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What are readers saying about Of Mice and Men?
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Wendy posted a review at 2010-04-20 05:29:19.
(Language: English)
 
Such a sad story. George Milton and Lennie Small are itinerant farm workers in California. Lennie is big and strong but mentally challenged. George has been looking after him since Lennie's Aunt Clara died. Lennie just doesn't know his own strength and when things fight back at him he kills them. He likes to stroke mice but he always ends up killing them. George soothes Lennie by telling him about the little farm they are going to own some day. Lennie is going to be in charge of the rabbits but only if he can prove he can look after a little puppy. The boss's son has just married and his wife is a tart. She's always coming around the bunk house and the barn. She has her eye on Lennie. George has told Lennie not to even speak to her but Lennie isn't very good about following George's advice. For such a short little book there is a lot packed into it. Steinbeck knows the power of dreams but he also knows how seldom they come true. Such a sad story. 
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A Reader posted a review at 2012-04-11 08:58:21.
(Language: English)
nsdfliabweilufbajsdvjn I loved this book. SO FREAKING MUCH. It was so beautiful, so simple, so wonderful. After reading it, I felt like a windy, hot summer's day. Steinbeck's writing is FANTASTIC, the best I've read, and in just the space of about 100 pages, you fall in love with his characters. I needed no convincing at all. I cried like a baby at the end, not gonna lie. Man. Why can't the rest of the world be this good?
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-17 09:21:28.
(Language: English)
 
Ever since reading Old Man & the Sea I have become captivated by these short stories or novella-like books. This one doesn't carry the same meter that Old Man does - and it can't. Old Man is based largely around the inner/thought world of the main character. This work develops through dialogue, and lots of it. Steinbeck was attempting to merge the genre of short story and play in this work. While this may cause the story to stutter at times, and the scenery is almost bleak through a total absence of descriptors, the work has a real earthiness to it. The readers are drawn through the events by the characters own vernacular. And the two male characters very well portray elements of close male friendship through their struggle to succeed and belong.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-04 01:44:53.
(Language: English)
This story is set during the Great Depression where two great friends, George a quick witted man of few but well chosen words with no family or money to his name & Lennie who has a mind of a child but the strength of an ox set out to work at the ranch. As Lennie is mentally challenged, George is constantly required to watch out for him and also keep him out of trouble. Lennie is also a burden upon George but he treasures Lennie's companionship & the dream which they share. Throughout this book you will see a story of companionship, trust and dreams. It is a great read and the ending is quite emotional and may even bring tears upon you.
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Christopher posted a review at 2009-07-19 01:03:03.
(Language: English)
Oddly enough, I never had this book as required reading in my middle school or junior high school years. However, considering how much I loathed Steinbeck back then, I am almost glad I didn't. I probably would not have liked this book at all had I read this when I was younger. But reading it now, I enjoyed and appreciated it very much. This simple story of a mentally handicapped simpleton and his through-thick-and-thin friend is told very well by Steinbeck's use of simple and unsophisticated prose. George and Lennie's sincere dreams of having their own place to live and farm, to "live offa the fatta th' land," is something everyone in America seems to wish for and relate to. And just when you think they are about to escape from their drudgery and into their dreams, disaster strikes leading to a disheartening, yet ultimately satisfying conclusion. It is no wonder that this book is continued to be taught in classrooms 70 years after its first publication. Perhaps one of the best Steinbeck stories I have read, I would encourage everyone to pick this one up.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-16 02:50:42.
(Language: English)
The book that has nobel-price winning needs to be read, and of Mice and Men did it. The novel goes trought a history of two farmer workers in the state of California. The history mainly talks about dreams of these two so different workers: George the intelligent one, and Lennie, strong man with head disease that always follow the advices of Lennie. They dream about have their own peace of land. The book mainly show dreams and loneliness, in times of greate depression in USA.
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Chirine posted a review at 2010-01-27 12:51:10.
(Language: English)
Short read but a very powerful one. A story about two men who work on ranches and travel together sharing the same Dream: Freedom and Independence... In their case, instead of a white picket fence, the American Dream is a small land with rabbits to tend to, chicken, pigeons and maybe -- maybe a cow and a goat... I was moved by this book and most touched by the companionship those two friends share: "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. . . . With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin' in our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us." - John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Ch. 1
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-17 07:54:58.
(Language: English)
(careful....there's a spoiler in my review.)THIS is one of "the great pieces of American literature"?! really? Who did Steinbeck bribe to get that review? Because seriously, that was one of the most repugnant books I've ever read. You can find more meaningful work in the national enquirer. Classical literature endures because it shares with the reader a great moral lesson, or superb resolution of conflict. the only point of this book? That the mentally retarded are dangerous and should be shot in the back of the head. That was the only thing I got out of the book, except for a brief tendency to speak with terrible grammar. I want the 90 minutes back that I wasted on this garbage. luckily it was a novella, and that's ALL I wasted. But it makes me wary of reading 'grapes of wrath' now. we'll see.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-15 05:04:35.
(Language: English)
I have nothing but praise for this book. A slim, compact read, its simplistic, to-the-point writing style nevertheless holds incredible power and paints a vivid picture of an emotional tour-de-force of a story. Its deeply affecting on so many levels - the injustice of discrimination, the tragic truth about the American Dream, the heart-breaking contradiction between Lennie's gentle heart and the violent acts he unintentionally commits, the powerful friendship between the two protangonists... In fact, this actually made me weep - and to me, having the ability to make someone weep through pure words, without the aid of emotional music or imagery, is the sign of a great author. I will never forget this story or its characters; this book was not a read but an experience.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-03-20 01:19:25.
(Language: English)
I read The Grapes of Wrath shortly after the boys came home. Maybe I'm nesting and that's why I needed to read more Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men was also heartbreaking, though not nearly as long and less torturous to the soul. It still amazes me how people lived during that time, in America, compared to our grandiose lifestyles of today. Even the way people treated each other seems different. I read on a review about the theme of men's love for one another in this book, but that's not what I took from it. Humanity. God's only creation designed to have a relationship with Him. Herding around like stray animals and being treated as such. Without God we may as well BE animals.
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Scott'n'Shana posted a review at 2012-04-16 03:04:52.
(Language: English)
There is no wonder that we've seen pop culture references to this work in sources from Warner Brothers cartoons to made-for-TV movies. This book is one of the greatest American novellas and it's like watching a play in your mind, so it's only a short leap to take it to the stage or screen. Steinbeck builds on his Tide Pool metaphor in "Cannery Row" here, depicting a Hobbesian world that is pitiless and full of competition, where the weak are destined for doom (like "The Grapes of Wrath," it's fittingly set in the Depression). He also deals with one of his common themes, the need for companionship, especially in the masculine world. When one of his more complex (and tragic) characters, Crooks, ruminates on this in one of his rare chances for candid conversation, it is poignant: "A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin, an' he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so. Maybe if he sees somethin', he don't know whether it's right or not. He can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can't tell. He got nothing to measure by." Equally deep and more frequent are Steinbeck's allusions to the illusion of a Worker's Paradise: "Nobody never gets to Heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head." It is a story about the strong preying on the weak as much as the tragedy of the strong attempting to care for the weak in such an unforgiving world. Truly a classic.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-17 08:08:29.
(Language: English)
Two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression – George Milton: small in stature, intelligent, and cynical, but caring; and Lennie Small: physically strong, but a mentally limited man – come to a ranch in Soledad, California to "work up a stake". They hope one day to fulfill their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the dream, which he never tires of hearing George describe, is merely to have soft rabbits on the farm, which he can pet. George protects Lennie from himself by telling him that if he gets into trouble he won't let him "tend them rabbits": they are fleeing from their previous employment in Weed; the childlike Lennie was run out of town, with George accompanying him, because Lennie's love of stroking soft things resulted in an accusation of attempted rape when he touched a young woman's dress.At the ranch, the dream appears to become possible. Candy, the aged, one-handed ranch-hand, even offers to pitch in with Lennie and George so they can buy the farm by the end of the month. The dream crashes when Lennie accidentally kills the young and attractive wife of Curley, the ranch owner's son, while trying to stroke her hair. A lynch mob led by Curley gathers. George, realizing he is doomed to a life of loneliness and despair like the rest of the migrant workers, and wanting to spare Lennie a painful death at the hands of the vengeful and violent Curley, shoots Lennie in the back of the head before the mob can find him. The shot comes while Lennie is distracted by one last retelling of the dream.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-19 01:00:07.
(Language: English)
Of Mice and Men, written by Steinbeck, is like any other good piece of fiction, it is biographical in nature. Taken like a page of his own life in the 20's Steinbeck gives an account that is both real and imaginary at the same time. The main characters, George M. (a smallish man of superior intelligence) seemingly is the guardian of the simple-minded yet incredibly strong Lenny whose good nature and unassuming nature are definite foils to the quick wits of George and everyone else in the novel and are also harbingers of doom to him in the end.Of Mice and Men, although not a long read holds many of the allusions of what was later to be his much more demanding and brilliant work, The Grapes of Wrath. Of the two, I prefer the Grapes, but would recommend Of Of Mice and Men so one might determine if Steinbeck's writing style is right for you. Also, remember, it's not that you read, it's what you read. Try to read something that challenges your mind once in a while. long winded book but lots of small two syllable words for the literately impaired ... so good for you. Starts out flashy with the age old joke 'why did the Armadillo cross the road ... or was it the Turtle ... always get those two mixed up, a bit muddled I am afraid, but as the it is a foil for the whole plot of the book does it really matter. Just like the poor creature crossing that dangerous road, that poor hapless family, the Judds, and not the famous singing ones with all the cash, the poor cotton planting ones riding in the Clampett family special must traverse a wide country with many hair raising near misses ... just like the poor ... erm, Turtle ... uh ... yeah ... Turtle, who crossed the road to get to the udder side. Poor Reptilian Bastard, the Turtle I mean, not the Armadillo, the Armadillo is in fact a mammal even though it has a bony armor shell and lots of people think it is in fact a reptile ... funny thing that is ... don't you think?
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-28 08:40:01.
(Language: English)
There are a few moments in “Of Mice and Men” where it is a wonder why George stays with Lennie. The little guy has the brains to make it on his own – not necessarily to the point of achieving his dream goal, but enough to sustain the lifestyle he claims to lack. Partly, he seems to keep Lennie around out of a sense of responsibility. However, George’s need for his friend ultimately runs deeper. There’s a section of the book where Crooks bemoans his solitude and maltreatment, emphasizing the importance of simply having somebody there. Without it, a man “got nothing to measure by.” This idea runs to the core of the story, as it applies to several different characters. Loneliness is too much of an abstraction. Without at least one person to share your existence, how can you judge its value? One man acts as an anchor to the other’s life, a central point from which they derive their purpose and worth. In the end, George needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs George.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-16 08:19:08.
(Language: English)
This book has been one of my favorites since high school. I cried throughout the reading, and was made fun of over and over. I felt things that I'd never felt because of this book. Could I ever pull the trigger? Could I ever really understand what it meant to love and protect someone with special needs? Maybe. Maybe not. This book helped me become more self-aware. This book helped me to understand and long for true friendship.It helped me to realize that things we, as a society, think have long since faded from the social spotlight are still quite prevalent and as in-our-face as they were a hundred years ago. Are we moving in the right direction? I sure as hell hope so.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-31 11:17:04.
(Language: English)
I decided that for 2010, I was going to keep a record of all the books I read over the course of the year. And because I am who I am, my lists are being kept online. In fact, anything I'm listing here on iRead is something I've read during 2010. And the most beneficial part of keeping my lists online means that when I want to read something short, I'm far more likely to reach for one of the slim classics than something like 'Charlie the Lost Kitten'. So I finally got round to 'Of Mice and Men'. Apart from a momentary lapse in reality caused by too much kids TV and one of the characters being named Smitty, I found this one very enjoyable and disturbingly thought-provoking. Hopefully I'll get more Steinbeck done as the year progresses!
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Sarah posted a review at 2010-02-21 11:33:33.
(Language: English)
Overall, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is really a good book. Even though it's rather short, it delivers its message quite well. The book opens with George and Lennie near the Salinas River south of Soledad, California. Lennie is a big, loveable guy who isn't very smart, but is easily pleased. Lennie loves to stroke soft things, and has a mouse in his hands that he accidentally killed by petting it too hard. Lennie's portrayal is extremely sympathetic and sentimental, but I couldn't help but like him, regardless of his flaws. George is the little man behind Lennie; he acts as the big man's brain in guiding him and keeping him out of trouble. The two travel and work together and have a friendship unlike anything most other characters in the novel have ever experienced. The book really got me to feel like I knew the characters, especially Lennie, and to pity them. The underlying theme of man's innate loneliness and his need for companionship is a bit dark and pessimistic for my taste, but is delivered tactfully with the repeated story of George and Lennie's farm where Lennie will be able to tend rabbits while the two live off the fatta the lan' offers hope so the book can be easily stomached by someone with a more optimistic worldview. All things considered, I would definitely recommend this book for everyone to read; the ideas behind it should be considered by all.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-26 03:35:06.
(Language: English)
Excellent screen adaptation of the John Steinbeck classic about two drifters in the Depression who move from ranch to ranch in search of work. Perfect pairing of Meredith and Chaney (his finest screen performance) as George and Lennie. In a year of great classic movies, it should be no surprise that this film falls into that category as well. Oscar nominated for the Best Picture of 1939. Of mice and Men is good because it is a thin book that tells a long story. John Steinbeck's description fits the incident that is to occur very well. It is straightforward and sounds very true to me. The beautiful world that Lennie and George have imagined is not possible to be obtained at that time. Their tragic end is well painted in the portrait of the circumstance that they are in. It has called upon my sympathy, making me feel naturally how unfair that society is. It is a book that will not take much time to read, but it will definitely tell you something.Of mice and Men is good because it is a thin book that tells a long story. John Steinbeck's description fits the incident that is to occur very well. It is straightforward and sounds very true to me. The beautiful world that Lennie and George have imagined is not possible to be obtained at that time. Their tragic end is well painted in the portrait of the circumstance that they are in. It has called upon my sympathy, making me feel naturally how unfair that society is. It is a book that will not take much time to read, but it will definitely tell you something.
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Jen posted a review at 2010-02-17 10:19:36.
(Language: English)
Review: Two young men, one of whom is mentally challenged, wander as migrant workers in hopes of someday obtaining a better life for themselves in this American classic. George and Lenny are cousins who have promised to always look out for each other, though there are times when George wishes he were free of caring for Lenny, especially during the times when there is "trouble" with him. Simply written, short, gritty and heartbreaking. Though I've known the story for years and had seen the film with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, I had never read the book. Somehow, my school classes never assigned it, or I missed it. I'm glad that I finally picked this one up, even though it was the audio version rather than the print version. I could smell the hay in the barn, feel the squirmy newborn pups...what a gift Steinbeck is to the literary world.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-02 02:51:46.
(Language: English)
My husband (who doesn't like to read too much), has read this book time and again . . . I love it, too. The dilemma is that by being unable to recognize his own strength, Lenny inadvertantly killed the floozy (who was trying to take advantage of Lenny's innocence)by hugging her too tightly and suffocating her. George, Lenny's guardian/protector had to somehow flee with Lenny from the angry mob who were ready to torture or kill him (or who knows what!!!) The climax of the novel was that the innocent, slow-witted Lenny was killed out of mercy. George had a very tough choice to make. Lenny could never have handled the outcome of a very unfortunate series of events that he probably really wouldn't have understood. Lenny was probably rescued from a fate worse than than death by getting shot instead. I love how Lenny's innocence is revealed to us when he is always saying "I want to see the rabbits, George". You understand then that Lenny is a very child-like man.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-21 02:26:30.
(Language: English)
The book I have read the most in all the world. Why? Because it used to be a GCSE novel. Who will ever forget the unique relationship between Lennie & George. "I aint gonna say nuffin'" chants Lennie but he always does. Trouble follows George & Lennie wherever they go & eventually the mix of Candy, Crooks, Curley & his "jail-bait" wife ruin George & Lennie's Dream. I had a Dream said Martin Luther King but so did Lennie & george. When things got bad Lennie would say, "Tell me bout the rabbits." I still remember Meredith Burgess & Lon Chaney Juniors portrayal of George & Lennie. What a book & what a film.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-05 07:26:14.
(Language: English)
A satire of 1930's rural America, as biting if less well known than Cannery Row or the Grapes of Wrath. Lenny is a mentally retarded, but kindhearted laborer in the South. George is his pragmatic if somewhat reluctant companion. Their story traces the events that were unfortunately common occurrence in those desperate times. George becoming aware that Lenny is a threat to him and unable to survive in the desperate dog-eat-dog world that has become sharecropping, ends up shooting Lenny. He says he is doing Lenny a favor, and in many ways he is, he is removing him from a situation in which he could only fail. A well written novel full of symbolism and hidden truth that blurs the line between right and wrong.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-20 08:54:07.
(Language: English)
One of the major themes of this novel - the attainability or myth of the American Dream - is as relevant today as it was in 1937. I couldn't help but compare my own plight of working for the man as a wage slave (albeit a wage slave with nicer living quarters, pay rate, amenities, etc...) to the plight of George, Lennie, Candy, and Crooks. Isn't everyone's dream to be free from the coercion of the work place? To be free from rents, mortgages, and student loans? To be able to have your own little slice of heaven where you are the master with your own metaphorical goats, rabbits, cats and dogs. But, just as in Of Mice and Men, that dream goes largely unfulfilled for the vast majority of Americans and citizens of the world.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-05 04:37:53.
(Language: Spanish)
"Of mice and men" es un libro sencillo, pero no simple. En él encontramos desesperanza,soledad, sueños truncados, pero también el infatigable apoyo de una mano amiga. Steinbeck presenta a pinceladas a dos personajes totálmente distintos, que por circunstancias personales comparten sueños y circunstancias: George, un tipo agudo, inteligente y decidido, y Lennie, un gigante con alma de niño. Su lucha por alcanzar el sueño americano se lleva a cabo en el campo, y se materializa en un ansiado trozo de tierra.Este paisaje rural es descrito casi de forma bucólica, lo que contrasta enormemente con el desarrollo de la acción: rápida, cruel, violenta incluso, que arrastra en volandas al lector a una catarsis final. Pero no hay respiro tras el ansiado desenlace: la sensación de angustia permanece, y tú como lector no puedes dejar de agradecer al autor cómo pone punto y aparte a la historia, más tampoco puedes evitar odiarle por ello... Una historia de amistad llevada a límites insospechados... Absolutamente recomendable.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-19 10:41:34.
(Language: English)
i finally understand this masterpiece story by John Steinbeck. East of Eden was my first Steinbeck book, and had always wanted to read Of Mice and Men. reputably, the book was originally written as a play, and then Steinbeck revert it into a novel. reading it, the description and narration feels almost like the original format it was first intended, where it feels so cinematic, like you can directly shoot it straight from the book. which of course, have already been done. twice. in 1939, the first movie adaptation received 5 Oscar nomination. the second adaptation in 1992, had John Malkovich starring in it. the story and writing voice is amazing. the dialogues are super smooth and had very good rhythm-beat. the conversations in the book are super indulging, where sometimes you forget that you are reading a book, and that you are listening to real life voice-actor talking. with the thin thickness of the book, it is full of juxtapose and subtle commentary of issues like racism, parenting, sociology, woman, evil, satan, cruelty, greed, ego, economy, sacrifice, happiness. Steinbeck illustrates mainly the metaphor and meaning of happiness by making full usage of scenarios, locations, past, present, character, dialogues, all juggled very well. the main reason i love Steinbeck is how his books had taken away my phobia of reading 'literature' since school time, where i was forced to read literature books that i don't find interesting at all. Steinbeck's writing to me feels so modern and punchy. like design, he uses a very significant style where he commonly starts with a little abstract and poem-like expression of the world. like he is narrating on behalf of mother nature, then he gradually let human-life enters his story. slowly emerging the human's soul. en-covering human's deepest desire, slowly, bit and pieces, like the objective of opening a present but constructed commonly in the sadness of a dying flower where the petals of the flower slowly dropping. his story usually ends with the deepest core of the human heart. and that, i feel 2 things co-existing in his stories; that we are sad naked creatures of the world and "it can be beautiful." Of Mice and Men, a definite must read for any enthusiast story writer. this is the number one book that i'll pass to any script writers that i might collaborate with in the future, if they have not read it. it helps and saves so much time to explain to them, what well-crafted stories is and what i am looking for. i'm keen to adapt this book as a play. the stage-structured-lighting medium can tell this story so dramatically and artistically. i'm currently so full of ohm just after reading it in a go. i recommend everyone of you now, who had not read it, go pick it up now. it's only 103 pages. it's one of those books where you can't stop flipping it, and after finishing it, your brain starts to reconstruct what you just read; sequences from the book, juxtaposing one another, metaphors and premises slowly forms and emerges inside you. like the experience of after a big FLASH of the camera, and you slowly see the polaroid picture develops itself.. and you go... "ahhhh............."
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