Of Mice and Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)

Of Mice and Men is one of those classics that lives up to its reputation. Steinbeck’s writing is clear and simple, but the emotions and themes run deep. The story of George and Lennie, two men chasing the small dream of land and stability, is touching, raw, and tragic all at once. What stood out most to me is how human the characters feel. The friendship between George and Lennie is tender and complicated, and it captures both the hope and the heartbreak of people trying to build a better life in tough circumstances. Even though the book is short, the weight of the story stays with you long after you finish it. Pros: Accessible writing style that’s easy to follow Memorable characters and themes of friendship, dreams, and loneliness Short length makes it approachable for students and casual readers Still feels relevant and thought-provoking today Cons: Emotional intensity may feel heavy for some readers The ending is difficult and may not appeal to everyone looking for a hopeful story This is a beautifully written, deeply human story that’s as relevant today as when it was first published. If you’re looking for a classic that’s easy to read but leaves a lasting impact, Steinbeck delivers exactly that.

This review is a work in progress. I have the 1953 book with an introduction by Joseph Henry Jackson. I found the introduction by Mr. Jackson to be very instructive and enjoyable. However it may be for more a student than the casual reader. My book is from The Viking Press. It contains six short novels. They are mostly chronological in the order that John Steinbeck published them. The one exception is that the first short novel in the book is "Tortilla Flat". The second is "The Red Pony". These were composed, I think, in the opposite order. Mr. Jackson explains this. These are followed by "Of Mice and Men", "The Moon Is Down", "Cannery Row", and "The Pearl". I read "The Red Pony First". There is a lot in "The Red Pony" which reminds me "Of Mice and Men". It is episodic. The first episode is "The Gift", which is about a child Jody, and his pony. It is beautiful, poignant, and ultimately painful. The second episode is "The Great Mountains". It actually is about a visitor to the same ranch that is the setting for first story. Jody and his family are in this story, along with an elderly visitor. The next episode is "The Promise" which is, more or less, a sequel to the first story. It is somewhat painful. The last episode is "The Leader of The People" which is a bittersweet story about a senior citizen member of the same family at the ranch. It is my personal favorite episode. I completely enjoyed this novella "Of Mice And Men". It is a relatively short work. It was written in 1937, before The Grapes of Wrath. I had previously read The Grapes of Wrath. I enjoyed this book more. I have very little formal education in regard to literature. So my opinion may be very faulty. Anyway, I felt this work was a more artistic work than The Grapes of Wrath. This work reminded me more of Ermest Hemingway. I was very impressed. As is common with many shorter works, the author leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The reader is left to speculate why certain issues develope and are resolved in certain manners. I felt all the aspects of the relationship between George and Lenny were slightly unclear. The book ended with me wishing I knew more about George. My guess is that is intentional on the part of Mr. Steinbeck. I would like to note that I purchased this "Of Mice and Men" on Kindle and at the same time purchased the audiobook narrated by Gary Sinise. I felt Mr. Sinise was really excellent and I highly recommend the audiobook version as read by Mr. Sinise. Mr. Sinise really added to the pleasure of the reading experience with his very professional performance.

The book I read was Of Mice and Men. It was written by John Steinbeck. The main conflict of this book was for these two men George and Lennie to make their dream of farming their own farm and where they could raise rabbits come true. They would travel from farm to farm and do work on different farms to make their living. In this book there were many things I liked and a few things I didn't like. The book was very exciting to read. It was so exciting because I was always wondering what was going to happen next and I didn't want to put the book down. I really felt like I was actually in the book. I felt this way because Steinbeck described everything so well, and I could picture every scene that happened. The main conflict interested me a lot. It interested me because there were many obstacles that Lennie and George had to face throughout the book and I just wanted to see if they could make their dream come true. I thought that the characters felt very real. They seemed real because Steinbeck gave the right amount of descriptions about each of them. The ending was very satisfying. It was a bit sad and I think it could have been better but if it ended differently the book wouldn't have been as good. The author John Steinbeck's writing style is unusual. The author's voice is a narrative style and it's written in the way the characters actually spoke. The characters talk like poor, uneducated people. The author uses vocabulary in an interesting way. He uses poor grammar and slang words to speak like the characters. The author uses a lot of dialog in this book. The two main characters speak to each other a lot. I think that the author is a very good writer because I could actually hear the voice of the characters. He describes things but he doesn't go overboard to make it boring. Compared to other books that I have read I would rate this book an eight out of ten. I give it this rating because it was a very good book and held my attention but there were a few parts he could have changed, like the ending. I recommend this book to any guy or girl. It is a very fast and good read. Overall this was one of the best books I have ever read. I would put this book in my top twenty favorite books. I've read another book by Steinbeck called The Pearl that I didn't really enjoy. I hope other books by Steinbeck are this god. Some other things that happened in this book was that Lennie wasn't very educated and George would always have to look out for him. Lennie loved to pet soft things. He would catch a mouse put it in his pocket and pet the mouse and squeeze it so hard that the mouse accidentally died. This would upset George a lot.

I homeschool my kiddos. My 9th grader is given specific books where she needs to answer questions about each chapter, the book overall, and write summaries as well as discuss sections. It’s a good book to read, there are sad parts. It is a quick read as well. I do think it’s important to bring reading back for kids and literature in multiple forms. Really good price.

This was a good read and it made me cry at the end. Thankyou for an emotional well read book. I enjoyed reading Of Mice and Men. 5 star 🌟

The ink of the front of the book comes off, leaving the white marks on my hands

A bit difficult to follow the century-old language but that’s what makes this novella more real and compassionate.

I love the way Steinbeck plays with the language – flowery descriptions of sceneries and situations are in contrast with the way how the characters, un-educated man of the time speak. The story is brilliant, captivating, sad and beautiful.

Buen libro, para alumnos de inglés avanzado.

Fazla söze gerek yok muhteşem bir kitap ve baskısı ise videodaki gibi son derece kaliteli.