Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Of Mice and Men

After having to leave their previous town, George and Lennie find themselves on another ranch as a stepping stone for their own future ranch.

This is the first time I've read this book independently since leaving school. School definitely made this book feel longer but it was a quick evening read of 120 pages.

Reading it in Secondary School, I used to think Curley's wife was the villain of the story. But having read it now as an adult, there are no villains. It is just a concise social commentary on life in 1930s America:
1. Sexism: Curley's wife didn't even have her own name and based on her conversation with Lennie, she didn't even have her own life - she just married Curley to get back at her mother. Dreamt of being an actress and making a name for herself.
2. Racism: Crooks also didn't even have his own name. He lived on his own, segregated from the rest of his colleagues based on the colour of his skin. He put up with racist slurs being hurled at him constantly.
3. Ableism: Crooks' nickname comes from his injury. Candy and Lennie get left out of the men's outing to town. And George frequently tells Lennie that Lennie is a burden.

The book is not well-written by modern standards for sure: racist, misogynistic and ableist terminology is rife. The repetition also becomes a bit painful at times. But in little over 100 pages, you understand the characters and there is no need to continue it much further than where it ends.

The story is wanting the American Dream. Everyone in this story wants it, dreams of it, works for it. But in the end, no one really achieves it.

Content Warnings

clockwork_hel's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

i read this for school, of course that made me hate it more than I already did

Content Warnings

vejis's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging reflective sad fast-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

4.5

Content Warnings

jan_z's review

Go to review page

dark sad fast-paced

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

3.75

This is my first Steinbeck novel and I picked it up without having any idea about the genre or story.
It shows how everyone has a dream and yet there are very few who are able to attain it even if they work for it.
The friendship between Lennie and George is really admirable since it's constantly tested by different factors.

Content Warnings

bromptonymous's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Classic for a reason.

Content Warnings

More...