I really enjoyed this book because it was very dramatic and entertaining throughout the book. It was relatively short but got to the main story line quickly and the book was easy to read and understand. The book starts out with a indian man named Kino living in Mexico, waking up next to his wife, Juana, and his infant son Coyotito. Coyotito gets stung by a scorpion and Juana tries to suck out the poison. They go to the doctor in the nearby city of Laz Pa and they coudn't pay for the doctor because they were too poor. Kino is a pearl diver and goes out to dive with his family in hopes of finding a pearl to pay for the doctor and when he dives he finds a huge pearl which they call the pearl of the world. Coyotito seems to have healed from the scorpion bite. Everyone in their neighborhood and the city seems to hear about the discovery of the pearl Kino found. The orignial doctor comes to his house in order to check up on his son, but he really wanted some of the money Kino got from obtaining the pearl. After the doctor supposedly cured Coyotito from the Scorpion bite Kino said he couldn't pay him until he sold the pearl. The next morning they go into the city to sell it but Kino feels he is getting cheated by the pearl buyers so he doesn't sell it them.
he wants to have enough money so he can marry Juana, buy a rifle and Coyotito can go to school. That evening they get attacked by a dark figure. Kino plans to go and sell the pearl in the capital which is very far away. That night another attacker comes and hurts Kino. In the middle of that night Kino wakes up to Juana trying to run away with the pearl to destroy it because she beleives it brings bad luck and nothing good comes out of it. Kino catches her and beats her. As he is making his way back to the house a group of men assault him and Kino kills one of the attackers. They flee to his brother Juan Tomas's house while their house is burned and they realize they have to flee the city. That next morning they leave the city for the mountains up north and then move to the cities up north. They walk up to the mountains and they stop to rest and Kino sees a search group coming for them. They flee from the searchers into the mountain. While the search group is resting and Kino plans to kill them. All of a sudden Coyotito starts to cry and the searchers kill him thinking he was a coyote. Kino then pounces on them and kills them. They return to the city and throw the pearl back into the water. I recommend this book for someone who is looking for symbolism of wealth and greed in society, also for someone who is interested in Mexican indian culture and poverty. The book is 90 pages. ( )

So hard to put down. I cried. You should too! Enough said. ( )

Mr. Steinbeck did a great job with such a timeless story. My heart went out to Kino and his family. They deserved better than what happened to them, but the moral behind the story is the lesson learned by the reader. ( )

This little book is full with timeless symbols about life,wealth and society. Everybody can find someting else that`s important for himself.
For me it was : Beware, sometimes you get what you wish for!
Another great story from Steinbeck ( )

Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com

Kino and his wife, Juana, have a beautiful baby boy, but one morning he gets stung by a scorpion. He is rushed to the doctor, who will not treat him because they have no form of payment.

The parents get in their boat to look for a pearl to use as payment, and, amazingly, find one that is referred to as the "moon" -- and is about the size of a goose egg.

What happens when they go to the dealers to collect their money? You'll have to read this classic novel to find out.

THE PEARL is a very short book that, honestly, I wouldn't have chosen to read except that it's for school. It's a very basic story, but everything in the book also has a double meaning, which is thought-provoking. ( )