Rating: 
Summary: A mixed bag, but mostly memorable gems
Review: This collection of stories, all of them written in the early 1930s, includes several classic Steinbeck tales. The most famous is, of course, "The Red Pony"; all four "parts" appear here and comprise a third of the volume. Some readers mistakenly identify these four tales as a novella, but the stories, while interrelated, are self-contained. (Only the first part is about a red pony; it is also the best of the lot. The fourth part, "The Leader of the People," was added to "The Red Pony" years later, when the four stories were collected into a separate edition.) While often taught in schools, these stories were never meant for very young children--in spite of the title and the subject matter. Concerning a young boy and his relationship with his parents and a wise ranch hand, they are about aging and dying, growing up and growing old, and learning that one's elders are not invincible. But there are other treasures in "The Long Valley" as well; what is unique about a few of the stories is that, for once, Steinbeck creates distinctive female characters. My favorites are "The Chrysanthemums," about a young woman's dashed dreams; "The White Quail," about a husband's betrayal of his wife's trust; "Flight," about a hunted fugitive; and "The Vigilante," about a lynching--told from the point of view of one of the perpetrators. Far less impressive are "The Snake," which aspires to Poe but is mostly unpleasant, and "The Raid," one of Steinbeck's many (and least inspiring) narratives concerning labor conflict. The odd story in this collection is "Saint Katy the Virgin," a satirical fable set in the Middle Ages about a demonic pig that converts to Catholicism. It's a hoot.
| 
