A Bookaholic's Book Log

Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck

READ: 20.07.17

BOOK: Of Mice And Men

AUTHOR: John Steinbeck

GENRE: Classic

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream--a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California's Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength. The novel tackles universal themes such as the friendship of a shared vision, and giving voice to America's lonely and dispossessed.

REVIEW: Seeing as this book is relatively short, I thought I'd read it in one day which proved very easy. While a lot of people study this in school, I haven't just because my class did 'Pride and Prejudice' instead so I was excited to see what all my friends had been studying for their exams about this book.

I really liked this novella just because the characters were all extremely interesting, and I actually wish the novella was longer just so I could see more about the minor characters such as Crooks and Candy. It brought up some really interesting themes and ideas, and I was genuinely very upset but also relieved in a way at the ending. The character of Lennie was extremely charming and I felt a great deal of sympathy for him.

For a classic, this was a really easy read and the style of Steinbeck's writing means that you grow very immersed within the story very quickly. I will definitely be reading more of his works soon!

FINAL VERDICT: A very interesting book that succeeded all preconceptions, and I think I will be reading this again at some point just to analyse the novella in more detail.

RATING: 8.5/10