John Steinbeck - 3 great books

John Earnest Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was one of the most famous American novelists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962, though his popularity with readers never was matched by that of the literary critics.

He was born in Salinas, California. The Salinas area, including the Salinas Valley, Monterey, and parts of the nearby San Joaquin Valley, acted as a setting for many of his stories. Because of his feeling for local color, the area is now sometimes called "Steinbeck Country".

The Pearl
Kino, a poor Mexican pearl fisher, finds a valuable pearl. Yet instead of bringing blessings, the pearl acts as a harbinger of misfortune to Kino and his wife, Juana. Ultimately, it is returned from whence it came. Steinbeck's parable, originally published in 1947, is a well-written retelling of an old Mexican folktale. Hector Elizondo, with his fine voice and great diction, reads with sincerity, keeping this simple, tragic tale moving toward its inevitable conclusion
Of Mice and Men
It tells the tragic story of George and Lennie, two displaced Anglo migrant farm workers during the Great Depression. Lennie is a large strong man with the mind of a child, and George is a small man with a quick wit who cares for him. The title of the story refers to a line in "To a Mouse" by the Scottish poet Robert Burns--a reference to plans gone awry. George and Lennie hope to save up enough money to buy a small farm of their own (Lennie is obsessed with the prospect of caring for rabbits), but this goal always remains out of reach
This story is a simple one in many ways. It's about the Depression, class relations, friendship, and how we treat people with disabilities. It has as much relevance today as it did when it first came out. I read it years ago, and I still remember it. Lenny 's an archetypical character.
The Moon is down
It was written in 1942 during World War II when Steinbeck worked as a reporter. The story details a military occupation of a small town in Northern Europe by the army of an unnamed nation at war with England and Russia. It is a very transparent reference to the occupation of Norway by the Germans during World War II