I was going to give this two stars but I decided one was enough after reading:

The little pools were places of life because of the water, and places of killing because of the water too.

Everything was flat: the writing, the characters, the plot, the moral(?).
I mean, what was the moral point of this tale? The inescapable misery of the poor? If the universe conspires in blessing you with sudden fortune (looking at you Coelho), it will also bombard you with a thousand affliction to countermeasure things?
Now my mind is blank because of 'The Pearl', and thronged with witless thoughts because of 'The Pearl' too.