Who is telling the story in The Pearl but John Steinbeck?

While John Steinbeck is the *author* of The Pearl, the story is actually told from the third-person limited perspective. This means the narrator is not a character in the story, but they know the thoughts and feelings of only one character: Kino.

The narrator doesn't directly tell us what Kino is thinking, but we see the world through Kino's eyes and experience the events as he does. We learn about his hopes, fears, and motivations through his actions and reactions, even if we don't hear his internal monologue.

So, while Steinbeck is the master storyteller, the story itself is told through the lens of Kino's experience.