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avirp22's review against another edition
5.0
A diverse collection of stories from one of the greatest writers of all time. Most of the stories feel as if you are living them out. The exception is Saint Katie the Virgin, the story of a pig in the Middle Ages. Even that is Steinbeck's hands is great.
toejben's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
rfw's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
The stories all end abruptly, which maybe makes sense if you consider many of them are early sketches of Steinbeck’s later works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Blood
Minor: Suicide
This collection featured many racial slurs, overt misogyny and one story centered around the lynching of a Black man.trillyrobinson's review against another edition
4.0
I bought this book in October in Berkeley at Pegasus Books with "Cup Of Gold" and "America And Americans"
The Long Valley is a collection of short stories from Steinbeck that he began writing with The Pastures of Heaven and To A God Unknown, but didn't publish as a collection until 1938. Included in The Long Valley are the stories "Saint Katy The Virgin" and "The Red Pony" which have are two of his most popular short stories and were published on their own outside of this volume, as well.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories, which apart from "Saint Katy The Virgin" all take place in Salinas or Monterey and further illustrate the great descriptive storytelling of Steinbeck and the people he knew best. A few of the stories even have female main characters, which is something seldom seen from Steinbeck and offers a new perspective on his work. Many of the stories seem to end suddenly, without a whole lot of the moral structure stories are supposed to have, which may upset some people, leaving the stories open, but for me, this is why Steinbeck is great. His stories don't have to have huge climaxes and resolutions, and throughout the The Long Valley, he is illustrating everyday life for the people of the valley, just giving us a real, human glimpse into the life at the time. It's real, and it comes off that way.
The Long Valley is a collection of short stories from Steinbeck that he began writing with The Pastures of Heaven and To A God Unknown, but didn't publish as a collection until 1938. Included in The Long Valley are the stories "Saint Katy The Virgin" and "The Red Pony" which have are two of his most popular short stories and were published on their own outside of this volume, as well.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories, which apart from "Saint Katy The Virgin" all take place in Salinas or Monterey and further illustrate the great descriptive storytelling of Steinbeck and the people he knew best. A few of the stories even have female main characters, which is something seldom seen from Steinbeck and offers a new perspective on his work. Many of the stories seem to end suddenly, without a whole lot of the moral structure stories are supposed to have, which may upset some people, leaving the stories open, but for me, this is why Steinbeck is great. His stories don't have to have huge climaxes and resolutions, and throughout the The Long Valley, he is illustrating everyday life for the people of the valley, just giving us a real, human glimpse into the life at the time. It's real, and it comes off that way.
nurimbet's review against another edition
4.0
One of the earlier works of Steinbeck, this short stories collection seems to be an experimental ground for his later great novels such as Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle and Cannery Row etc. It seems like Steinbeck was trying different styles e.g. some of the stories sounded very Hemingway-esque to me. Overall a great read if you would like a "trailer" for Steinbeck's novels.
dinsdale's review against another edition
4.0
This is a nice collection of Steinbeck short stories, and includes the novella, The Red Pony (all four parts). Most of the short stories are set in his Salinas Valley and are not feel good reading. But it's Steinbeck and you'll be wowed by his writing, vivid characters, and well painted settings. The stories and my grades are as follows:
The Chrysanthemums: a sad woman and her flowers - 5*
The White Quail: a garden-obsessed woman and her jealous husband - 4*
Flight: a lazy son is on the run - 4*
The Snake: a mysterious woman admires a scientist's rattle snake - 4*
Breakfast: a very short and quaint tale of a camp breakfast - 4*
The Raid: two guys prepare for a raid on their building - 2*
The Harness: an odd tale of a widower who wore a harness for posture - 3*
The Vigilante: post-lynching conversation in a bar about what happened - 4*
Johnny Bear: a mimic goes too far, bizarre - 5*
The Murder: an odd marriage takes an odder twist - 4*
St. Katy the Virgin: the strange tale of Katy the pig - 3*
The Red Pony: reviewed previously
I'm looking forward to reading more Steinbeck. He's one of my favorites.
The Chrysanthemums: a sad woman and her flowers - 5*
The White Quail: a garden-obsessed woman and her jealous husband - 4*
Flight: a lazy son is on the run - 4*
The Snake: a mysterious woman admires a scientist's rattle snake - 4*
Breakfast: a very short and quaint tale of a camp breakfast - 4*
The Raid: two guys prepare for a raid on their building - 2*
The Harness: an odd tale of a widower who wore a harness for posture - 3*
The Vigilante: post-lynching conversation in a bar about what happened - 4*
Johnny Bear: a mimic goes too far, bizarre - 5*
The Murder: an odd marriage takes an odder twist - 4*
St. Katy the Virgin: the strange tale of Katy the pig - 3*
The Red Pony: reviewed previously
I'm looking forward to reading more Steinbeck. He's one of my favorites.
stephen_ray's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I dearly love Steinbeck, this collection of short stories stands alone as the singular title of his that I found almost hard to finish. I came to this short story collection expecting the slice of life humanity of perhaps Cannery Row or Tortilla Flat, maybe a touch of transcendence like East of Eden, but was very surprised to actively dislike the book. Some gems of bittersweet social commentary stood out like The Chrysanthemums and The Raid. (Vigilante had an almost Faulkner-esque horror to it.) But then you get absolute oddities like Saint Katy the Virgin, which (while I enjoy the criticism and/or satire of establishments) was just downright and unexplainably bad. Perhaps I’ll give this a rest and give it a re-read in a different season.
eveblunden's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
xystophi's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75