The Long Valley (Twentieth-Century
Classics) by John Steinbeck
The Heart And Soul Of California
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John
Steinbeck remains one of America’s greatest writers and cultural figures.
We have begun publishing his many works for the first time as blackspine
Penguin Classics featuring eye-catching, newly commissioned art. This
season we continue with the seven spectacular and influential books East
of Eden, Cannery Row, In Dubious Battle, The Long Valley, The Moon Is
Down, The Pastures of Heaven, and Tortilla Flat. Penguin Classics is
proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and
to the many who revisit them again and again.
Personal Review: The Long Valley (Twentieth-Century Classics)
by John Steinbeck
Of Steinbeck's short stories, I wonder if "The Red Pony" is perhaps the
best known, or at least the most widely read in high school or college

literature survey courses? Or perhaps that distinction belongs to "The
Chrysanthemums." In any event, those are the only two stories from this
collection that I can recall having read elsewhere, leaving the other eleven
to delight me with their novelty. The "delight," however, is that which
comes with the discovery of intensely thought-provoking stories, not, with
one exception, the delight that comes from encountering light-hearted,
uplifting tales of an optimistic bent, for that is far from Steinbeck's style.
For the most part, the short stories reveal the same dark universe in which
unenlightened and certainly unsaved men struggle to survive, a struggle
that they occasionally lose, spiritually if not physically. A certain hunger,
an unfulfilled need, and a pre-ordained suffering doom most of Steinbeck's
characters. Existence is filled with cruel ironies that dash hope upon the
vicious and inescapable rocks of reality. We see happiness in a vicarious
dream of escaping the entrapment of an unchanging existence dashed by
a pile of flowers unceremoniously dumped in the road. A youth's
attainment of manhood is marked not by joy but by the guilt of a murder,
ruthless pursuit, and a hard rifle bullet. We see the cultural anchor of a
town destroyed by an unimaginable sin. And so the stories go.
Apropos of Steinbeck's view of the human condition is the title of the
collection. While "the long valley" certainly describes California's Salinas
River valley, the general setting for many of Steinbeck's stories, it also
suggests the spiritual valley in which his characters typically dwell.
One may argue that the people in Steinbeck's stories bring suffering upon
themselves through their own ignorance and unthinking acts. Yet, if we
look closely at their intents and motivations, we often see situations unfold
that seem to force the characters into the acts that in turn become their
undoing. It is as if the Fates play with men and rejoice in their destruction.
Earlier, though, I mentioned an exception to this dark, brooding
atmosphere and theme. The exceptional story is "Saint Katy the Virgin."
This story is not what one expects to find in Steinbeck. It is a wonderful bit
of humorous satire, lightheartedly poking a little fun at some of the tenets
of Catholicism. Had Steinbeck written his major novels in this vein, his
reputation would have been that of a sublime humorist.
I recommend this collection of short stories to two very different groups of
readers, those who have never read Steinbeck before and wish to sample
several brief selections before investing their interest in a major novel, and
those who have enjoyed Steinbeck's other works already and should not
neglect his short stories. All will discover that these stories are fast paced,
interest holding, and thought provoking. I believe I shall now go light a
candle to Saint Katy the Virgin. Won't you come along and join me by
enjoying her story also?
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