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Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Start date: July 1, 2019

Finish date: July 31, 2019

Discussion: Short Story/Novella Collection

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf July 2019

Previous Group Reads
Monthly Short Story Read, March 2016
[close] Revisit the Shelf July 2019

Previous Group Reads
Monthly Short Story Read, March 2016

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Short Story/Novella Collection

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What Members Thought

Feb 14, 2011 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-fiction, fiction-20th-century, audio-books, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, novellas, read-2013

From BBC Radio 4 - Classical Serial:
Dramatisation by Donna Franceschild of John Steinbeck's seminal 1937 novel about migrant workers in 1930s California whose dream of one day owning a place of their own is tragically destroyed.

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Nov 17, 2015 Nola Tillman rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-drama, 1001-books-to-read, classics

Although I read this on a road trip, with four kids making loud (and sometimes violent) nodes in the back, and with a driver singing along to the radio in annoying falsettos, I couldn't help but be gripped by this short and simple novel.

The story has earned its place in the annals of literature, so that most people have a general idea without reading it. Still, the writing and telling of it is what makes Steinbeck a master. I'm trying to remember if I've read any of his other books; I think they ...more

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Dec 17, 2023 Maggie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001, fiction, classics, guardian-1000, coming-of-age, usa

George and Lennie are workers who move from ranch to ranch to earn money. George is small and sharp, Lennie is a giant, dull-witted, and innocent as a child. They share a dream, dreamt up by George and held onto by Lennie, of owning a house, raising animals and harvesting crops, and living off the fat of the land. And for Lennie, it includes tending rabbits. They find a ranch where they meet trouble in the form of Curley, the ranch owner’s quarrel-making son, and his pretty and flirtatious wife. George and Lennie are workers who move from ranch to ranch to earn money. George is small and sharp, Lennie is a giant, dull-witted, and innocent as a child. They share a dream, dreamt up by George and held onto by Lennie, of owning a house, raising animals and harvesting crops, and living off the fat of the land. And for Lennie, it includes tending rabbits. They find a ranch where they meet trouble in the form of Curley, the ranch owner’s quarrel-making son, and his pretty and flirtatious wife.

I won’t spoil the rest of the story, but it probably isn’t a spoiler to say that this is not a happy story. The characters march steadily on towards a tragic end. It is made all the more tragic by the unlikely, deep, loyal, and beautiful friendship that George and Lennie share. Lennie, though physically big and strong, has the thought process of a toddler and the memory of someone with dementia. George, though often frustrated with him, sees through his flaws to his kind heart and protects and loves him even when Lennie doesn’t realise it. Their friendship had me rooting for them, and the ending had me sobbing uncontrollably as the inevitable tragedy unfolded.

Almost every character in this story is yearning for something. George yearns for land. Lennie yearns to tend rabbits. Candy yearns for security in his old age. Crooks yearns for respect and independence. Even Curley, the main antagonist, yearns to be physically powerful, and his nameless wife yearns for a love she does not have. This book was written in the Great Depression when the American Dream was much talked of but rarely attained. Hope is a powerful driver of men, and the realisation that one is never going to attain one’s dreams is devastating.

Steinbeck uses scenery powerfully in his writing. The book starts and ends at the Salinas River with the mountains and sunset in the background. The trees are the same, the mountains are the same, the water continues lapping, but the heron that is part of the tranquil landscape at the start becomes a predator at the end. Through scenery, tension and quietness are conveyed, and emotions are heightened. The length of the novella also concentrates and intensified the elements of the story, and the plot elements of Lennie petting mice and puppies, and Candy’s old dog being shot by Carlson, come back to haunt us in the end.

This was short but one of the most powerful books I have read this year. ...more

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