Ted's Reviews > The Long Valley

Published in 1938, this is a collection of thirteen short stories. All but one of the stories are set in the Salinas Valley of California, where Steinbeck was born and spent his formative years. The stories are a mixed bag: featuring incidents from daily life, domestic relations, social innuendo, political violence and in general, the hardscrabble realities of the 1930s. The writing is quintessential Steinbeck, with beautiful descriptions of place, atmosphere and weather; well-drawn characters; and dialogue that reflects the times. As with all collections of this type, some stories have more appeal than others. I "liked" all of the stories but found that only a handful had special appeal - these were:

“The Chrysanthemums”... because of the way it zoomed in on the character of Elisa, her marriage and the place of women in small town, semi-rural California of the 1930s.
“Flight”... for its sustained tension and suspense.
“The Snake”... for its overall weirdness.
“Saint Katy the Virgen”... for its satire and comic relief.
“The Red Pony”... for all of its information about horses and for depicting a fairly stable marriage partnership.

3+ stars