2.64k reviews for:

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

3.72 AVERAGE

dark emotional reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Read this on the plane and cried
funny relaxing sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4.5 ⭐️

I was not expecting to have this much of an emotional reaction to a book under 115 pages long. It's pages show that there is a division among minority groups and marginalized people, a community that is split because of what they are taught. 

The idea that the characters have this American Dream of owning their own land and doing what THEY want to do, but eventually succumbing to the reality that it won't is so moving and Steinbeck shows that in such easy to read prose. He shows that the "dream" is different for everyone, and it can be the simple things or the most elaborate, but we all have them. 

A must read for those who like classic lit.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
hopeful reflective slow-paced

Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men left me in quiet ruin. Line by line, it is a masterwork of prose. The ending shattered me, as it would’ve done for anyone. But for me, it got a little more personal.

I see myself in George, because his experience with Lennie is very comparable to mine with my neurodivergent sibling.

I know what it means to walk through the world beside someone who doesn’t quite fit the mold—someone with a misunderstood heart, and a mind that moves differently, and yet whose soul you know better than anyone. And because you know them, you protect them and stick by them. Even when they make mistakes and hurt people. Even when the world recoils. 

Steinbeck doesn’t romanticize that burden. He shows it plainly and painfully. Because this kind of love is not loud or perfect. Instead, it’s persistent, grieving, and human.