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Product Review Summary: respectable but clearly a first novel Cup of Gold is the first novel by John Steinbeck and shows it. The dialogue and description are mawkish and show the influences of Donn Byrne and James Cabell who Steinbeck admired in his youth.Steinbeck becomes more restrained in his prose later on and he wrote about hings he was better at writing about but Cup of Gold is worth reading it shows glimpses of his skill in the characterization and the way Steinbeck is efficient in moving his story and getting you involved
Product Review Summary: Life lessons woven into story "Cup of Gold" is Steinbeck's first published novel. Although it is not as well-written as his more famous novels--"East of Eden" or "The Grapes of Wrath"--it is still an entertaining tale with some interesting life lessons woven into the narrative.
Product Review Summary: Steinbeck's first novel
This was John Steinbeck's first novel and it explores the idea of the great man who is unconvinced of his own greatness. The story is about pirate Henry Morgan who, through perseverance, pluck, intelligence, and bravery becomes the most feared pirate in the Caribbean, eventually capturing "The Cup of Gold" - Panama. He hopes, along with this prize, to gain the love of the beautiful La Santa Roja. But she spurns him and out of bitterness Morgan ransoms her to her husband for 20,000 pieces of eight. Now he begins to doubt himself and his accomplishments and goes into a funk that even being knighted and being made the governor of Jamaica can't cure. He dies a mysterious death in his sleep.
Shakespeare wrote, "Many men have died and worms have eaten them, but not for love," but Morgan never got the message. He loses La Santa Roja and he's a goner. Unfortunately, Steinbeck hadn't developed the means yet to really capture what was going on with his characters. His writing seems unnatural and affected by the 17th century setting than anything real. The historical novel was not his forte, and he never attempted another one. This initial effort was not a good indication of what talented work lay ahead.
Product Review Summary: Priceless Jewel "Cup of Gold" is described as being the tale of Sir Henry Morgan with occasional references to history. Being unfamiliar with pirate folklore, I am not certain what aspects of the book are fact. I am certain that this book is divergent from Steinbeck's usual path of storytelling. This is a play of the morals and the values of society as Steinbeck usually discusses. However, the story is set far away from Steinbeck's familiar California backdrop.
When Henry Morgan leaves home to explore the Indies in search of riches, he leaves behind a loving family and his young love Elizabeth. After several interruptions including being sold into slavery, Henry has the opportunity to reach for success. Using money he has earned, he leases a pirate ship to begin his conquests. Using his unorthodox methods, he expands his fleet to respectability. However, one thing still alludes him, love. He tries to gain love through friendship, but longs for the love of La Santa Roja. Henry conquers the ultimate prize in Panama with the explicit goal of finding La Santa Roja. However, Henry is devastated to find that this fiery woman is beyond his control. Realizing his failure, he abandons the pirate life and attempts to return to a life of legitimacy. Even through this path and his marriage to his cousin, he finds he still lacks love. On his deathbed he realizes the love his wife has for him, but his lack of love during his life makes him feel like a failure. In death, he realizes he never really had anything.
"Cup of Gold" explores the ultimate conflict that exists between love and power. The lust for power is so insatiable that it can make one unable to be loved or to give love. While in the story it applies to a wealthy man, it is a reality for the common man as well. While using a pirate's life as a device to present this moral may seem to alienate some readers, I would suggest this book is on par with Steinbeck's other work. It is a masterpiece.
Product Review Summary: Not Vintage Steinbeck; Good Nonetheless A number of reviewers have given this novel single stars, and I am truly at a loss as to the reason. "Cup Of Gold" is not vintage Steinbeck. The characters are more flat and less motivated than in his classic novels, and there always seems to be an underlying question of "where is this book taking us, and why should we care?"However, bearing all that in mind, "COG" is a fairly well-written novel about two things: how greatness arises from childish ambition, and how even the most lauded of conquerers are laden with insecurities and doubts. Despite some of the callowness of the characters (mainly Morgan), I found myself enjoying this novel, and seeing a lot of depth within...but a detached depth. In fact, I likened it to Kubrick's fine film "Barry Lyndon" which is more focused on observing a character's traits than drawing any conclusions about him. Steinbeck never tries to beat you over the head with the fact that Morgan is / was a deceitful, ambitious and insecure zealot who cares far more about his reputation and how he is perceived than any of his actual accomplishments. Instead, the reader is left to absorb all this and shake one's head with a grim smile at the commonality of truth regarding people such as Morgan. I contend that this book is well-written, despite some obvious foibles of a first-time novelist. Certain words were used too frequently ("cried" as a synonym of "said" was annoyingly common) and it lacks the gentle flow that many of Steinbeck's novels offer, but there is certainly a depth here that forms the basis of many of his later themes. So before you judge this book by other reviews here, consider the power of a few early sentences in this novel: "Why do men like me want sons?...it must be because they hope in their poor beaten souls that these new men, who are their blood, will do the things they were not strong enough nor wise enough nor brave enough to do. It is rather like another chance with life; like a new bag of coins at a table of luck after your fortune is gone."
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