Although all three of these short novels are gems in their own right, reading them as a group wove a literary tapestry of intense emotions, sadness, well defined characters and an acknowledgement of the human condition. They were for me so powerful and captivating that at times I had to stop reading to absorb the beauty of the words. Each character came alive with their diverse personalities and each story had a sense of intrigue.
The Pearl a parable has for many years been used as a school textbook to illuminate the immorality of the pearl buyers and the Doctor. It affords a lot of discussion on greed and evil. However the story also exposes the naivety of Kino an impoverished fisherman and his natural intuitive sense that is suppressed, as he is uneducated and fearful of imposing his will against that of those who are. There is also the issue gender violence when he strikes his wife Juanita because she expresses her fear about trying to improve their way of life in raising enough money to provide themselves with new clothes, getting married in the church and giving his son Coyotito an education. I felt such apprehension whilst reading as it was inevitable that the ending was going to be sad and violent. I had read the book before and I was surprised how much I remembered except the ending!I do feel in our current society trying to escape poverty, improving our lives and striving to succeed is a valued and admired ideal. In fact there is a whole economy based on this idea in buying lottery tickers and gambling.
With Address Unknown once again there is a gender issue as the publishers decide the book is too strong for a woman to have written it and change Katherine Kressman’s name to Kressman Taylor.
The exchange of the letters between the two friends introduces the reader to the rise of Nazism in Germany and how the minds and hearts of the German population were won over by Hitler was remarkably crafted. The brevity of her writing manages to encompass the horror of the outcome of Nazi ideology and the historical nightmare that followed. The emotional impact of their letters reveals the betrayal of their friendship leading to revenge and destruction. Remarkable too was that it was written as America was unaware of what was happening in Germany at that time. I guess that would be difficult these days with technology and social media keeping the global village of the world connected.
Then of course The Snow Goose which will remain for Michele and myself one of our family favourites. There are no words that can express the beauty of this haunting tale. It is so sad and yet speaks of courage, love and tenacity in Philip. It also reminds us of how we judge by physical appearance and judge or fear that which is deformed or “ugly”. Frith manages to see the “ the lonely heart filled with love, pity and understanding beneath the grotesque shape. I am so delighted have the opportunity to have read the book again.
I give all three a 10.
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