A short novel, told like a parable, about Kino, a poor pearl diver living with his wife Juana and their baby son in a village on the coast of Mexico. When Kino finds an extraordinarily large pearl, he believes it will bring his family education, security and dignity. Instead the discovery stirs greed and suspicion among neighbours and townspeople, and the family's peace is put in danger. The book is a simple, vivid reflection on wealth, ambition and the cost of dreams.
Quotes
A plan is a real thing, and things projected are experienced. A plan once made and visualized becomes a reality along with other realities—never to be destroyed but easily to be attacked.
Luck, you see, brings bitter friends.
For every man in the world functions to the best of his ability, and no one does less than his best, no matter what he may think about it.
For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have.