Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

65 reviews

ruby_gordon's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Slavery, Violence, Gore, Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Racial slurs

_piercingwords_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It is a well woven, full circle kind of story that can be finished in one session. 
Better to analyse thoroughly to get the most out of it though.

It is a bit repetitive, not much happens until the end, but somewhere near the end I was really rooting for the characters to make it and was left devastated by the ending. So very tragic.

The writing takes a bit to get used to and relies heavily on dialogue. The characters feel very real, thus are complicated though and not immediately likeable. This author has studied people and the way they speak.

Reminded me of the play Death of a Salesman when it comes to the themes of it.

It is objectively a well written story, but it left me with a feeling of dread, very dark story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Misogyny

ellemwan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Racial slurs

grayscale08's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment and Alcohol

This book, I think, approaches racism and sexism from a critical point of view. The sole Black character tries explaining racism to the white characters and we see the unfair treatment of him by Curley and his wife. The only woman who plays a role in the story is named “Curley’s wife,” but we see throughout the story that she has her own identity. Steinbeck definitely wasn’t as conscious of racial and gender biases as I would hope, but he approaches discrimination in a way that highlights the hypocrisies of it.

flara's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I did not really like the language of the book. The colloquial speech was a bit difficult to read and put me to sleep on an early flight (probably my own issue as I'm not a native English speaker). But I enjoyed the premise of the book. The metaphors were relevant and well laid out. Lennie's character was beautifully written and my heart was breaking for him.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, and Mental illness

book_bear's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wonderful book, but very sad! Definitely not a happy book! :(

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Death

Minor: Alcohol and Toxic friendship

kathrinellis's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It was interesting to read the story, especially with the dialects. Apart from that, I did not really connect with the characters and the plot so I would not consider reading it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Slavery, Rape, Animal cruelty, and Cursing

pgivan21's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Cursing, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Bullying

Minor: Murder and Death

faheemah's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Death, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

knowmadic_369's review against another edition

reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The thing with classics is that they sometimes are regarded as worthy and valuable simply because they are considered as classics. And even though I can definitely acknowledge the admirable qualities of Of Mice and Men I didn't particularly enjoy the read. I didn't really like the characters or how the events unfolded, but I also understand that that is my own subjective opinion. Nevertheless, I can't get myself giving this book more than a 3-star rating. 

If you consider the literary devices used in the story, then it makes up for the unsavory characters and plot. John Steinbeck's writing of the novella was skillful, no doubt about that. I specifically enjoyed his scenic openings to chapters, which contrasted the remaining dialogue-heavy parts of the book. I can also appreciate the purpose of each character and each event in the short 100-page novella; each element had a role in the overall message of the book and was artfully executed. For deeper analysis, you'll find plenty imagery and allegories subtly interwoven in the text and you'll have more than enough material to dissect and analyse closely. Steinbeck definitely also had some insightful commentary on life in the U.S.A. that might even still be relevant to life today.

Praises aside, though, the representation of women in this book is appalling. That might also be part of the overall theme of the book, but it was the most off-putting aspect of the book for me personally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Mental illness, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Misogyny and Violence

Minor: Animal death