From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

The Red Pony

John Steinbeck

Start date: September 1, 2017

Finish date: September 30, 2017

Discussion: Lesser Know Classics

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What Members Thought

Nov 03, 2015 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: short-stories-novellas, literary-fiction

Who captures the disappoint and tragedy of everyday life like Steinbeck? The Red Pony takes place on a farm (and for those of you who have never spent time on a real farm, I can tell you that life is hard and nature is cruel). The boy, Jody, is coming of age and being faced with what it is to be human, to cope with loss, to watch the death of dreams, and to do this in the shadow of a father who tolerates no sentimentality. The last section in this series of tales in Jody's life is the most poign ...more

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Mar 25, 2017 Jen from Quebec :0) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-i-ve-read, aty-challenge, favorites, reading-challenge-books, treasure-dig-challenge

I LOVE Steinbeck, so this *will* be a totally biased review. I have never actually read 'The Red Pony' before this, since I figured Steinbeck + animals = sadness. Of course, yes, I was right in that point. BUT it is still worth a read. Steinbeck captures the western part of the American era of the Dustbowl so well it is as though the setting is always another one of his characters! 'The Red Pony' is actually 4 little stories about a boy named Jody living on a ranch with his parents and Billy, th ...more

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Apr 02, 2015 Zuzana rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, 2015-challenge, short-stories

4 short stories about young boy growing up on a horse ranch in California. It's Steinbeck. Expect death and depression. ...more

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Jul 04, 2025 adele rated it liked it

Shelves: classic-shelf

More dry and simple than I’ve read from Steinbeck, but he is still able to create a beautiful setting and flushed out characters, even when there is not much plot. Life and death are all around us, and the days keep coming and going.

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