None
4 stars
Annual teaching.
Paperback
English language
Published Jan. 7, 1981 by Bantam Books.
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men (Paperback, 1981, Bantam Books)
- ISBN:
- 978-0-553-13100-0
Copied ISBN!
4 stars
(411 reviews)
The second book in John Steinbeck’s labor trilogy, Of Mice and Men is a touching tale of two migrant laborers in search of work and eventual liberation from their social circumstances. Fiercely devoted to one another, George and Lennie plan to save up to finance their dream of someday owning a small piece of land. The pair seems unstoppable until tragedy strikes and their hopes come crashing down, forcing George to make a difficult decision regarding the welfare of his best friend.
The novel is set on a ranch in Soledad, CA. Author Frank Bergon recalls reading Of Mice and Men for the first time as a teenager living in the San Joaquin Valley and remembers how he saw “as if in a jolt of light the ordinary surroundings of [his] life become worthy of literature.” Steinbeck works to propagate the notion that meaningful stories emerge from the marginalized; that …
The second book in John Steinbeck’s labor trilogy, Of Mice and Men is a touching tale of two migrant laborers in search of work and eventual liberation from their social circumstances. Fiercely devoted to one another, George and Lennie plan to save up to finance their dream of someday owning a small piece of land. The pair seems unstoppable until tragedy strikes and their hopes come crashing down, forcing George to make a difficult decision regarding the welfare of his best friend.
The novel is set on a ranch in Soledad, CA. Author Frank Bergon recalls reading Of Mice and Men for the first time as a teenager living in the San Joaquin Valley and remembers how he saw “as if in a jolt of light the ordinary surroundings of [his] life become worthy of literature.” Steinbeck works to propagate the notion that meaningful stories emerge from the marginalized; that even those on the fringes of society can make deserving contributions to the literary canon.
Source: www.steinbeck.org/about-john/his-works/
Also contained in: - Cannery Row / Of Mice and Men - [The Grapes of Wrath / The Moon is Down / Cannery Row / East of Eden / Of Mice and Men][1] - The Short Novels of John Steinbeck - Steinbeck - Steinbeck Pocket Book
Review of 'Of MICE and MEN John Steinbeck' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
What a classic - I was (un)lucky enough not to have read it in school before, so I delved into this as an adult without much prior knowledge.
Concise and tense, depressing and at times heartwarming, and definitely a bit confusing (what's with the similar character names?!), I'm glad I read this work. Regarding sheer reading pleasure I'm not entirely convinced. And while the ending is shocking and must have been even more impactful at the time the book was published, I can't help but feel slightly underwhelmed by it in 2024.
Since I'm a reader and not a critic, I can say overall I "liked" it, but didn't love. Should you read this classic if you haven't done so yet? Why yes, absolutely.
David Swinstead reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Great
5 stars
The famous Mark Twain quote "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one" is now considered to be a misattribution, that Twain never said.
Nonetheless, whoever did say it - this book made me think of it. Truly it takes skill, craft, and artistry to write well and also be succinct.
This book feels perfect not because there's nothing else to add, but because there's nothing else to take away.
This book captured my imagination in 120 pages. And now it will stay with me for a while.
martina.pugliese reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I loved this book. First Steinbeck one I read, so I've immediately ordered "The Grapes of Wrath" (and I'm just learning that, like for this book, the title comes from a poem). The prose is raw and genuine, and I'll admit that even if I speak fluent English it resulted at times quite difficult to understand, a sign itself of authentic writing. The story is at the same time simple and tragic, banal yet deep in layers: there's the dire conditions of workers during the Great Depression, friendship and sense of loyalty, racism, misogyny, the American Dream, the crush of ambitions, power (physical and not) and lack thereof. I think it's worth a read not just for historical reasons.
charlottereadstoo reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
Zero stars thanks I hated it
Review of 'Of MICE and MEN John Steinbeck' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Het sociaal bewogen werk van John Steinbeck (1902-1968) spreekt me aan. De schrijver groeide op in een periode waarin arbeidsmigranten en masse door Californië trokken op zoek naar laaggeschoold werk, tot de Great Depression daaraan een einde maakte. Steinbeck heeft zich bewezen als de stem van deze periode.
Of mice and men is het tweede boek in een drieluik, volgend op [b:In Dubious Battle|609482|In Dubious Battle|John Steinbeck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348441147l/609482.SY75.jpg|1808026] en voorafgaand aan [b:The Grapes of Wrath|9151812|The Grapes of Wrath|John Steinbeck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1283124848l/9151812.SY75.jpg|2931549]. Hoewel de context dezelfde is, staan de boeken op zichzelf. Het tweede deel is een kort verhaal, of ‘playable novel’ in de woorden van Steinbeck: het moest tevens als scenario kunnen dienen.
Het verhaal draait om George en Lennie, twee arbeidsmigranten die van Soledad op weg zijn naar hun volgende werkplek. Ze dromen van een stuk land dat ze voor zichzelf mogen bewerken, maar komen …
Het sociaal bewogen werk van John Steinbeck (1902-1968) spreekt me aan. De schrijver groeide op in een periode waarin arbeidsmigranten en masse door Californië trokken op zoek naar laaggeschoold werk, tot de Great Depression daaraan een einde maakte. Steinbeck heeft zich bewezen als de stem van deze periode.
Of mice and men is het tweede boek in een drieluik, volgend op [b:In Dubious Battle|609482|In Dubious Battle|John Steinbeck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348441147l/609482.SY75.jpg|1808026] en voorafgaand aan [b:The Grapes of Wrath|9151812|The Grapes of Wrath|John Steinbeck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1283124848l/9151812.SY75.jpg|2931549]. Hoewel de context dezelfde is, staan de boeken op zichzelf. Het tweede deel is een kort verhaal, of ‘playable novel’ in de woorden van Steinbeck: het moest tevens als scenario kunnen dienen.
Het verhaal draait om George en Lennie, twee arbeidsmigranten die van Soledad op weg zijn naar hun volgende werkplek. Ze dromen van een stuk land dat ze voor zichzelf mogen bewerken, maar komen voortdurend in de nesten door het gedrag van de zwakbegaafde Lennie die zijn eigen krachten niet kent.
“Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.”
“We’ll have a cow,” said George. “An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens… an’ down the flat we’ll have a… little piece alfalfa–”
“For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted.
“For the rabbits,” George repeated.
“And I get to tend the rabbits.”
“An’ you get to tend the rabbits.”
Lennie giggled with happiness. “An’ live on the fatta the lan’.”
Steinbeck neemt de lezer mee door zowel de hoofdpersonen als de omstandigheden levensecht te maken. Ondanks de beperkte omvang schreef hij een rond verhaal met een prachtig einde.
Lavinia reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Reading Of Mice and Men is a rough ride. Violence, racism and misogyny are inextricably linked. Steinbeck's direct and unsentimental writing style makes us feel that we know his characters, that we can relate to their struggles. Steinbeck exposes our many faults and failures but, at the same time he reveals our capacity for courage, compassion and love.
A nearly perfect book.
Allen reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The Grapes of Wrath was one of my favorite books of all time, so it's not surprising that I really liked Of Mice and Men.
tronicdude reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
oOoOhHhH n000 lennie DED
shooted in da hED
(bars)
None
4 stars
Spoiler Alert!
A gripping tale from the very start. John Steinbeck managed to divide my affection and share it equally among all the characters, something I did not experience with a book in quite a while.
The imbalance brought upon George’s life due, not only to Lennie’s size, but his childishness and inability to stay out of trouble will have repercussions on their future projects. This is what keeps the story propelling.
The ending was slightly bland. When I drew nearer to the end and felt the scarce number of pages waiting to be read, I began to see potential scenarios and blurry closures to the storyline. But I didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t expecting Lennie to die, even less George being the one to take him out.
When described earlier in the book, the brush hiding out meant haven in my head, it meant a safe refuge for …
Spoiler Alert!
A gripping tale from the very start. John Steinbeck managed to divide my affection and share it equally among all the characters, something I did not experience with a book in quite a while.
The imbalance brought upon George’s life due, not only to Lennie’s size, but his childishness and inability to stay out of trouble will have repercussions on their future projects. This is what keeps the story propelling.
The ending was slightly bland. When I drew nearer to the end and felt the scarce number of pages waiting to be read, I began to see potential scenarios and blurry closures to the storyline. But I didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t expecting Lennie to die, even less George being the one to take him out.
When described earlier in the book, the brush hiding out meant haven in my head, it meant a safe refuge for the pair who were human magnets for trouble. It meant a temporary station to sort things out whenever Big Guy messed things up a little. But I guess the last stunt he pulled wasn’t so little. And so, the protective aura of the brush broke to pieces when George planted Carlson’s gun in the back of Lennie’s head.
But if George didn’t pull the trigger, someone else would have. And in that case, would he have not had regrets like Candy did when they killed his dog?
A very enjoyable quick read. I think I might tackle John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ if only I had it in English. The inaccurate title translation to French (‘les raisins de la colère’) makes me put off reading it for some reason.
Sean Gursky reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I somehow missed these classics in grade school so this was my first time reading "Of Mice and Men", and surprisingly most of the story was not spoiled for me. Not much can be said other than this was a great, alebit tragic, story of friendship.
Graham Downs reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
It's difficult to review this book, because there's just so much going on in the story, and it's all over the place, sometimes.
It's the story of two labourers travelling around the US looking for work. George is the relatively smart one, compared to his companion Lennie, who's a bit retarded. Lennie struggles to make sense of the world, while George tries to protect him from doing bad things. The two have a dream of one day earning enough money to buy their own ranch, and they believe this latest job will be the job that finally allows them to do it... if Lennie doesn't mess it up, like he does with everything else.
Lennie's a sad character, but he also possesses a childlike innocence about him. It's clear though, that he can't cope with the demands of their tough lifestyle. There's some racism in the story, with a negro …
It's difficult to review this book, because there's just so much going on in the story, and it's all over the place, sometimes.
It's the story of two labourers travelling around the US looking for work. George is the relatively smart one, compared to his companion Lennie, who's a bit retarded. Lennie struggles to make sense of the world, while George tries to protect him from doing bad things. The two have a dream of one day earning enough money to buy their own ranch, and they believe this latest job will be the job that finally allows them to do it... if Lennie doesn't mess it up, like he does with everything else.
Lennie's a sad character, but he also possesses a childlike innocence about him. It's clear though, that he can't cope with the demands of their tough lifestyle. There's some racism in the story, with a negro character that everyone refers to as "Nigger", although Lennie can't understand why, but it's never fully explored in the story.
Like that character, there are lots of other loose ends, and I think the book could've been a little longer, so that they could've all been tied up properly (or they shouldn't have been introduced in the first place).
Gerry reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A stunning novel. One of the most important books I've ever read.
Silenceis Golden reviewed Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Review of 'Of Mice and Men' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Found in a hotel room in New Hampshire, picked up to fill the hours, instead kept me up late into the night finishing it.
As always with Steinbeck, tight, consistent prose that feels like you are sucked along at a fast pace even when the narrative is wandering among the flowers. Even when the end has been clearly telegraphed by foreshadowing, the writing is so tight you cannot look away from the train wreck.
Sidenotes: Society has changed much - and yet little since this slice of the past.
Review of 'Of MICE and MEN John Steinbeck' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I enjoyed the book but was looking for more...I don't know exactly what I expected. I think I liked Lenny as a character more than anyone in this book. His slowness really appealed to me as I've known some people like that. Maybe my opinion is biased based on this, but it really was a good book, very sad. It was a breeze to read and a little too light to me, considering the plot of the book. The ending was the saddest part. I'd recommend this book for someone looking for a quick, light, heartbreaking read.
