Of Mice and Men

[Zeljka]

The title being taken from Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse (not playing savvy, just have read that bit on Wiki :), this Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck’s novel (in our Quick Reads, er…), Of Mice and Men is on American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of 21st Century.

We are all adults (if not, and if it is not required read in your school – please consult your parents, teachers, whomever you wish before taking this book in your hands!), so I assume we may valiantly endure vulgarity and offensive language of the tragic story of two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression era. No pun intended. I haven't read it yet, so I am bit wary of such alerts, they might be a bit outdated, considering trends in literature we are facing today. Or not.

Would you be surprised if I would tell you that there are currently thirteen adaptations of the story? And nine of them are non-English? All right, let us not go too far by seeking those. That leaves us with four adaptations. The first was done merely two years after the first publication of the novel, in 1939, starring Burgess Meredith, Betty Field and Lon Chaney Jr.. It was nominated for four Oscars by the way. The second is 1968 TV adaptation, and featuring George Segal and Nicol Williamson in the main roles. Couldn’t find any picture of it, sorry! The third from 1981 also stars good actors in the main roles, Robert Blake and Randy Quaid, just like the last one, from 1992, with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise. Curiously, that one was also directed by Gary Sinise, and for that he received a nomination for Palme d'Or in Cannes. What a splendid selection of movies to see! The story is also extremely popular reference in other media, most notably in cartoons and on TV shows. You might check this wiki article if you are willing to go further than required :)

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Now, go ahead and freely post whatever thoughts you might have about the book and/or about its adaptation(s).

[Elena]

Ok... don't know where to begin... I just finished the 1939 version of the movie! It made me cry twice! (and that's not necessarily a good thing!! :) )
This is a sad and heartbreaking novel - definitely well written, however I can only say that it was OK for me - i didn't love it! I actually dislike sad, depressing stories, with sad endings... And this probably makes me shallow :)...

The movie was relatively true to the book, even though it lasted longer than it took me to read the book itself. They have added more information about the wife which we didn't get from the book. After seeing the movie, I feel even sadder for Curly's wife because we get to know her whole story that isn't fully explored in the book, only hinted at!

Bottom line though - I felt that all the tragedy was a bit over the top! (view spoiler)[ I hated how they shot old man Candy's dog, I hated how Curly's in-the-book unnamed wife ends up dead and no one mourns her, they just blame her for the end of a "dream", I hated how everyone's dreams and plans for the small ranch were shattered, but mostly I hated how George had to kill Lenny!!! I understand that the point was that "the old man should have shot his own dog thereby George had to shoot Lenny himself." But really - shooting another man!??! Are we to just accept that this was ok in the early 1900's ?! Also, why could their dream not have been realized without Lenny when the other 2 men already had the money for it?! (hide spoiler)] Overall, both the novel and the movie seemed overly depressing and their only redeeming quality was that I found most of the characters quite loveable!

[Alana]

I didn't know there were so many adaptations! I only know the Gary Sinise version, and I haven't seen it in years! Beautiful story, though. Heart-wrenching.