Below are comments about the book various people throughout the world:
"The parable that Steinbeck tells is a wonderful description of today's greedy corporate society."
- Ben Taylor from Illinois
"Steinbeck uses his ways of writing to get the reader to feel the same emotions as Kino and his family feel."
- A 12-year-old reader from Clark, New Jersey
"He narrates a story that illustrates how sometimes what we consider "success" can have less than advantageous results for the right individual . . . . Sometimes the gift of bad fortune comes wrapped in pretty paper."
- Keith Hunt from Houston, Texas
"There's something to be said for an author who can make his point so clearly in such a short novel without ever actually stating it, and Steinbeck has pulled it off beautifully."
- Ivan Askwith from Silver Spring, Maryland
"The magic of this book is that not a word is wasted and every sentence is loaded with meaning . . . It also serves to remind the reader that wealth and status cannot buy happiness."
- An anonymous reader from Australia
"Steinbeck delicately spins the threads of evil and greed and materialism in man and his society and touches upon the jealousy and injustice inherent in co-existence. In a symbolic finale Juana gives up the pearl but only after paying the heavy price!"
- An anonymous reader from Calcutta, India