Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Steinbeck’s novel is short yet gripping, with all the vices of people trying to get on with each other while making their living in the American West. The story focuses on the antics of the hired hands during their downtime rather than the work itself, and dreams are a common theme as each character describes them; but only Candy, George and Lennie have a realistic chance of engineering them, so long as they stay focused and don’t drift as they do. But some men just don’t understand other men. The tale’s sudden ending is sad and melancholy, and is also rushed. It could have been stretched out a lot more as a stand-alone story rather than a novel play; with perhaps the focus being on George and Lennie when they leave Aunt Clara. The book could also be seen as a draft first attempt for Steinbeck’s first attempt to address the Great Depression.

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