Of Mice and Men
A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression
They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation.
Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him.
"A thriller, a gripping tale . . . that you will not set down until it is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick." —The New York Times
They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation.
Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him.
"A thriller, a gripping tale . . . that you will not set down until it is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick." —The New York Times
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Community Reviews
Steinbeck’s brevity doesn’t compromise the sting in his short story. Need to read east of Eden soon.
To this day, this is one of my favorite books. I read this back in middle school and then again in high school with each time understanding more of the complexity of the novel. It's a must read, but you probably already know that.
I had always heard of this book but had never read it. I read it in a day as I found myself indulged in the storyline. It’s an easy read with a little over 100 pages. The ending I didn’t see coming, the story leading up to the main event I kind of predicted which is the only reason I rated it an 8. But the storyline keeps you engaged up to the very end.
I read this as part of a November challenge.
This is the very first time I've ever read this particular book and I had to remind myself continuously about the time period this was written in and what the norm was as there was a particular word used throughout that I didn't care for, but was otherwise a decent read. It did have quite a bit of symbolism about the American dream and what reality was for a lot of people during that time (and even during current times if I'm being honest).
This is the very first time I've ever read this particular book and I had to remind myself continuously about the time period this was written in and what the norm was as there was a particular word used throughout that I didn't care for, but was otherwise a decent read. It did have quite a bit of symbolism about the American dream and what reality was for a lot of people during that time (and even during current times if I'm being honest).
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