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112 reviews for:
Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History
John Steinbeck
112 reviews for:
Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History
John Steinbeck
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Started off very strong, all plot all action which was fun and engaging and made for a great page-turner. Didn't go too much into the battles themselves and I could've used a little more extrapolation. But once they got to the Cup of Gold, the energy and pace of the novel disappeared. It ended soon enough but it was a real downer after the first 3/5 of the book.
Pirates! Steinbeck! Unbeatable combination, yes?
No. Pretty universally accepted as his weakest (and first) book. But still some good stuff in there. I like how he's somehow able to work Merlin (?) into a historical pirate novel, and he handles the Sabatini aspects really well, considering he never bothered with a historical setting again. Oddly, the weaknesses are in the usual Steinbeck strengths. Still, fun, with pirates and all, sacking Panama and whatnot, and the beginning/end are really odd and lovely. And it's a quickie, so hardly an East of Eden commitment.
No. Pretty universally accepted as his weakest (and first) book. But still some good stuff in there. I like how he's somehow able to work Merlin (?) into a historical pirate novel, and he handles the Sabatini aspects really well, considering he never bothered with a historical setting again. Oddly, the weaknesses are in the usual Steinbeck strengths. Still, fun, with pirates and all, sacking Panama and whatnot, and the beginning/end are really odd and lovely. And it's a quickie, so hardly an East of Eden commitment.
Cup of Gold is an historical fiction account of the life of Sir Henry Morgan. Morgan was a buccaneer in the 1600s who was known to be utterly ruthless.
When you read parts of the introduction in this edition, you are left with the impression that this book is going to be a weird, far-out type of story. It does include appearances of Merlin in a swashbuckling tale. However, I didn’t think it was far out at all! In this fictional work we have an account of a pirate told in classic Steinbeck style. Brilliant, descriptive, evocative.
Steinbeck really gets into the thought process of Morgan and shows how Morgan was obsessed with fame, glory, and even wealth. He touches on certain topics in such a poignant way that powerfully unveils the cause and effect triangle created. And he doesn’t shy away from showing horrific actions committed by the buccaneers and their cohorts.
I really think Steinbeck did an excellent job of bringing Sir Henry Morgan to life on the page. I also appreciated that he gave historical context. Some of the beliefs/ideals of the time are angering and really hard to swallow. But the historical context is important.
Even though this was Steinbeck’s first novel, you can still see classic Steinbeck writing very present in it – like his ability to paint descriptions with his words. Here’s a sample of the brilliant descriptive writing:
“They were come to the home of Summer, whence it goes yearly to the northern places. In the day the sun was a glaring brass cymbal, the sky washed out and livid around it, and at night the big fishes swam about the ship with curving rivers of pale fire flowing behind them….” (p. 49)
“After a time the boats came to a land where the thick jungle rolled to the river’s edge and stopped in a curving crest, like a frozen green wave. There were spotted tigers cruising along through the trees, watching the men with a sad curiosity. Now and then a great snake slipped from the warm log where it had been dozing in the sun, and floated in the water, rearing up its head to see this unheard of procession. Whole clans of excited monkeys dashed about among the vines, pretending to hate disturbance. They howled their indignation and hurled leaves and twigs at the boats…” (p. 118)
I read that one should not go into this book expecting it to be on the level of The Grapes of Wrath indicating that Steinbeck's writing is more amateurish in this first novel. However, I certainly didn’t feel like Steinbeck’s writing was amateurish at all, which I imagine is probably obvious in my comments so far. 🙂 I think this first novel of his was well written overall (despite the fact that there was some confusion on some names early on…..). I really enjoyed this one!
When you read parts of the introduction in this edition, you are left with the impression that this book is going to be a weird, far-out type of story. It does include appearances of Merlin in a swashbuckling tale. However, I didn’t think it was far out at all! In this fictional work we have an account of a pirate told in classic Steinbeck style. Brilliant, descriptive, evocative.
Steinbeck really gets into the thought process of Morgan and shows how Morgan was obsessed with fame, glory, and even wealth. He touches on certain topics in such a poignant way that powerfully unveils the cause and effect triangle created. And he doesn’t shy away from showing horrific actions committed by the buccaneers and their cohorts.
I really think Steinbeck did an excellent job of bringing Sir Henry Morgan to life on the page. I also appreciated that he gave historical context. Some of the beliefs/ideals of the time are angering and really hard to swallow. But the historical context is important.
Even though this was Steinbeck’s first novel, you can still see classic Steinbeck writing very present in it – like his ability to paint descriptions with his words. Here’s a sample of the brilliant descriptive writing:
“They were come to the home of Summer, whence it goes yearly to the northern places. In the day the sun was a glaring brass cymbal, the sky washed out and livid around it, and at night the big fishes swam about the ship with curving rivers of pale fire flowing behind them….” (p. 49)
“After a time the boats came to a land where the thick jungle rolled to the river’s edge and stopped in a curving crest, like a frozen green wave. There were spotted tigers cruising along through the trees, watching the men with a sad curiosity. Now and then a great snake slipped from the warm log where it had been dozing in the sun, and floated in the water, rearing up its head to see this unheard of procession. Whole clans of excited monkeys dashed about among the vines, pretending to hate disturbance. They howled their indignation and hurled leaves and twigs at the boats…” (p. 118)
I read that one should not go into this book expecting it to be on the level of The Grapes of Wrath indicating that Steinbeck's writing is more amateurish in this first novel. However, I certainly didn’t feel like Steinbeck’s writing was amateurish at all, which I imagine is probably obvious in my comments so far. 🙂 I think this first novel of his was well written overall (despite the fact that there was some confusion on some names early on…..). I really enjoyed this one!
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes