Raymond Banks owns the valley's most admired ranch, a clean poultry farm. Beloved by the children, Banks is friends with the warden at San Quentin and maintains the somewhat unusual habit of serving as witness to hangings there. Munroe becomes obsessed with this and against his better judgment, asks Banks if he can come along. Pat Humbert inherits an old farmhouse with five rooms from his aging parents at the age of thirty and after they pass, refuses to spend any time in or on the house as he can. This changes when he overhears Bert Munroe's daughter Mae discussing Vermont houses.

The Whitesides are the first family of the Pastures of Heaven. Their patriarch, Richard Whiteside, constructs a house so grand that it would pass from generation to generation and serve as the homestead for a dynasty. Fate deals his wife Alicia the blow of being able to deliver only one child, which they name John. He inherits his father's love of Greek history and philosophy and admires the house even more. His heir Bill gravitates more toward mechanics than literature or history, and the Whiteside dynasty is threatened when Bill becomes engaged to Bert Munroe's daughter Mae, who makes it known that she prefers to live in town.

Time will tell whether The Pastures of Heaven features stories vivid enough for me to bring up in conversation the way I do with Tortilla Flat or Cannery Row, stories that spring to my mind as effortlessly as some generate fantasy football stats. Unlike Steinbeck's later portmanteau books, this one lacks vagabond wit and biting political satire I love in his work. This early Steinbeck is almost Gothic in its presentation of a "cursed" family, decent folk who nonetheless seem to be carrying some sort of evil with them, visiting misfortune upon their neighbors in strange ways. With the insight that comes so effortlessly to Steinbeck, he indicates the people of the valley might have been asking for it.

It is a difficult thing and one requiring great tact quickly to become accepted in a rural community. The people of the valley had watched the advent of the Munroe family with a little animosity. The Battle farm was haunted. They had always considered it so, even those who laughed at the idea. Now a man came along and proved them wrong. More than that, he changed the face of the countryside by removing the accursed farm and substituting a harmless and fertile farm. The people were used to the Battle place as it was. Secretly they resented the change.

The more time I have to think about The Pastures of Heaven, the richer it becomes. To call it the "worst" John Steinbeck book I've read so far is like calling Bridget Fonda the "worst" actor in her family tree or Ringo Starr the "worst" Beatle, meaning it should be considered blasphemy. But as of today, due to popular demand, here's my list of John Steinbeck books ranked from favorite to least favorite:

1. East of Eden (1952)
2. The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
3. Sweet Thursday (1954)
4. Of Mice and Men (1937)
5. The Wayward Bus (1947)
6. Tortilla Flat (1935)
7. The Winter of Our Discontent (1961)
8. Cannery Row (1945)
9. Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962)
10. The Pastures of Heaven (1932)

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even in a format I usually hate (short stories), my man John knocks it out of the park. This being his second published novel, his literary genius—the genius he would become so famous for in later years, is already oozing off the page, much like that rash I should have had checked last week, but instead I let Delores put some of her essential oils on it, and needless to say it's way worse now. Anyway, enough about my rash. Steinbeck is a literary God. He should be studied and worshiped by us, his loyal followers. We should sacrifice the most beautiful virgins to him, and for our loyal worship of him, he shall someday return and bestow upon us sequels to all his novels! (Blasphemous? Maybe a little.) But seriously, if someone wants to start a church of Steinbeck, I'm in!

​Twelve beautifully written and interconnected stories about the Pastures of Heaven and its inhabitants. Johnny takes us on an adventure around the valley until we've met and gotten to know all of the valley dwellers. His prose is on point, his scenery is spectacular, and his characters are as likable and relatable as always. It's the Steinbeck we all know and love.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 5 out of 5]

Много кратък, но и въздействащ роман на Джон Стайнбек! Той представлява съвкупност от разкази за житейските драми на обикновени хора, живеещи в прекрасната долина, наречена „Небесни пасбища“. Въпреки че се намират в близост до красиви природни гледки, животът на местните жители никак не е спокоен, тъй като са затънали в типичните за малките градчета интриги, клюки, предразсъдъци... Стайнбек изключително сладкодумно описва съдбите на различни интересни персонажи, предизвикайки силни емоции.





„Хлапаците, тези лейтенанти на времето във вечната му война срещу творенията на човека, бяха изпотрошили прозроците и отмъкнали всичко, което може да се носи. Момчетата са убедени, че всяка преносима вещ, която явно няма собственик, може да им свърши работа, ако бъде занесена у дома.“


„Преди Бърт Мънро да влезе във владение на новата си собственост, за него се разправяха поне десетина истории. Той знаеше, че бъдещите му съседи го дебнат на всяка крачка, макар и да не ги виждаше. В провинцията този род тайно следене е развито във висше изкуство.“


„Той не обичаше Алис така, както баща обича детето си. По-скоро я къташе и ликуваше, че притежава такъв великолепен уникат.“


„Разбира се, собственикът Т.Б. Алън винаги знаеше всичко, а освен това имаше навика да дразни любопитството на събеседника, като се правеше, че няма желание да говори по един или друг въпрос. Така в устата на Алън и най-глупавата клюка се превръщаше във вълнуваща новина.“


„Учениците приемаха възторжено нововъведенията на госпожица Морган. Часовете станаха толкова интересни, че дори онези, дето си бяха спечелили завидна слава с номерата, които погаждаха на учителите, престанаха да се блазнят от мисълта да подпалят училището.“


„За миг той се огледа трескаво, като хванато в капан зверче, и после излетя светкавично от стаята. Настоятелството го чу как взе стълбите на два скока и толкоз — изчезна.
Госпожа Мънро се обърна безпомощно към учителката:
— Но какво му е на това дете?
— Мисля, че го притеснихте — отвърна госпожица Морган.
— Защо да сме го притеснили? Бяхме толкова мили с него.
Учителката се опита да им обясни и дори се поядоса, докато им обясняваше.
— Как да ви кажа… допреди малко той нямаше представа, че е беден.“


„Да го чуете само как разправя за местата, по които е бил! И да искам да го махна, не мога, децата не дават да се издума за такова нещо. Вземе някоя нищо и никаква случка и така я засуче, че прави литература от нея.“

[Tahani Shihab · Rating 5 out of 5]

مراعي الفردوس ـ جون شتاينبك.

مجموعة قصص تقع جميعها في وادي مراعي الفردوس، أسلوب جميل في السرد رغم أن كل قصة مختلفة عن الأخرى.

“بعد أن يُؤَمِّن الإنسان مصدر رزقه، يبقى لديه أمل منشود في أن يترك بصمة أو دليلاً على أنه قد عاش .. ربما يترك هذه البصمة على الصخور، أو على الخشب، أو على حياة غيره من الناس .. هذا الأمل المنشود يكمن في نفس أيَّ إنسان، إبتداء من الطفل أو الفتى الذي يكتب عبارات بذيئة على جدران المرحاض، إلى “بوذا” الذي يحفر صورته في عقول أتباعه، إن الحياة مُغرِقة في اللاّواقعية .. وربما شككنا في وجودنا، ولذلك فإننا نحاول جاهدين أن نثبت ونؤكد أننا نعيش في الواقع.”


جون شتاينبك.

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

دشت بهشت نوشته جان استاین بک مجموعه داستان هایی کوتاه و بهم پیوسته درباره افرادی ایست که به قصد داشتن زندگی بهتر به دشت بهشت یا به لاس پاستوراس دل سیلو مهاجرت کرده اند ، آنها به این امید به دشت زیبا آمده اند که ساکن همیشگی آن شوند اما پس از مدتی و به دلایل متفاوت آن جا را ترک می کنند .
آنچه در جامعه دشت بهشت می بینیم تفاوت چندانی با روستاها یا شهرهای کوچک دیگر ندارد ، در میان ساکنان آن هم خرافات دیده می شود و هم جهل . برای نمونه یکی از آنان برای فرار از بخت بد به آنجا آمده است .
داستان های کتاب فراز و نشیبی چندانی ندارند ، شخصیت های کتاب هم خصوصیات ویژه ای ندارند ، انسان هایی که سرگرم زندگی معمولی خود هستند .
در پایان باید گفت دشت بهشت را برخلاف دیگر کتاب های استاین بک به ویژه خوشه های خشم ، شرق بهشت و موشها و آدمها نمی توان یک شاهکار به حساب آورد .

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steinbeck never fails to capture the reader's heart and soul!

Short connected stories of life in its most brutally simple cruelty... why is it so hard to be a human being?

The answer according to Steinbeck seems to be: BECAUSE WE CARE!

And why is it so magical to be a human being?

The answer according to Steinbeck seems to be: BECAUSE WE CARE!

We fight to save our home until the house has burnt down to the ground, and at the same time we watch the beauty of the flames eating away at our dreams and hopes. The philosophical wisdom of the fire is to leave an empty slot to build new human magic to care for! Circle of life...

[fคrຊคຖ.tຖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

تا جایی که خبر دارم دو ترجمه از این کتاب در بازار موجود است؛ یکی به نام "دشت بهشت" از انتشارات افق و یکی به نام " سبزه‌زارهای بهشت" از انتشارات مروارید که من دومی را خواندم و روان و خوب بود. نقش اصلی در این اثر، دهکده‌ی سرسبز و زیبایی است که نام کتاب هم از آن گرفته شده است. این کتاب از داستان‌های کوتاهِ متصل بهم تشکیل شده که خواننده، بعضی شخصیت‌ها را چندین بار می‌بیند ولی بعضی هم وارد دهکده می‌شوند و بعد به دلایلی آنجا را ترک می‌کنند. مثلاً با "جان وایتساید" که در فصل دوم برخورد می‌کنیم در فصل‌های بعد بیشتر آشنا می‌شویم و سرانجام در فصل یازدهم ورود اجدادش به دهکده را می‌بینیم.
من همیشه داستان‌گویی و قلم اشتاین‌بک رو دوست دارم و برام شیرینه و به همه‌ی اشتاین‌بک دوستان خوندن این کتاب رو توصیه می‌کنم 😍

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steinbeck gives us here a novel consisting of twelve interconnected stories. Characters you meet in one story turn up in another. By the end you know the inhabitants of Corral de Tierra valley in Monterey, California, and you know them well. It is a beautiful fertile valley, and it does exist. Although it may appear to be “the pastures of heaven”, as the title indicates, life in the valley has the difficulties one finds elsewhere.

It took me awhile to get into this book. The stories don’t seem to hang together at the start. As you get to know who is who, they do. The time setting is between the wars, but there are flashbacks for characters' pasts.

Why is this book so very good? The answer is simple. You get into the heads and hearts of the characters. No, not all, but many of them. Steinbeck has readers thinking and feeling about what is going on in the characters’ lives. You get to the core of a character and discover what makes that person tick.

Each story has a reader thinking. Often a message is conveyed. I will give but a few examples. A teacher, in trying to help a student, instead awakens the child to the disgrace of poverty. A mother does all that she can for her children. In the process she becomes bitter and cold, the result being that the children cannot feel love for her. A young woman cannot bare to face reality; she simply cannot admit that her beloved father is a failure and has deserted the family. There is a story about two sisters which shows not only the love they have for each other but also that one must not make hasty judgments of other people—what looks evil and wrong may not be so.

A second reason to like this book is the prose. It is strong and clear. Sometimes beautiful.

“Fall was in the air. The sharp smell of it and the little jerky winds of it building up and then dying in mid-blow.”

“The sky was black and cold between the sharp stars.”

I smiled at this turn of phrase--“Pussy willows had their kittens.”

“He loved the farm for itself. But he also loved it because it kept him from fear in the daytime. When he was working, the terror of being solitary, the freezing loneliness could not attack him.”

“He did not often think of people as individuals but rather as antidotes for the poison of his loneliness, as escapes from his imprisoned ghosts.”

“It was good to put off joy, because by doing so one increased joy.”

“It is almost impossible to read a fine thing without wanting to do a fine thing.”

“He was one of the few men who could savor a moment while he had it.”

The stories and the prose give readers food for thought.

Sean Runnette narrates the audiobook. He is easy to follow. You hear all his words, but I didn’t love it because he sounds dreary. Three stars for the narration.

************************
Steinbeck’s books in order of preference :
*Of Mice and Men 5 stars
*The Grapes of Wrath 5 stars
*In Dubious Battle 4 stars
*The Wayward Bus 4 stars
*Travels with Charley: In Search of America 4 stars
*The Moon Is Down 4 stars
*The Pastures of Heaven 4 stars
*Cannery Row 4 stars
*Once There Was a War 3 stars
*The Winter of Our Discontent 3 stars
*A Russian Journal 3 stars
*The Pearl 3 stars
*Sweet Thursday 2 stars
*To a God Unknown 2 stars
*East of Eden 2 stars
*The Red Pony TBR

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where John Steinbeck is concerned, I'm an unapologetic fan. Having only made his acquaintance relatively recently after a visit to Monterey prompted me to read Cannery Row, I've fallen in love with his clean prose and striking use of imagery, his powerful evocation of place, his ability to turn ordinary people into memorable characters and the deep humanity which is at the heart of his writing.

This was the second of Steinbeck's works to be published. It's a short story cycle in which each of the stories is set in a valley named "The Pastures of Heaven", which Steinbeck locates in the area between Salinas and Monterey. While the stories are self-contained, there are some overlapping characters, particularly the Munroe family. The Munroes move from the city to the Pastures of Heaven when they purchase an abandoned farm the locals consider to be haunted. Although they make a success of the farm and of their lives, their appearance in each of the stories heralds a change for the worse in the life of the central character of that story. The Munroes act as agents of a malignant fate, as they unwittingly shatter the dreams, fantasies or illusions of their neighbours.

Unlike Cannery Row, with which this work shares some similarities in terms of its structure, this is one of Steinbeck's sad books. It's not without humour, but it lacks the buoyant mood of the later work and the easy affection Steinbeck shows for its characters. In these stories, the mood is more sombre, the trials of the characters more poignant, the ultimate fate of the characters less positive. But, as in The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck's characters are survivors. Their dreams may be shattered, but they live on, doing their best to cope.

Some of the stories are better than others, but all of them are infused with Steinbeck's deep understanding of the connection between human beings and that place in the landscape they call home. Steinbeck was just thirty when this book was published. How someone so young could be so wise about the human condition and write about it with such beauty takes my breath away.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this work. Sean Runnette's narration was excellent.

[John Hatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this brilliant collection of loosely connected short stories. I understand he only wrote two books of short stories in his career. This collection is all the more remarkable since it was one of his very earliest works and already displays his genius. The stories had me laughing at times and — seriously — in tears at times, but all of them are in a word "human". And "humanity" seems recently to have gone completely out of fashion. I can highly recommend this book, and not just to Steinbeck fans like me!

[Asad Asgari · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب متشکل از چندین داستان نسبتاً کوتاه و به نوعی مرتبط باهمه، از خوندن بعضی از داستان‌ها لذت بردم و از برخی‌ها نه چندان. ولی در مجموع می تونم بگم اصلاً قابل قیاس با اثری مثل شرق بهشت نیست هرچند اسمش بسیار شبیه به اونه، به نظرم این کتاب از بقیه آثار اشتاین بک ضعیف تر اومد و از اون کشش لازم برخوردار نبود برای من. با این وجود همچنان اشتاین بک یکی از نویسنده‌های مورد علاقه منه و بی تردید به دلیل نبوغش در خلق داستان، فضاسازی و انتقال احساسات به مخاطب یکی از نوادر نویسندگی در ادبیات جهان بشمار میاد.

[Michelle Curie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Life is so unreal. I think that we seriously doubt that we exist and go about trying to prove that we do."

John Steinbeck is one of my favorite writers and yet I occasionally struggle to put into words what it is that makes him so unique. It might be his language, the lengthy and vivid descriptions of Californian landscapes or the characters, always hard working and good-willed, yet often victims of destiny. The Pastures of Heaven was only his second novel, and it already has all the features of his later works that would one day turn him into the most influential American novelists.



This book entails ten intertwined short stories, all set in a valley close to Monterey in the beginning of the 20th century, where families have to struggle for survival. It serves as a beautiful reminder of how a place only comes to live through the people inhabiting it. The stories can be seen as stand-alone tales, but they simultaneously blend together beautifully, with protagonists from one making reappearances in others, creating a real sense of community within the valley called Las Pasturas del Cielo.

For none of Steinbeck's characters, life is particularly easy. We meet possessive fathers, unlucky businessmen and strong-willed women. None of Steinbeck's characters are particularly lucky either and yet he manages to create a story arc that isn't depressing in nature, but a gentle and confident reminder that a community is defined by the people that it is made up of.

[Carlo Mascellani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nel contesto quasi bucolico della valle denominata "Pascoli del cielo", con la sua fine prosa Steinbeck inserisce storie di personaggi straordinariamente icastici, di passioni e scoperte, di sogni teneramente concepiti in estasi visionarie che di rado trovano realizzazione e finiscono per trarre con sé, in tragici naufragi, coloro che li avevano accarezzati con tanto amore.

[Alessia Rella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steinbeck sempre una garanzia. Immenso conoscitore dell'animo umano, acuto compositore della sinfonia più silente, della sofferenza più cocente, della resilienza più sorprendente.

[ttelma · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستان دهکده‌ای به نام دشت بهشت که هر فصل کتاب ماجرای یکی از اهالی دهکده‌ست. سرگذشت هرکدوم از اهالی هم منحصر به فرد و جالب بود. دوستش داشتم.

[Yousra · Rating 4 out of 5]

الجميل ... صاحب الأسلوب السلس جون شتاينبك وكتاب آخر رائع وقراءةأخرى ممتعة من بعد أن تعرفت عليه من خلال روايته شتاء الأحزان

قليلة هي الكتب التي تترك في النفس بصمة وقليلة هي الكتب التي ترفض أن تتركها من يدك وتنشغل عنها وهذا الكتاب منها بكل تأكيد

أعترض على تسمية هذا الكتاب رواية كما اعترضت من قبل على تسميةصح النوم ليحيى حقي رواية

ففي العملين كان هناك المكان والزمان وقصصا قصيرة تخص هؤلا�� المتواجدين في ذلك المكان والزمان، وعلى عكس صح النوم التي توحدت خيوطها في آخر الكتاب مما اعطاها حق التسمية فإن مراعي الفردوس قد افتقدت هذه الجزئية التي قد توحي بأنها رواية

إن المكان هو مراعي الفردوس ... ذلك المكان الواعد المبشر بالخير ... والأشخاص هم الحالمين بحياة أفضل ... الباحثين عن الإستقرار ربما أو الإستشفاء أو الهدوء أو حتى ممارسة العمل الذي يؤتي ثماره ... الكثيرون قد تواجدوا في مراعي الفردوس بسبب أحلام جميلة راودتهم

وكما هو الحال في المجتمعات المنغلقة، تبدا القصص وربما الأساطير، بعضها عن البيوت ولعنات البيوت والبعض الآخر عن ساكنيها ... بينما المنظر من بعيد شديد الإبهار وشديد الجاذبية نكتشف بحق وبعد قليل أن البيوت أسرار، فالبيوت هنا بجدرانها تخبئ قصصا كثيرة في جنباتها ...جميعها عبارة عن قصص تمس القلوب وتترك بصمتها... قصص لها مفعول المغناطيس يحيطك بهذا التيار الجاذب لك كقارئ ... القصص مكتوبة وكأنها فيلما سينمائيا تشاهده بعينك وتساير أبطاله كأنك تراهم

ولعلك تكتشف أن الفردوس ليس فردوسا حقيقيا وأن هناك من يريد أن يغادره

بقليل من الجهد وبمعرفة خلفية مؤلف الرواية والذي يعد من كتاب أمريكا المعارضين والذي تناول عدد من رواياته موضوع الكساد الكبير والصعود المفاجئ لطبقات معينة وانهيار أحلام البعض، قد تتوصل إلى أن مراعي الفردوس هي النموذج الأصغر لأمريكا أو أرض الأحلام التي قد تحيل أحلام البعض لكوابيس، وأن قاطنيها هم المهاجرين الذين توافدوا عليها بحثا عن الكثير فلم تجد هي إلا بالقليل وبشروط ... لعلك تعرف أن ليس كل ما يلمع ذهبا

لعل المفاجأة الكبرى في هذه النسخة كانت إسم المترجمة :) خديجة خطاب ... نعم، خديجة خطاب مذيعة القناة الثانية التي طالما كانت لي آراء سلبية فيها فيما يتعلق ببرامجها وبدورها في التليفزيون المصري بل وفي مظهرها أحيانا ... لقد أبهرتني بتمكنها، فالترجمة فن دقيق والترجمة قد تفسد أعظم الأعمال وأروعها ... شعرت بعد القراءة بأنني أدين لها باعتذار لن يصلها وتمنيت لو أنني أقرأ المزيد من الروايات بترجمتها ولو أنها تكتب قصصا خاصة بها :)

هل أحتاج إلى القول بأن هذا العمل هو من أعظم الترشيحات التي تلقيتها في حياتي؟؟ :)

[Alessia Scurati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Steinbeck, che bello ritrovarti. C’è questo senso della terra nei suoi romanzi. Una roba che mi fa ripensare ai nonni, ai bisnonni, quelli che tiravano su le viti e quelle che facevano le mondine.
E poi adoro questo senso del tragico che pervade tutto. Del tragico secondo i greci, intendo. Qualcosa che ti aspetta insieme al tuo destino, e hai voglia ad ammazzarti di lavoro tra vanghe e semine. Lui arriva, il destino. Arriva e colpisce. Il fatto che poi I Pascoli del Cielo sia un racconto corale rende proprio epico tutta la storia dei personaggi.
Quello che mi ha colpito è la tenerezza che pervade queste storie. Che restano sempre tragiche, a modo loro. Eppure resta un filo di speranza, quello che rende meno definitiva la sconfitta di questi umani.
I Pascoli del Cielo sono una zona della California bella e rigogliosa. Ci vivono dei coloni. Gente che viene, gente che va. Gente che fugge, gente che cerca un riscatto, gente che si accontenta, gente che vede i propri sogni realizzarsi, gente che li vede andare in fumo. Di appezzamento in appezzamento, di magione in magione, Steinbeck ci porta dai personaggi che abitano questi Pascoli del Cielo, ci racconta le loro storie. Con dolcezza.
Così alla fine, arriva brevissima, a tradimento e quasi letale (di certo dolorosa) la stilettata finale. Che se nelle poche pagine d’apertura ci veniva raccontato com’erano i Pascoli del Cielo davanti agli occhi degli indigeni e dei pionieri, in quelle poche di chiusura, da una corriera di pendolari in carriera ci viene prospettata una valle di villazze con piscina e campo da golf privato stile Hamptons, solo un po’ più tamarre - siamo sulla West Coast, in fondo. La storia più triste e tragicamente vera di tutte quelle raccontate nel romanzo.
Bellissimo, dolcissimo, scritto in modo garbato, perfetto, preciso (traduzione un po’ datata, ma insomma…), sontuoso. Leggetelo, sì. Non è mai tempo perso leggere Steinbeck.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

More stories of the people of the Salinas valley area in the early 1900s from the leading expert on the subject, John Steinbeck. These tales of woe and triumph study the fictional lives of the criminally insane to the rich and locally famous. The Pastures of Heaven presents character sketches in the vein of Sherwood Anderson and Gabriel García Márquez, though more salaciously than Anderson and without so much art as Márquez. The book is really a collection of very loosely entwined short stories with no overarching plot. Mostly it is the gorgeously described land of Steinbeck's central California world that brings the whole thing together.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) Steinbeck's 'The Pastures of Heaven' is typical Steinbeck. Although written early on, it shows the foundations of what was yet to come in his career.

These inter-locking stories have much of the hope and despair that 'East of Eden' and 'The Grapes of Wrath' has and its characters are drawn out well.

Perhaps I'm biased, but Steinbeck could've written his worst book and it would still be better than the majority of fiction today.

Recommended for all who enjoy his writing and are looking for a lesser known book to encounter for the first time.

[Ana-Maria Beșa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Multe vieți sunt trăite într-un soi de linie curbă. Vine mai întâi o întețire a ambiției, urmează o curbă rotundă a maturității, o coborâre lină a dezamăgirilor și, în cele din urmă, linia se încheie printr-un segment orizontal de așteptare a morții."

[Adriana Costin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steinbeck este un autor care reușește în mod inegalabil să redea spiritul american.
Mi-a amintit de Macondo al lui Marquez cu personaje multe, diverse și ciudate.
O comunitate în continuă schimbare și totuși blocată cumva într-o mentalitate arhaică.

[فهد الفهد · Rating 5 out of 5]

مراعي الفردوس

هذا هو الكتاب الثالث الذي أقرؤه لجون شتاينبك، رغم أن قراءتي له بدأت مبكرة جدا ً، قبل سنوات بعيدة تكاد تقترب من العشرين، عندما حصلت على روايته القصيرة (اللؤلؤة)، والتي فتنتني ببساطتها وجمالها، ورغم أني حصلت على عدد من كتبه في السنوات الأخيرة، إلا أني لم اقرأ منها سوى (الفئران والرجال)، وهذا الكتاب (مراعي الفردوس).

نشر هذا الكتاب سنة 1932 م، لم يكن شتاينبك قد حاز شهرته بعد، له عمل وحيد نشر قبل هذا بثلاث سنوات، وهو رواية تاريخية اسمها (كأس من ذهب)، كان في الثلاثين من عمره، بعد سنوات سيحصل على البوليتزر عن روايته (عناقيد الغضب)، وقبل وفاته بست سنوات سيحصل على جائزة نوبل في الأدب سنة 1962 م، واضعا ً اسمه على تاريخي الأدب في بلاده والعالم.

تتكون (مراعي الفردوس) من مجموعة من القصص القصيرة المترابطة داخليا ً، حيث تدور أحداث كل القصص في وادي خيالي قرب مونتيري في كاليفورنيا يدعى (مراعي الفردوس)، اكتشفه وسماه بهذا الاسم جندي أسباني فيما كان يطارد مجموعة من الهنود المتنصرين حديثا ً، الذين ارتدوا وفروا سنة 1776 م، الجندي الذي انكشف له الوادي وهو يطارد غزالا ً، بهر بمنظره فسماه بهذا الاسم، وحلم بالعودة إليه يوما ً، لم يتحقق حلم الجندي ولكن الوادي تحول على مدى مئة عام إلى مجموعة من المزارع التي تعمرها عائلات صغيرة.

قبل الحديث عن المجموعة، سأتحدث قليلا ً عن أسلوب شتاينبك في الكتابة، سنلاحظ بعد قراءة عدد من أعماله، أن شتاينبك لا يلجأ إلى استبطان أبطاله، أي لا يكتب عن دواخلهم، لا يعتمد أسلوب المناجاة الذاتية، وإنما يعتمد على وصف الأحداث والحوار، كل ما سنعرفه عن أبطال شتاينبك، سنعرفه مما يفعلونه ويقولونه، وهذا فيما يبدو لي أسلوب الأدباء الأمريكيين، وهو أسلوب ربما تأثر بالسينما، حيث يكتب الأديب وكأنه يمسك بكاميرا، ترصد الحدث والحوار، ولكنها لا ترصد ما يدور داخل الإنسان، حتى نفهم ما يدور بداخل الإنسان، نحتاج إلى تأمل أفعاله وأقواله، نحتاج إلى تركيبها لنفهم مخططه الداخلي، صورة روحه، يتميز شتاينبك أيضا ً بلمسة ساخرة، خفية يمكن للقارئ تلمسها في بعض قصص هذه المجموعة، وتتبدى بوضوح في نهايتها.

تنبيه: ما سيأتي قد يكشف شيئا ً من قصص المجموعة.

إذن لدينا واد ٍ مبهر، يحمل اسما ً جميلا ً يعبر عنه تماما ً (مراعي الفردوس)، كل من سيقف على رأس الوادي، كل من سينظر إليه من أعلى كما فعل الجندي قبل قرن، سيفكر بأن هذا المكان لا يعرف الشقاء، لا يعرف الهموم، لا يعرف إلا السعادة، إنها السعادة التي تأتي من البساطة في وجه حياة المدن المعقدة، هذه الفكرة سترد كل من سيقف في ذلكم المكان، إنها تردني أنا، في كل مرة أزور فيها مكانا ً جميلا ً، قرية نائية على رأس جبل أو ضفة نهر، هذه الفكرة يأخذها شتاينبك ويعرضها لنا في سخرية مرة، فهذا الوادي الذي يملئنا بكل هذا البهاء، بكل هذه المشاعر اللذيذة، موبوء بكل هموم ومشاكل الدنيا التي نعرفها ونهرب منها، إن المشكلة ليست في الأمكنة، إنها في الإنسان ذاته، فلذا يمكننا أن نحلم هناك في الأعالي، فوق حافة الضباب، ولكن عندما ننزل إلى المراعي الفردوسية فإننا سنلتقي بكل شيء، سنلتقي بمزرعة ملعونة، لا يكاد يستقر فيها أحد حتى يتركها، إما ميتا ً أو مختفيا ً بشكل غامض، سنلتقي برجل كاذب، يوهم من حوله أنه ينمي ثروة ضخمة حتى تنكشف أكاذيبه، سنلتقي بلقيط مشوه يلفظه الوادي فينتهي في مصحة للأمراض العقلية، سنلتقي بامرأة عجوز تقتل ابنتها المعتوهة ببندقية وتجعل الأمر يبدو كانتحار، رغم أنها كانت ترفض إيداعها في مصحة نفسية حبا ً لها، سنلتقي بفتاتين تديران مخبزا ً، وتمنحان الرجال المتعة مجانا ً، سنلتقي برجل يجد متعته في مشاهدة المحكومين بالإعدام وهو يخطون خطواتهم الأخيرة، سنلتقي بأناس تتحطم أحلامهم ويعيشون في شقاء، كل ما لم يخطر ببالنا سنجده في هذا الوادي، إنه الإنسان يعيش تعقيداته حتى في الأمكنة البسيطة التي نظن أنها ستجعله بسيطا ً.

نعيش هذا كله، حتى النهاية الرائعة، حينما نصحب جون هوايتسايد الذي يغادر هو وزوجته الوادي بعدما احترق منزلهم الضخم، الذي شيده والده بحلم أن يملأه بالأطفال وأن تعيش فيه ذريته لقرون قادمة، ولكن ها هو المنزل وقد صار رمادا ً وابنه الوحيد الذي لم يستطع إنجاب غيره يغادر الوادي في حافلة، تقل أناسا ً من خارج الوادي، تمضي الحافلة حتى تشرف على الوادي من أعلى، فتتوقف ليتأمل الركاب المشهد المبهر، ذات المشهد الذي فتن الجندي الأسباني قبل أكثر من قرن، يفكر كاهن مسحور بالمكان "قد تكون هناك كنيسة صغيرة هنا حيث لا فقر ولا روائح كريهة، ولا اضطرابات، وقد تعترف رعيتي بخطايا بسيطة يكفي للتحلل منها ترديد صلاة (السلام عليك ِ يا مريم) مرات قليلة، إنه مكان يعمه الهدوء ولن يكون مسرحا ً للقاذورات وأعمال العنف التي تؤلمني وتدفعني إلى الشك أو الخجل، سيحبني سكان هذه البيوت وسينادونني: يا أبت ِ"، حتى السائق يقول للركاب وهو ينطلق بعيدا ً "قد تتصورون ما أقوله سخيفا ً، ولكني أحب أن انظر أسفل الوادي وأفكر كم تكون الحياة هادئة ومريحة بالنسبة لمن يقدر على العيش في مكان صغير كهذا".

[piperitapitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

«Una lunga valle si stendeva entro un anello di colline che la proteggevano dalla nebbia e dai venti. Disseminata di querce, era coperta di verde pastura e formicolava di cervi. Al cospetto di tanta bellezza il caporale si sentì commosso...
"Madre di Dio!" mormorò. "Questi sono i verdi pascoli del Cielo ai quali il Signore ci conduce!»

Qualcuno ha scritto che i racconti de I pascoli del cielo sembrano quasi una Spoon River dei vivi e in effetti il clima e l'atmosfera che vi si respirano la ricordano molto.
In dieci racconti John Steinbeck tratteggia i ritratti di dieci abitanti della vallata californiana dei Pascoli del cielo, membri della stessa comunità rurale agli inizi del ventesimo secolo, dando vita ad una raccolta che risulta unita non solo dalla provenienza dei protagonisti dallo stesso luogo geografico, ma anche dalla frequentazione degli stessi luoghi come l'emporio, la scuola o le fattorie, veri microcosmo in cui si muovono gli abitanti della vallata.
Quello che ne emerge è uno spaccato vitale in cui i protagonisti non restano staticamente ciascuno all'interno del proprio racconto, ma compaiono a volte anche negli altri, donando alla raccolta vivacità e al lettore la sensazione di osservare una comunità in evoluzione e continuo movimento.
In quest'opera, la prima di successo di Steinbeck, cominciamo a trovare i temi cari all'autore: la vita contadina, la ricerca di un riscatto sociale, l'importanza delle comunità rurali nella società moderna.
I racconti però, pur essendo caratterizzati da una forte capacità evocativa attraverso la quale Steinbeck riesce a descrivere passioni e sentimenti della piccola comunità, sono pervasi da un pessimismo di fondo che, a mio avviso, lascia poche speranze alla possibilità di risollevare le proprie sorti o di riuscire a cambiare il corso della propria esistenza.
Sembra quasi che la poesia e la magia con le quali Steinbeck avvolge i suoi personaggi, con una capacità descrittiva ed una sensibilità mirabili, debbano poi sempre scomparire all'improvviso, come d'incanto, per riportare protagonisti e lettore alla dura realtà della vita e al proprio immutabile destino.
Come un miraggio insomma, destinato a svanire proprio quando sembra di essere arrivati a toccarlo.
Tre stelline e mezzo, perché tanto pessimismo mi ha un po' depressa, ma leggere Steinbeck è sempre un gran bel leggere!

[Sergio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il libro che mi ha fatto conoscere John Steinbeck e mi ha aperto davanti alla mente la sconfinata letteratura americana, fatta di storie e di gente, nel bene e nel male, indimenticabile e soprattutto aver scoperto tutto questo inestimabile tesoro a soli 16 anni e senza nessuna guida adulta, animato solo dalla mia curiosità e dal mio amore nascente per la lettura

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This early Steinbeck work is a collection of interrelated stories which - except for the regular appearances of one peripheral but still pivotal family - could just as easily be seen as a group of totally separate tales.

The book's title is a misnomer, perhaps meant to suggest the 'myth' that there is a Higher Power at work in human lives. The 1995 Penguin edition I read comes with a rather tranquil cover image of a serene setting that nevertheless, in the center, contains a lone and presumably lonely figure. That's appropriate since the characters presented are marked by isolation (often self-imposed). As well, they seem much less under the eyes of Heaven than the Sword of Damocles.

So these are tragic tales, taking place through the observation of limited-thinking local folk who are often naively thrown off by the element of mystery that accompanies newcomers to the area:

This secret staring is developed to a high art among country people. They have seen every uncovered bit of you, have tabulated and memorized the clothes you are wearing, have noticed the color of your eyes and the shape of your nose, and, finally, have reduced your figure and personality to three or four adjectives, and all the time you thought they were oblivious to your presence.

The reader might anticipate that Steinbeck will occasionally (or even once) balance things out by offering a situation in which misfortune is thwarted. But, here, times of calm and progress are barely of note.

It's almost as though Steinbeck - in being black and white about 'the haves and have-nots' - is certain that the latter dominate in life. He makes convincing arguments for that, as his characters are all-too-believably burdened. He feels deeply for them, esp. when a depicted fate reads as inordinately cruel.

There are twelve stories here (11 and a coda), told economically with arresting storytelling craft.

For me, four are particularly memorable (which is to say they stand out in an overall excellent work). In story 8, a nineteen-year-old girl moves to the area to pursue a teaching position. In her interview, she remains subconsciously haunted by her upbringing; she edits what she tells. Though she prospers at first, she is undone by a nagging reality.

Story 9 will no doubt give you pause about the by-product of capital punishment.

I was hit hardest by story 10 - in which an ill-fated young man manages to find the wherewithal to successfully and admirably reinvent his sorrowful life - as life's betrayal awaits him.

Another kind of betrayal underlies story 11, in which a man's ambition of family dynasty is shown to be doomed.

By no means is this a happy reading experience - but it is an unflinching (and artfully handled) exploration of desperate measures. Steinbeck is among the essential American writers who have compassionately and incisively cornered that market.

[Lesle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pastures of Heaven a series of short stories that are linked together.
Steinbeck (who won both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize) writes of the surrounding landscape with it's beauty or desert like quality that shape the characters as they breathe and live off the land. As much as they put into their little farms is what the farm gave back in abundance or loveliness.

Each of the chapters tells a different life in the Pastures. Bert seems to have a negative affect on many. Several owners have their own challenges and try to make the best of what they were dealt with.

Steinbeck gives us stories based off of the beauty of nature and farming. The good land will reward the residents of the valley that put effort into it but he gives us families that fail with poverty and suffering. His writing draws you in and you feel as your wishes for these characters should take place that Steinbeck will listen to me and give in and make all of them successful Pastures of Heaven residents, you are vested in their lives, but his written word prevails with sadness.

Possibly there is no such thing as Heaven in Salinas?

Steinbeck has this ability to describe interesting people with their quirks and interesting antics, you should read The Pastures of Heaven.