If you want to feel real sad, absorb Steinbeck's pitch perfect prose right to your dome. A worthwhile bummer of a great book.

When I was in college taking teaching courses I graded a lot of homework about this book. It was pretty magical, interacting with a novel I had loved when I read it in school and seeing it again through the opinions of young students. I’ve always found I like a novel more when I can dig into it and being able to be on the teaching side really opened it up further, especially because I was reading key passages over and over again. So this book holds a really special place in my heart.

'چطور میشه یه کتاب رو انقدر ساده نوشت ؟
و در عین سادگی، نویسنده بتونه با پنبه سرت رو ببره؟'

در باب جورج و لنی

شاید ماها ترکیبی از این دو شخصیت باشیم.
مثل جورج واقع بین ، رنجور ، گاها خسته از اتفاقات بد زندگی ، گاها عصبانی ، مراقب و محتاط .
و مثل لنی خیالات ببافیم . نه رویاهای محال و دست نیافتنی . همین که یه کنجی پیدا کنیم و درش ساکن بشیم . یه حیاطی داشته باشیم ، به حیوانات و محصولاتمون رسیدگی کنیم و شکممون رو سیر کنیم . زندگی ساده ای رو بگذرونیم و از پس اموراتش بر بیایم. و ایا این خواسته ی بزرگی هست؟

این دو شخصیت برای من به قدری واقعی بودن که در وجودم حسشون می کردم. عقلی که مثل جورج من رو با واقعیت دنیا رو به رو میکنه و قلبی مثل لنی که خواستار خرگوشی هست که بتونه تو مزرعه ی خودش ازش مراقبت کنه!همین قدر کوچیک و همین قدر تلخ .

شاید لنی مثل کسایی هست که آرزوی اون بهشتی که ندیده رو داره و جورج،مثل کسایی هست که میگه وقتی که بهشت رو از ما گرفتن،چطور وعده ش رو میدن!

در سکانس نهایی فیلم Alien : covenant ، فضانورد در یخچالی که بخاطر سفر طولانی ای که در انتظارش هست ، دراز میکشه تا به خواب بره . همزمان با رباتی که در سفینه هست حرف میزنه . از کلبه ای که دوستش داره . از خاطراتی که داشته و براش خوشایند بودن. ناگهان وقتی پلک هاش سنگین میشن متوجه میشه که ربات ، رباتی که فکر میکرده نیست . رباتی هست که به شدت براش میتونه خطرآفرین باشه . اما موقعی متوجه میشه که کار از کار گذشته . ربات نیشخندی میزنه و فضانورد به خواب میره.
برای من اون ربات حقیقت تلخ جهان هست . اینکه موقع خیالبافی سر میرسه و با نشون دادن حقیقت ماجرا ، یادآوری میکنه که ممکن نیست از این رنج رها بشی . و اون فضانورد برای من، نشونه ای از ما هست . آدم هایی که در طلب کاخ نیستن ، همین که کلبه ای باشه براشون کفایت میکنه . طمع چیزهای بزرگ و دست نیافتنی رو در سر نمی پرورونن، بلکه زندگی رو در جزئیات ساده میبینن.

و اما باز هم میخوام برای توصیف بیشتر به داستان دیگه ای رجوع کنم . داستان زندگی پنهان والتر میتی . شخصیت داستان کسی هست که در تخیل_حال زندگی رو سپری میکنه . به قدری در زندگیش دستاوردی نداشته که در تخیلاتش یک قهرمان از خودش میسازه . و به قدری این تخیلات قوی هستن که موقع جراحی حواسش به دنیای خیالیش میره و دوباره بر میگرده به زمان حالش ! روانشناسا حتی بعد این داستان سندرومی به اسم والتر میتی ابداع کردن. سندروم والتر میتی به افرادی تلقی میشه که در زندگی خیالی و دلخواهشون زندگی می کنن و کمتر در دنیای واقعی به سر می برن . برای من لنی دچار این سندروم بود . به قدری در دنیای خیالیش غوطه ور بود که متوجه حال نبود . گفته ها باید چند بار تکرار میشدن تا به خاطر بسپارتش و چرا؟چون در عالم خودش بود . چند نفر از ما این حالت رو تجربه کردیم ؟ به قدری اون دنیای خیالی رو شیرین متصور شدیم که از حقیقت فرار کنیم ؟ چقدر در کار غرق شدیم تا افکار آزاردهنده برای مدتی هر چند کوتاه کمتر به ذهنمون هجوم بیارن؟ چقدر بی دلیل خوابیدیم و بیدار شدیم به امید اینکه این جریانات فقط کابوس باشن و بس؟

در باب مترجم

ترجمه به شدت روان بود . سخن آخر مترجم که در انتهای کتاب بود به درک بهتر کتاب کمک می‌کرد . البته باید تشکر کنم که در مقدمه ی ابتدای کتاب ، حرف ها گنجونده نشد، چون تمام ماجرای کتاب لو میرفت .

در باب داستان

جورج و لنی کارگرای مهاجری هستن که از یه مزرعه به مزرعه دیگه عازم میشن . آرزوی داشتن خونه و مزرعه و حیوانات اهلی رو دارن .اینکه دستشون تو جیب خودشون باشه و زیر دست اربابی نباشن .
برای کار جدید به مزرعه ای میرن که با ادم های جدید آشنا میشن . ماجراهای جدید براشون پیش میاد و سرنوشت براشون چه طور رقم میخوره؟
داستان ساده ست اما گول این سادگی رو نخورید . به قدری به موضوعات مختلف در همین متن ساده اشاره شده که میتونین از دغدغه های اون دوره بطور مختصر مطلع بشین .
از این کتاب فیلمی هم دیدم به اسم of mice and men 1992 که پیشنهاد میکنم بعد خوندن کتاب ببینینش و شخصیت ها و داستان به طور دیگه ای در خاطرتون ثبت بشه .

حرف آخر

متشکرم که خوندین ❤ امیدوارم که حق مطلب رو در قبال این کتاب ادا کرده باشم.

Only a writer capable of assembling the symbolic with the folkloric can pen a novella that straddles genres, writing techniques and figurative voices and tug at the heartstrings of both commonplace audiences and the most exigent of readers.
Such indisputable universality is what Steinbeck accomplished with “Of Mice and Men”, a fabled novella with a linear plot delivered in a succession of theatrical scenes, compact on the surface and with simply drawn characters that might be accused of being excessively melodramatic and verging on the caricaturesque.
Yet when reflected upon, this deceivingly modest tale appears designed in concentric layers of deep meaning that orchestrate a rich parable on thematic complexities like the natural goodness of man, the alienation triggered by a socio-economic system that endorses exploitative working conditions and the need to cling to illusions to face a mirthless existence.

Set in a few miles south of Soledad, Spanish for “solitude”, Steinbeck introduces two antithetic characters combining coarse and fast paced dialogue with lush descriptions of the Salinas river.
Lennie Small is ironically heavily built and as strong as he is good-natured. Of a gullible disposition and feeble minded he depends solely on his workmate George to be hired as a temporary hand harvesting seasonal crops in the farms of California. George, a sharp and resourceful rogue, tries to protect Lennie mostly from himself but also from the maliciousness inherent in most of their fellow labourers. They both dream of owning a rabbit farm and “living off the fatta the lan’ ”, an ideal that Lennie begs George to repeat over and over again with the exact same words creating the mesmerizing effect of an invocation or a soothing lullaby that equals a spell capable of transforming the inconceivable into a tangible possibility.

Alternating the romantic with the myopic vision of hope and gloom, the story is shaped by the intense friendship between these disparate characters and their legitimate aspirations to achieve a respectable livelihood, creating an expansive allegory for the dehumanization the itinerant labourers were victims of during the years ensuing the Great Depression.
George’s attempts to shelter Lennie from the viciousness of foremen and masters also exposes the juxtaposition between the innate solidarity of man and its posterior corruption when trapped in the dynamics of an abusive social hierarchy.
The lonely(*), the dispossessed and the crippled become the easy target of such system with only love, friendship and compassion as shielding forces.

“Of Mice and Men” is a heart-warming story with a chilling conclusion. A story of marginalized men and women who live on the fringes of an impassive society and navigate the stirred waters of human dignity and animalization, reason and instinct, courage and weariness, narcotic dreams and hopeful illusions.
In the same way an innocent dummy might crush a tiny mouse unwillingly and with only good intentions human beings crush each other not truly grasping the full consequences of their atrocious acts. There is irony in that equation, but a gentle one.
This is a dark tale, a bitter pill to swallow. It hurts. But it also illuminates with its moving tenderness, allegorical scope and unflinching naturalism. Dreams mightn’t come true this time, but maybe that’s a weighty reason to start loving the things we’ve got.

(*) A quick note to mention Steinbeck’s shocking depiction of women as an object of desire who use erotic mysticism to lure men into the social stability offered by marriage. This notion highly contrasts with his previous approach to the essential role of females in the family unit as seen in The Grapes of Wrath.

Perfect soundtrack for this book:

Things that stop you dreaming

After long years of avoiding him, I finally managed to sum up my courage and read John Steinbeck. Now one may ask me why I had to "sum up the courage" to read Steinbeck books since they are not particularly difficult to read. It's not the writing I feared to face, but the subject matter, for I've entertained a preconceived notion that the chosen subjects for his books were depressing. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Of Mice and Men, deriving its title from the poem "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns, tells us a tale of friendship, of shattered dreams, of loneliness, of not being belonging to any place, and of human nature. "The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry, and leave us naught but grief and pain for promised joy" said Burns in his poem. And that is what happens to Lennie and George in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. George and Lennie dream of having their own land to cultivate and live free from "masters" ending their drifting lives. But their beautiful dream is shattered and their friendship is tested. And in the end, nothing is left but sadness and loneliness.

While telling his story, Steinbeck also exposes different sides of human nature. George's and Lennie's relationship shows the power of friendship. Despite being mentally handicapped and because of the very reason somewhat difficult to handle, George looks after Lennie without abandoning him. This power of love and compassion is not easily understood. Most of the coworkers in the ranch, even the boss, were cynical about it, making insinuations. But people like Slim and Candy understand and sympathize. Steinbeck shows that, while some men are cold, harsh, and bullying, there are still others who are warm, sensitive, and understanding.

The masterful descriptions of the setting bring the surrounding California landscape to life. Steinbeck, while glorifying nature, contrasts it with the gloomy human condition. The foreboding aura overshadowing George and Lennie is captured beautifully and is contrasted against the surrounding beauty of nature quite brilliantly. John Steinbeck is undoubtedly a gifted writer.

The only drawback for me was that I couldn't fully feel the emotions it aroused. It was sensitive and touching, and the ending was heartbreaking. But for some queer reason, I just couldn't rise to the emotions it generated, which was unfortunate.

I had a hard time rating this book. This is a re-read; the first time I read this was many, many years ago for a high school English class. I don’t remember liking it very much back then but have since read several Steinbeck novels that I truly enjoyed. So, it was time to look at this one again with adult eyes. I was not disappointed! John Steinbeck described the landscape and the characters so beautifully; I could really see everything so clearly.

Of Mice and Men is a simply told, tragic story about the American dream, friendship, loyalty, isolation, prejudice, and loneliness. The childlike Lennie and the quick-witted, father-figure George travel as a pair working jobs to earn enough money to “get a little place an’ live on the fatta the lan’”. At the ranch they meet such colorful characters as the old man Candy who has no other friend in the world but his old dog; Slim, whose “ear heard more than was said to him”; Crooks, the stable hand who was isolated due to the color of his skin; Curley, the scrappy boss’s son; and Curley’s wife, who had “full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.” Steinbeck makes use of rich symbolism and effective foreshadowing leading us to an astonishing conclusion to this very worthy and heartbreaking novel. I rated this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. I struggled a bit with the rating when I compared this to other Steinbeck novels I have read. This was very enjoyable, but some of his other books were perhaps a bit more sophisticated. Maybe this feeling is really just a result of the shorter length of this one. Definitely worth the read or re-read if you have not picked it up since your adolescent years!

4.5 stars

As expected, this book was gorgeously written, intelligent and touching.
The foreshadowing was perfectly executed (not the only thing perfectly executed, if you catch my drift) and held everything together beautifully.

The only criticism I have is the treatment of the only female character: She is essentially the Evil Whore who makes a Good Man do bad things, and everyone blames her and is sorry for the guy, even though she clearly gets the short end of the stick.

But yeah, definitely a classic for a reason.

★★★★★

"

"Hey Tim, old buddy… I hear you've been depressed recently. A book should cheer you up, right?"
"Why yes Tim, that sounds delightful. Got any good ideas?"
"How about a classic?"
"Brilliant idea Tim! One I haven't read?"
"Of course! How about Steinbeck?"
"I don't know… I hear he's a bit depressing."
"Come now, it's only 105 pages! How depressing could it be?"

…

Should I just end the review there? Nah, of course not.



Of Mice and Men is one of those books that pretty much everyone has read. I once saw an article that said it was one of the most commonly read books in High School classes in America. Somehow it is another one of those classics that I managed to never have assigned to me in both High School or College (and I majored in English). Well, I've read it now. My thoughts?

Well, it's a wonderfully well told story, frequently feeling more like a play than a novel, but I mean that as a compliment as it makes for a fast paced conversational tone. It's depressing as all hell mind you, but wonderfully told.

Did I enjoy reading it? No, no I sure as hell did not. I mean the writing is well done, Steinbeck created one of the best literary pairs ever written and managed to have the most perfect moment of foreshadowing I've ever read (in the form of a dog, so animal lovers beware!). I'm very glad I read it and genuinely liked the book. Enjoyment though? No, no and no.

Do I have anything else to add? Not really. It's a short review, because there's really not much I can say that hasn't already been said. I could address how Curley's wife is annoyingly only called Curley's wife despite being a main character, and the treatment she's given in the book… but I think this is entirely because Steinbeck is showing her only from the point of view of his characters. This is further reinforced by an article I saw in which it discussed how he wrote to Claire Luce, the actress who originated the role on stage saying the following about the character: "She is a nice, kind girl and not a floozy. No man has ever considered her as anything except a girl to try to make... As to her actual sex life — she has had none except with Curley and there has probably been no consummation there since Curley would not consider her gratification and would probably be suspicious if she had any." So I guess mission accomplished in showing how others viewed her, but also a bit of a failure if that was his real aim for the character (though I do love his jab at Curley there).

Will I read more Steinbeck in the future? Sure! I apparently like sliding down the rain slick precipice of despair, so why the hell not? 4/5 stars.

"Tell me what you told me before...about them rabbits"

I often think of this book when I see mentally ill people on the streets. I must admit that I am jealous of John Steinbeck...what I would not give to be able to write 1/4 as well as he could. One of the books that made me fall in love with the classics.

این کتاب برام یاد آور چندتا چیز خیلی مهم تو زندگی بود که فراموششون کرده بودم. خیلی وقت پیش ها یه کتابی خوندم که الان اسمش رو فراموش کردم اما تو یه بخشی از کتاب چیز جالبی نوشته بود که هنوز خیلی خوب یادم مونده. نوشته بود : ما آدم ها صاحب تمام اون چیزهایی هستیم که بهشون نگاه میکنیم. کافیه سرت و رو برگردونی و به خونه ی بزرگ و زیبای اونور جاده نگاه کنی و بعد توی ذهنت تصور کنی که صاحب اون خونه هستی .اونوقت چه کسی می تونه جلوت رو بگیره و بگه که داری اشتباه میکنی.همم...؟

گاهی اوقات خوبه که بی خیالِ این دنیا و همه ی خبرهای بد و غم انگیزش بشیم و فقط زندگی کنیم. خوبه که برای خودمون یه فنجون چای بریزیم و راحت و آسوده کنار پنجره بشینیم و چای مون رو سر بکشیم و بگیم اصلا بی خیال این دنیا، بی خیال اینکه نتوستم دور دنیا سفر کنم، بی خیال اینکه نشد تو خونه ی رویاییم زندگی کنم، بی خیال اینکه نتوستم به خیلی چیزها تو زندگیم برسم. عوضش چشم هام رو که می بندم صاحب قشنگ ترین و دوست داشتنی ترین خونه ی دنیا هستم، صاحب تمام اون چیزهایی که همیشه دلم می خواست داشته باشم و نشد، هستم . توی رویا به همه جای دنیا سفر می کنم بدون اینکه دیگه نیازی به پول و ویزا و اجازه ی کسی داشته باشم و دائم بخوام غصه ی بالا و پایین رفتن قیمت ارز و دلار رو بخورم
^^
اصلا یه وقت هایی خوبه که آدم خودش رو به نفهمیدن بزنه و بگذره . یه وقتایی اونایی که هیچی از دور و برشون نمی فهمن، اونایی که اتفاقات بد زندگی زود یادشون میره، اونایی که تمام زندگیشون خلاصه میشه تو دوست داشتن یه گلوله ی پشمالوی پنبه ای، همونا خوشبخت ترین و خوشحال ترین آدم های این دنیای خاکی هستن. خوبه که گاهی اوقات به حال این آدم ها غبطه بخوریم و بدونیم که همیشه بیشتر دونستن نمی تونه ما رو خوشحال تر کنه، که اصلا خیلی وقت ها با خبر بودن از همه ی خبرهای دنیا، درد و رنج بیشتری برامون داره تا بی خبر بودن ازشون

خلاصه که توی سخت ترین و بدترین شرایط زندگی هم میشه صاحب رویاهای قشنگ باشیم و در عین نداشتنِ همه چیز، مالک همه ی این دنیای پهناور باشیم
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یادگاری از کتاب

آدم واسه اینکه خوب باشه شعور نمی خواد، گاهی به نظر من میاد که آدم شعور نداشته باشه بهتره. یه آدمی که واقعا باهوش باشه خیلی کم اتفاق میافته که خوب هم باشه

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ترجمه ی آقای "داریوش" رو اصلا به کسی توصیه نمیکنم. گویش روستایی وقتی شنیده میشه قشنگه اما وقتی نوشته میشه ، موقع خوندن به یه فاجعه تبدیل میشه.ای کاش آقای "داریوش" کتاب رو اینجوری ترجمه نکرده بود، اونوقت راحت تر می شد با داستان و شخصیت ها ارتباط برقرار کرد

I was fully not expecting to vibe with this one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved seeing the exploration of the friendship between George and Lennie & I could've never foreseen where things would end up. I felt it's impact & loved seeing the bold choices that the author made.

I think it's tradition for me to finish a classic and think, "That was good, but I wonder what insights and symbolism I missed out on since I didn't read this for class and have a professor telling me about it." It's also just really hard to review classics in general, because whereas "normal" books I can pick apart the plot, characters, pace, etc., there's something different about these. I feel like I always expect classics to be deep and mindblowing with huge world-shifting themes, but in reality, it's totally normal to be disappointed by them. In this case, I spent most of this book wondering what the point was. I wondered if I was just not connecting to this because it was too short, or because of the very slang dialogue, but by the end of this everything just clicked into place and I actually went into my mom's room to discuss. Touching, tragic, and just..... wow.