A review by bella_mckinnon
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

It was pretty underwhelming I thought. The style of writing and dialogue didn't do it for me, save for Steinbeck's visual imagery of the environment. I could clearly picture the an arid, Western landscape of Depression-era California which I enjoyed. I understand why it's a popular read and a modern classic, but the overall style, themes, characters and plot did not interest me. The simple-mindedness of some characters led to pretty superficial and understandably primitive views of other characters, particularly women like Curly's wife, who isn't even given a name and is always referred to as Curly's wife, as well as black people as seen in Crooks. The constant and flippant use of the n-word in reference to Crooks was also a turn-off, but again, I understand why it was used; it reflected white American views of black people at the time. So, I can see how it resonated with Americans in the 1930s, but it wasn't for me.
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