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115 reviews for:
Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History
John Steinbeck
3.32 AVERAGE
115 reviews for:
Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History
John Steinbeck
3.32 AVERAGE
You can tell that this is Steinbeck’s first novel because the story really is all over the place… I mean, what is Merlin (yes, the wizard from the Arthurian legends) doing in there? And the whole plot about the woman saint? A much better title would have been “A life of sir Henry Morgan, whiny child who thinks he’s a buccaneer”
And people actually thought that this was non fiction! Kinda sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, but the writing was good of course and there were some enjoyable bits here and there. If Steinbeck would have been able to rewrite it, I think it could have been a 5 star book.
And people actually thought that this was non fiction! Kinda sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, but the writing was good of course and there were some enjoyable bits here and there. If Steinbeck would have been able to rewrite it, I think it could have been a 5 star book.
Not my favorite Steinbeck but a brilliant portal of a man driven mad by desire to the point where obtaining said desires no longer holds any value. The obsession with conquest is well portrayed.
I believe that if you forget that Steinbeck wrote this and just enjoy the novel for what it is, more people would think it wonderful. It's just a perfect summer read next to a beach, wishing you were a pirate with morals.
If I didn't know Steinbeck had written this book, I may have liked it more. There were moments when I saw the prose I've come to love kind of shine through, but mostly a disappointing read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ich hab mehr erwartet. Im ende war es nur eine Geschichte über einen Piraten aus Whales.
Zwar war es echt interessant und überausspannend zu lesen wir 1600 Frankreich, England sich Lateinamerkia aufteilten und das Piraten es wirklich gab.
Steinbeck hat meiner meinung nach keine so starke Haupfigur entwickelt. Klar hat man die ganze zeit über die Motive von Macht und der Gier nach dem Stereben danach gelesen auch die Frage wie findet man erfüllung.
Nicht mein lieblingswerk von ihm
Zwar war es echt interessant und überausspannend zu lesen wir 1600 Frankreich, England sich Lateinamerkia aufteilten und das Piraten es wirklich gab.
Steinbeck hat meiner meinung nach keine so starke Haupfigur entwickelt. Klar hat man die ganze zeit über die Motive von Macht und der Gier nach dem Stereben danach gelesen auch die Frage wie findet man erfüllung.
Nicht mein lieblingswerk von ihm
To be a fair critic of this book, you'd need to not know who the author was before you started the book. As a first book, it doesn't deserve to carry the literary stigma of The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men. And it is a stigma, because any reader who has read those books will go looking for at least the seed of what was to become some of the greatest writing of the 20th century, and if it's a readers first Steinbeck, they're going to be expecting to see what is so great about his work. Unfortunately for this book, it just wasn't there yet. And of course it shouldn't be, how many really good authors do their best work first? That's not to say this is bad writing, rookie Steinbeck is still better that 50% of what I've read. The theme, a young man dreams of more, believes he can obtain it through hard work, and then discovers that life isn't that simple (okay, so there's that seed of future Steinbeck) is portrayed through a fictionalized version of the life of the very real pirate/privateer Henry Morgan. There's an odd sort of realism to the book, Steinbeck's pirates do have pillage and torture, rape is alluded to, they make use of the services of prostitutes, but there's no mention of them killing anyone when they do these things. Whole Spanish ships are captured through the use of fire and canonball, but there would appear to be no casualties. That lack of finality weakens the story tremendously, and when Morgan does kill two members of his own crew, one that he's grown very attached to, it makes the previous omissions of mortality all the more obvious.
I'd go with 2 1/2 stars if I could, but I'll bump it up because a)Steinbeck and b) Pirate.
I'd go with 2 1/2 stars if I could, but I'll bump it up because a)Steinbeck and b) Pirate.
A fun swashbuckling tale that reveals the tragedy behind the hero. Disney this is not.
3.8 stars
This was a book club pick. Not a book I would have picked on my own to read. The subject matter, pirates, can easily bore me. I found this book too long and boring at time, but still can say it was not only enjoyable but so well written. Steinbeck is truly one of the greats!
This was a book club pick. Not a book I would have picked on my own to read. The subject matter, pirates, can easily bore me. I found this book too long and boring at time, but still can say it was not only enjoyable but so well written. Steinbeck is truly one of the greats!
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced