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That the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry is something John Steinbeck is very familiar with, making this idea thematically central to many of his works, yet in Burning Bright we see this idea befalling his own book. It is a ‘play-novelette� as he called it, not unlike The Moon Is Down, though here the mixture of prose and play-format dialogue swings heavily towards the dialogue. It tells the story of a couple, Joe Saul—one of Steinbeck’s signature ‘everyman� characters—and his with Mordeen who, wanting to give a child to her husband but fearing he is sterile, gets pregnant with Joe’s arrogant assistant, Victor. Rounding out the cast is Ed, Joe’s best and most loyal friend, and across four different settings the characters discuss their situation and muse about life in typical Steinbeck fashion. Unfortunately, this comes across rather stilted and while the dialogue has some beautiful moments it is also a tad overwrought. This would perhaps work much better as a radio play or on the stage, but feels rather lifeless upon the page. Still a worthwhile read with glimmers of what makes Steinbeck such a beloved classic writer, Burning Bright is a rather dim light in his impressive oeuvre.

There is much to enjoy in Burning Bright, however. The play breaks into four scenes with a different setting for each: a circus, a farm, a boat and a hospital. While their personalities and present drama remains the same, each setting has the characters with different backgrounds to fit the setting (they all live in nearby farms in one, or are all sailors in another). Steinbeck tries to make the story a universal one, a story that fits over any social circle or setting, which is a really cool concept and while it is a bit jarring I think it would look cool in a play. It also plays into the idea that Joe is the ‘everyman,� a concept that Steinbeck often worked into his novels and characters like Joe, or, say, Ethan from The Winter of Our Discontent, become a bit of a barometer of the soul and social values of mid-century United States.

The whole plotline with his Mordeen sleeping with the completely despicable Victor, who is portrayed as an usurper, has some Biblical seeming vibes but is also just a bit not great. It makes her function almost solely for her role in upholding the emotional states and legacies of the two men and serving mostly for her childbearing abilities than as a person with her own agency. Nobody has ever called Steinbeck a feminist writer for sure, but this felt a little egregious here.

I do enjoy Ed, however, and his name recalls Steinbeck’s good friend who is the inspiration for many Steinbeck characters such as Doc in Cannery Row. Ed is quite likeable here and helps Joe through his existential crises once he realizes he is, in fact, infertile and there is no way the baby can be his.

It does all lead up to a satisfying conclusion, with an large idea that �every man is father to all children and every child must have all men as father.� This is classic Steinbeck, the idea that we are all one family and must care for each other and raise the human race together. I just feel like he did this more effectively in other books. Burning Bright is a curious and interesting experiment in the lengthy list of Steinbeck books, and it is nice to see him playing with his own craft. While it didn’t fully work here, there are some lovely moments and at least Steinbeck was pushing himself to create in fresh and dynamic ways. A worthwhile read, though one that will likely most interest long-time fans while I would caution newcomers to try some of his other books first.

3/5