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

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.

With over 1650 reviews already (July 2014), it's hard to know where to being, or if saying anything will be of any consequence. But it seems the beginning of this appreciation has been given to me: most of the reviews seem to be from students or teachers who read one of the six novellas her, and reviewed that one. I have read them all. When I was in high school, I always got booted into advanced English classes, so while everyone else was reading of Mice and Men or The Pearl, I was reading something contemporary and "advanced." So I ended up missing out reading Steinbeck almost entirely (with the exception of Travels with Charlie, which was hot in my sophomore year and considered "cutting edge.") But over time I came to be familiar with most of these tales. There are films of all of them but The Pearl, of Mice and Men is frequently presented theatrically on the stage (and there's a new opera based on it), and I've know the Copland music for The Red Pony since I became a classical music fan in my teens. So I discovered that Penguin put these little gems together in a single volume and resolved to read it cover to cover this summer, in my early 60s. It has been an adventure, discovering how Steinbeck's style became more economical, more compressed over the critical years from 1933 (The Red Pony, when he was 31) until 1947 (The Pearl, when he was 45). He's attracted to strong stories about ordinary people and, from the very beginning, applies an academic craftsman's took kit to issues such as narrative arc and pacing. It's common to shrug him off as an American socialist, campaigning on behalf of the poor during the years of the Great Depression and World War II, but he is (1) not alone among American artists in that regard, and (2) so much more than that. The big surprise, by the way, is The Moon Is Down, an unexpected parable set in Europe early in World War II. I read a plea for sanity into the book, a plea for distance and objectivity in the face of the imperatives inherent in unrelenting evil bent on conquest. In the end, and with an eye on all the amazon.com reviews focused on one or another of the early novellas, my plea is that any potential reader sit down with the book, open it to the first page, and don't stop reading until the last. It's an amazing experience, one of those "Aha!" moments on why he was famous in the '40s and '50s and why he will be an enduring name in American literature in the future (pacem The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden).

This book has a lot of great titles and is a great deal, but sometimes the formatting is off and lines of text were cut off.

This a beautiful book! The page edges are rough-cut but meant to be that way; stylish. I've been reading Steinbeck's writing journals and wanted to read some of his shorter works, and this is a great collection. At first I was disappointed that there were no footnotes, b/c I always enjoy the explanations and references in Penguin editions, but I'm enjoying reading the book so much that I've decided I don't miss them. I am so glad I came across this volume of novellas!

Great read. I enjoyed reading this. Was fun after visiting Monterey numerous times to finally read cannery row. Have fun. 😊

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!

It’s not 5 small books. It’s one big one. But I still love it. I started with Cannary Row. Steinbeck is amazing.

Very pleased with this book. The dust cover says Book Club but it is a mismatch to the book which seems to be a true first edition. I don't think that was mentioned in the description but it was a fair price for this book.

Très mauvaise qualité de fabrication. Les pages sont massicotées n'importe comment.

名作をいつでも読めるように、Kindleに入れておくため購入しました。

Most of the reviews of 1 star are incorrect. If you read further down on the information about the book. They are printed with a "deckle edge" that means it is supposed to look almost worn and roughly edge to give an older look and more like original printing methods. Excellent book of shorter Steinbeck novels

Steinbeck is one of my favourite authors. You won't want to miss the Pearl, or Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath is the best book ever written about the effects of drought and severe weather events on human structures. More important, Steinbeck cuts to the chase on human dynamics in an every changing society where morals, values and customs are thrown away as easily as plastic bags and straws with disastrous impacts on the poor and the natural environment. Get a glimpse of Steinbeck's work through this set of short stories. A great introduction.

Cut very poorly. I would expect better from Penguin.