به طرز عجیبی دلنشین بود. روایت سریع و جذابی که تا آخرین صفحه خواننده رو درگیر میکنه به همراه یک پایان شوک کننده.

I read Of Mice and Men decades ago when it was required reading in high school. During that time period, several U.S. states banned the book.

I listened to it on audiobook and it's narrated phenomenally by Gary Sinise. The plot focuses on two men who stick together while working and looking for migrant work during the Great Depression. George is a small, thin man and Lennie has learning disabilities. They have a shared dream to own a plot of land where they can grow their own food and be their own bosses. Lennie wants to tend rabbits because he likes petting things that are soft.

Of Mice and Men was published in 1937. The language in the book is indicative of the time that it was created and it is jarring and offensive.

A book I'd read an awfully long time ago, when pocket calculators were still the latest thing.
Such an iconic staple of American literature, wherein George and Lennie, migrant labourers in the Cali dustbowl, form an unlikely bond in a tale of brutality and tenderness.
Typical of Steinbeck, his 'no-fucking-about' narrative fast-tracks his examination of human morality, culminating in a story that has since been immortalised on film and stage.
Steinbeck strived for gritty realism and wrote about a time and a place, with all of its triumphs and evils. Hidden messages shadow the narrative, chiefly one of morality. He depicted an America that existed, not the one that he would have liked.

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves..."

Oscar Wilde's prison poem came to mind not only for its literal truth in the context of Lenny and George, but also because it evokes the brutal isolation of the whole cast of characters, each one of them stuck in their separate reality and unable to connect with each other. The young lonely wife has nobody to confide in, and keeps looking for trouble out of sheer isolation. The black man is so utterly alone that he is almost insane, and the barrier of his skin colour is even more impenetrable than the woman's gender. George's loneliness is connected to his responsibility for Lenny, and Lenny himself is in the brutal prison of his intellectual inferiority and herculean strength. Even the boss' son is in a no man's land between privilege and torture.

The dream of sharing a future together keeps the men's spirits alive for a while, and it is contagious. Breaking out of the isolation, enjoying freedom and partnership - those are powerful ideas.

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves..."

The domino effect of Lenny's inability to control his strength or his craving for softness and love makes all dreamers wake up to a nightmare without end. The only solace is finding another human being who understands enough of the pain of killing what one loves to offer a sign of support or friendship in the misery of reality.

Lenny broke my heart, and yet I had to smile at his limited vision over and over again. When I first read this novel, I was a busy teenager, bored and frustrated that school picked my reading materials for me, not willing to enter into the confused minds of men with whom I had seemingly nothing in common. With hindsight, I see myself in a cloud of ignorance, not fully grasping what happened around me, missing a masterpiece in the process - I was very much like Lenny myself, unaware of the bigger picture of what was going on around me. Reading Of Mice and Men now, to prepare a teaching unit for a new generation of fifteen-year-olds, I find myself more in the role of George, gently coaxing, carefully repeating the information I consider crucial, avoiding too much detail out of fear to completely lose the attention of my students. Lenny and George live a life of their own in my head now, and they have transcended their bitter story and become part of mine.

Just what one expects of a great classic!

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is an American Literature Classic!

n  "...The best laid schemes of Mice and Men go oft awry..."~ Robert Burns 1875n

There's something about an American Literature Classic that's at once cautious and gritty, pure and raw, brilliant and dark. When it's a story that packs a punch with a glimpses at life during the Great Depression written by John Steinbeck, you're sure to be glued to every word.

George Milton and Lennie Small are two itinerant ranch hands traveling together, from place to place.

One is protecting and smarter than the other. One is larger and stronger than the other.

Lenny is misunderstood for his awkwardness and George is destined to explain and make excuses for him when things don't go quite right.

Some days are good and other days are bad. Time after time it goes like this until that one day when things went very, very bad...

Of Mice and Men is a short read/listen that's an emotional journey for the reader. The dire circumstances of living during a time in history when most have nothing, these two men have each other. Yet their relationship is a struggle for both of them and for very different reasons.

Then there's the ending... Yes, there's that, so be prepared for it...

How did Steinbeck do this? How was he able to dig so deep into the human experience and nail it with so few words?

The audiobook is narrated by Gary Sinise. I'll never tire of listening to the voice of this award winning American actor and humanitarian. He also narrates Steinbeck's Travels with Charley which I read in 2021. My review for Travels with Charley

Of Mice and Men is the perfect Classic to add to your reading schedule anytime. Just pop it in...it's short, it's real, it's a snapshot in time, and it's a masterpiece that I highly recommend!

5⭐

n  “Me an’ you.”
“You  . . . an’ me."n

First published in 1937, I am glad I finally read and listened to this unforgettable story of dreams and beautiful friendship.

Set during the Great Depression in Soledad, California this is a story of George and Lennie two migrant workers traveling from job to job working on ranches in the Salinas Valley.

The audio read by Gary Sinise was perfect giving the characters their personalities. I know there's a film with the same name which Sinise also starred in and directed. Without reading the synopsis, I didn't know the basis of this story nor did I expect it to be an emotional journey.

A ReadAlong group with Lisa of Troy. Thank you Lisa!

A small book with a big heart; actually it was George and Lennie with the big hearts. Two friends, migrant workers in California during the Depression, looking out for one another, trying to scrap by and save enough money for a place of their own. Their big dream can't overcome their human frailty or the harsh and unforgiving time they lived in. If not for the The Grapes of Wrath this would be Steinbeck's masterpiece.

4.5 stars

Una historia terriblemente triste que narra muy bien la pobreza, precariedad y racismo existente durante la gran depresión en Estados Unidos.
Me ha gustado muchísimo como está escrito porque consigue ser crudo y evocador al mismo tiempo. Luego el tema de que este sea el segundo libro que lea de Steinbeck y sea el segundo en el que la mujer es el mal de males... pues uf.
De todas maneras eso no ha impedido que disfrutara muchísimo de esta novela corta y que haya perdonado al autor tras "Al este del Edén" por fin xD
No me puedo quedar sin hablar de esta IMPRESIONANTE edición de Edelvives con las ilustraciones de Rebecca Dautremer, una de mis ilustradoras preferidas desde tiempos inmemoriales, y que aquí realiza un trabajo para caerse del asiento. Estamos ante una auténtica obra de arte en todos los sentidos y creo que el hecho de haber leído el libro en esta edición ha conseguido que me gustara aún muchísimo más. Recomendadísimo queda.

“Trouble with mice is you always kill 'em. ”

Breathtaking prose, touching characters and a heart breaking ending. Who said only lengthy novel can make an impact?

خیلی کتاب تلخی بود.
و موخره ی آخر کتاب به قلم آقای سروش حبیبی فوق العاده بود.

'Of Mice and Men', more a play than a novella, takes us to the sunny California, to the era of the Great Depression. There is no hope under the Californian sun, it's a land where thousands of homeless and lonely Georges, Lennies, Candies and many others move from one ranch to another in search of a temporary job, food and a bed. It's everyday struggle. There is no place for the warmth of human connection, friendship, empathy and kindness. Only few of them are lucky to have a friend, like George and Lennie, for some (like Candy) a dog is their family, but the majority are just on their own against the whole world in this never-ending marathon.
Because it is a race, only the strongest survive. The old dog and her cripple owner don't stand a chance. As for Lennie, reading the novella was a stressful experience to me because I was very worried something bad would happen to him and it did. Lennie was at the wrong place at the wrong time. The end of the story is heartbreaking
The survival has a price - shattered dreams and the hope for a better tomorrow.

'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.'
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'Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.'
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'Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head.'
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'As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.'
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'His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought.'

Геният на Стайнбек открих за себе си сравнително рано - бил съм 12-13 годишен, когато се натъкнах на негова книга в домашната библиотека. В изданието бяха включени "Улица Консервна" и "За мишките и хората". И до ден днешен си остава загадка за мен, защо ли точно тези две диаметрално противоположни творби са били събрани заедно, в едно книжно тяло?

Първата доста ме развесели и съответно никак не ме подготви за шока от втората. А такъв изпитах доста голям - за първи път се сблъсках с неправдите и жестокостта на живота, който живеят възрастните.

Съдбите на Лени и Джордж погълнаха част от детството ми, но ми помогнаха да израсна. И препрочетох "За мишките и хората" поне пет пъти в следващите няколко години, търсейки и намирайки в нея отговори на фундаментални въпроси.

Има и страхотен филм с Гари Синийз в ролята на Джордж и Джон Малкович в тази на Лени - просто перфектни!