A review by eliya
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

i was really hoping that this was gonna end with the five of em living their best lives. this is hopelessly devastating.

the scene that steinbeck paints is very well done. heavily descriptive just up to the point where it sets the scene, no further, which i appreciated bc i get dizzy with too much detail.

quick read, horribly packed with internal conflict. poor george. poor lennie. poor mae. i strongly believe that steinbeck was not “demonstrating bias of the period” so much as participating in it heavily.

i’ll think about this book for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Animal death

Moderate: Physical abuse and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape

interaction where lenny grabs hold of a woman’s dress and won’t let go, she is terrified and says he tried to rape her

heavy use of the n word