“There it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon.” Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the Kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull's egg, as "perfect as the moon." With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security.... A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man's nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love. About the Authors John Steinbeck, born in Salinas, California, in 1902, grew up in a fertile agricultural valley, about twenty-five miles from the Pacific Coast. Both the valley and the coast would serve as settings for some of his best fiction. In 1919 he went to Stanford University, where he intermittently enrolled in literature and writing courses until he left in 1925 without taking a degree. During the next five years he supported himself as a laborer and journalist in New York City, all the time working on his first novel, Cup of Gold (1929). “[The Pearl] has the distinction and sincerity that are evident in everything he writes.”—The New Yorker “Form is the most important thing about him. It is at its best in this work.” —Commonweal “[Steinbeck has] long trained his prose style for such a task as this: that supple unstrained, muscular power, responsive to the slightest pull of the reins.”—Chicago Sunday Times “Di sana terlentang, mutiara yang agung, sempurna seperti bulan.” Seperti ayah dan kakeknya sebelum dia, Kino adalah seorang penyelam miskin, mengumpulkan mutiara dari dasar teluk yang pernah membawa kekayaan besar bagi Raja Spanyol dan sekarang menyediakan Kino, Juana, dan bayi laki-laki mereka dengan sedikit penghidupan. Kemudian, pada hari seperti hari lainnya, Kino muncul dari laut dengan mutiara sebesar telur camar, "sempurna seperti bulan". Dengan mutiara datang harapan, janji kenyamanan dan keamanan. Sebuah kisah kesederhanaan klasik, berdasarkan kisah rakyat Meksiko, The Pearl mengeksplorasi rahasia sifat manusia, kedalaman kejahatan yang paling gelap, dan kemungkinan cinta yang bercahaya.