13 Nov 2014

Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

Title: Of Mice And Men
Author: John Steinbeck
Genre: Novella/Young Adult
Publication: Penguin Books 
Pages: 103
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5


Streetwise George and his big, childlike friend Lennie are drifters, searching for work in the fields and valleys of California. They have nothing except the clothes on their back, and a hope that one day they'll find a place of their own and live the American dream. But dreams come at a price. Gentle giant Lennie doesn't know his own strength, and when they find work at a ranch he gets into trouble with the boss's daughter-in-law. Trouble so bad that even his protector George may not be able to save him.

I was first introduced to this book in school, it didn’t really look appealing and it was badly explained by a teacher. But as we all find out at one stage, never judge a book by its cover and teachers are always right. Taking the last point into account, I really enjoyed this book. The book was different from the sort of books I usually read, mainly its setting and story. I really liked how most of the characters (including the main ones) had different sides. One minute you think someone is very friendly, kind and caring and the next minute you see them in a different light. The book takes a great twist on what we call 'Likeable' characters.

I found the book to be quite slow within the middle. Although there was a lot of things happening, I just found them being in the same location the whole time to be off putting, but after about thirty pages it begins to pick up. 


The relationship between George and Lennie is what I would define as a friendship, even though they are cousins. They have a close bond which is described within the book. Although it felt like I was supposed to feel pity for Lennie, I felt more pity for George. For most of the book, George is alienated from the rest of the group because he has to care for Lennie. Yes, George has been asked to watch over Lennie but it is stopping him from living his life. I found that George started to enjoy his life on the ranch, it is a time in the book where we see George at his happiest. As I thought near the start of the book, Lennie would soon come to ruin it for George, which was actually the most shocking and eventful part of the book. 


Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially George and Lennie's relationship. As I said before, this book is a little different. It is set on a ranch and the terms used within the book are very old, mainly because the book is set in the 1930's. I would, however, recommend that you read this book if you are looking for something different from your usual read. This book will leave you speechless.

4 comments:

  1. Great review - am loving your blog, by the way! :) Of Mice and Men was such a great book. I've been studying it in school and I read the whole book in one lesson, proceeded to cry a lot afterwards because of the ending... It's such a great story though, and I'm actually quite glad we had to study it, because otherwise I'd have never been introduced to it. Completely agree with what you had to say on it!
    - Georgia (@GeorgiaReads)

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    1. Thank you :) I was forced into it too, but glad. There was bad/slow bits but overall it was good. I was really shocked by the ending, wasn't expecting it.

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  2. Another great review, Alan! I've never read this book, but I've seen the movie quite a few times. It's always made me want to read the book. I'll have to pick it up sometime. Thanks for the review! :)

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    1. I enjoyed the book more than the movie, thanks for reading :)

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