Una fábula exquisita, tierna y conmovedora.

The most moving work of fiction I've ever read.

"In every bit of honest writing in the world ... there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love." - Steinbeck, 1938

5 stars. A book that brings me to tears. This world could use a few more Lennies, and a lot more Georges.

“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.”

Petition to begin a support group for anyone who has been emotionally destroyed by Of Mice and Men?!

Rereading Of Mice and Men was a unique and highly rewarding experience. I studied this book inside out at school, memorising entire sections and quotes, studying themes and characters, and over the years it has remained a favourite of mine. Revisiting this book transported me right back into the classroom, back to discovering one of the books that would stay with me forever.

Of Mice and Men is a simple story, with a relatively small cast of characters, coming in at just over 100 pages. Yet what Steinbeck manages to achieve within such a short page count is staggering. My heart breaks for all of these characters - the loneliness, the broken dreams, as they all strive to find their place in the world. The characters are what make this book special - how can you not feel for George and Lennie? Or Candy and his dog? Or even Curley’s wife, villainous though she may be presented initially, who isn’t even given a name. Through Of Mice and Men we get to witness beautiful friendships and human kindness, but unfortunately we also have to face cold hard reality, racism and prejudices.

I have loved every single Steinbeck book that I have read so far - his prose and writing is on another level for me. He particularly had a fine hand for when it came to descriptions of landscapes and nature. Simply BEAUTIFUL.

So happy that I revisited this once again. Even if I basically cry from start to finish. This book is proof that you can study a book to death in school and still love it in adulthood. 5 stars.

A kind of modern fairy tale of a little intelligent man and a big powerful giant, however shall we say quite dumb ( intellectually challenged). The friends wander California's many dusty roads and get any job possible, as lowly migrant farmhands during the harsh lengthy Great Depression, 1929- 1939 just trying to survive the deluge, nothing very special here the sad truth be told, as so many millions of
others are in the same frightening situation, starvation. George Milton the little guy is always telling Lenny Small, (the name sure doesn't fit him) the large fellow what to do, guidance the poor man desperately needs. The two arrive at another farm where they meet Curley the boss's sin , make that son. A bully who pushes Lenny too far, some people don't know when to quit, he pays the price. Best scene in the novella is Lenny crushing Curley's hand, like it was made of jelly...you can almost literally feel his bones crack and crumble, the result makes for a sickening sound. The childlike behemoth likes tiny cute things animals or women, still with a bad habit of killing them by accident, he means well, yet they're nevertheless... dead. The men are always talking about buying a modest ranch, the goal more a dream than a probability for that era, keeps them together, George feels responsible for Lenny and the truth they need each other. However Curley's wife, no name just "wife" she wasn't an important enough character the author believed, to have one is killed, the dream shattered. Can Lenny escape punishment or does he ...the crude would say , buy the farm? John Steinbeck; history has shown him to be a great writer, the critics much less numerous now, in one of his most famous books for the interested, the title comes from an old Robert Burns poem "To a Mouse". The if I may judge its meaning is misunderstandings... can lead to hate and violence, all people will be good to each other if only they knew their enemies better, love not hostility would prevail; this may in today's atrocious climate seem naive but we must believe or there is no future.

Well, somehow I've managed to read close to 800 books by now, and none of those had been Of Mice and Men. That has been remedied now, and I'm feeling emotionally drained by it. So yeah.

I suppose pretty much everyone knows the heartbreaking story of Lennie and George. I was relatively 'unspoiled' and still knew what happened in the end. I just did not know how or why, but figured out those pretty quickly into the book. And still that did not help the sense of impending doom that was like one protracted gut punch. I think that says something about the masterful writing - where the story takes over so much that you keep reading despite the clear sense of where it is going, without having to rely on suspense or twists - instead, going forward just on the impact of the story itself

"I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog."

I used to work with Special Education kids some time ago. And I have seen first-hand what Steinbeck describes in Of Mice and Men - the childlike vulnerability and innocence often combined with physical strength, just waiting for something bad to happen. The children we took care of - some of which topped my 5'3'' frame by a foot or so and outweighed me by a good hundred pounds (but despite that a few times I had to physically put myself on between them and a smaller child) - had, unlike Lennie, the society that is determined to protect them. They were luckier than poor George's charge. But I could not help but picture some of them, who have forever secured spots in my heart, in place of Lennie Small, feeling nothing but dread and sadness. Lennie, who is as innocent as one gets, and yet as much of a unwilling menace as one can be. And it was soul-crushing.

I think the impact of this story was that it did not have me taking sides. I felt bad for Lennie. I felt awful for Curley's wife who does not even have a NAME in this story. I felt sad for George and what he had to do. And I felt bad for the whole bunch of men who had names and stories, and a woman who got one but not the other.

"You God damn tramp," be said viciously. "You done it, di'n't you? I s'pose you're glad. Ever'body knowed you'd mess things up. You wasn't no good. You ain't no good now, you lousy tart."

And that's where this book lost stars for me. Curley's wife, the unwilling almost-antagonist/victim of this story. The woman who had no name except for the possessive one of her husband whose property - and therefore trouble for everyone else - she was viewed as. It seemed that she was the one getting the blame, not as much the crazy volatile husband of hers. After all, she *asked* for trouble, didn't she? At least that's the nagging feeling I got from this story, from the way her character was handled, from the way it was repeatedly stated that a 'tart' like her meant trouble for a man. Blame-the-victim mentality does not sit well with me, and I can't help but think that Steinbeck did that. And the words, 'Poor bastard' that George utters over her corpse, thinking of Lennie - not about the young woman who was brutally murdered, but of Lennie, the murderer - those made me so sad for the victim that did not get her share of sadness.

This book is definitely a classic with a profound impact on the reader, a short read that is in no way easy. It deserves the fame and recognition that it has enjoyed for quite a few years. 3.5 stars from me (it would have been 4.5 stars, but for the literary treatment of Curley's wife).

[12/18/2o19] - I now regret reading ahead because every time we read an adorable Lennie scene... I'm just dying inside because I know what's coming. I literally have tissues in my pencil case because I'm preparing myself for when we read the final scene in class
---------------

[12/09/2019] -



---------------

[12/09/2019] - I'm not required to but I'm going to go ahead and finish this tonight

---------------

[12/06/2019] - AHHH! Lennie is so adorable!!!

---------------

[12/04/2019] - currently reading this for english class...

so far... eh... i love Lennie

i can't wait to see where this goes

| Goodreads | Blog | Pinterest | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram

این استین بک بی رحم! عین تقدیره داستان هاش: اول به آدم رؤیاهای شیرین نشون میده، در حالی که آدم میدونه قراره همه چیز به فاجعه ختم بشه.
فکر نمی کردم بعد از این همه مدت، یه داستان بتونه این طور منقلبم کنه، با این که آماده ی همچین پایانی بودم.

I have read this long ago, but am now rereading this in January 2017. How will I react this time?

*********************

I am so moved! I don't know how to express adequately how much I loved this book. You know everybody thinks, "Oh Chrissie, she just appreciates non-fiction." Well that is not true, but I do set high standards. Sure, non-fiction you can count on for teaching, for providing knowledge you lacked before. Because you can learn something it is seldom a waste of time, but rarely can a book of non-fiction move you emotionally. I want fiction to capture real emotions and people portrayed as they really are. This book does that. Outstanding fiction has creativity, imagination and gorgeous lines. Non-fiction doesn’t. This book has all three. This book teaches too, about relationships and about what is important in life. The dialogs are pitch-perfect. Each character is intricately drawn. The language is simple and clear, easy to understand and at times utterly beautiful or moving or heartrending. One cannot read this book and not be moved. I absolutely LOVE this book.

I am not telling you much, am I? I am just gushing. The book is about friendship and about kindness and about how so much more important kindness is over knowledge or intelligence.

The audiobook narration by Clarke Peters is stunning. I recommend that you listen to this rather than read it. Each character's intonation fit the character's personality perfectly. Usually I want to myself imagine how a person saying this or that might sound. Peters made each sound exactly as I wanted each one to sound. I wouldn't change anything.


*****************

Here in order of preference are the books by Steinbeck which I have read:

Of Mice and Men 5 stars
The Grapes of Wrath 5 stars
Travels with Charley: In Search of America (4 stars)
The Moon Is Down (4 stars)
Cannery Row (4 stars)
The Winter of Our Discontent (3 stars)
The Pearl (3stars)
Sweet Thursday (2 stars)
East of Eden (2 stars)

كان حلما، أملا، رغبة وطموحا .
كان خطة، نفقا مضيئا في ظلمات الحياة، ركيزة تشحذ بها وعليها الهمم، غاية للاستيقاظ كل صباح وهدفا في حياة سوداء قاتمة

العمل.. ثمّ العمل.. لامتلاك مزرعة
ولكن .. نحن معشر الطبقة الكادحة الكالحة.. نعمل.. ونعمل.. ونعمل.. ثمّ نموت.. عيشة رمادية ضبابية.. ثمّ موت أسود قاتم .

إنّ الأشخاص الذين هم على شاكلتنا، ويخدمون في المزارع، ليس لهم في هذا العالم ظهر ولا أهل.. إنّهم وحيدون ..


رواية من زمن الكساد والفتور الإقتصادي في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، رواية عن الرجال والفئران .. والعنوان هنا رمزي مقتبس .. لأنّ أغلب خطط الرجال والفئران دائما ما تنحرف و لا تنال المرجو منها.. كحال أبطالنا الذين أهلكوا جسدهم بالعمل رجاء وأملا في كسب المال الوفير لتحقيق الحلم.. فلا حلما حققوا و لا مالا كسبوا .



" وماذا سيحدث ؟
في أحد الأيام سنجمع دراهمنا التي ادخرناها، وسنبتاع فدان أو فدانين من الأرض، وسنقتني بقرة وعددا من الخنازير-
- آه.. سنعيش كالأثرياء.. وستكون في حوزتنا الأرانب.. قل.. تكلّم.. تكلّم يا جورج عن الأرانب وأقفاصها.. قل لي كيف تهطل الأمطار في الشتاء..تحدث عن موقدنا ..
-نعم.. ستكون لنا حديقة.. حديقة تزرع ببذور البطيخ.. وسيكون لنا قن بين الأرانب و الدجاج.. وحين يبدأ هطول الأمطار في الشتاء سنتوقف عن العمل..وإذ ذاك سيكون لنا وقت للراحة والإستجمام.. وسنصغي إلى صوت الرذاذ، وسنكون في أقصى درجات السعادة والغبطة.."



و ماذا سيحدث ؟
ستجد نفسك فجأة وقد كبرت.. وترهل جسدك.. وضعف بصرك.. وانحنت قامتك. ستجد نفسك فجأة قد خارت عزيمتك.. وتدهورتصحتك.. فلم تعد ذلك الشاب القوي مفتول الساعد. ستجد نفسك بدون مأوى.. لأنّك لم تعد تصلح لشيء.. فأنت أصبحت ككلب عجوز.. لا يستطيع الحراسة ولا الرعي ولا النباح حتى.. فما كان من صاحبه إلا أن أطلق عليه في الرأس. أما أنت فلن تجد من يفعل لك ذلك.. ستجد نفسك فجأة وأنت تنظر إلى السنين التي مضت، سنين كنت تشتغل فيها لتأكل.. وتأكل لتعيش.. وتعيش لتشتغل وتعمل.. دائرة وسلسلة لا نهائية.. أو نهائية لأنها تتغذى على السنين.. وتتغذى على الصحة .

-
-
-
-
-
-
-


هل نحن رجال أم فئران ؟؟؟؟

Of Mice and Men is the story of two men, George and Lennie, working toward their dream--essentially to retire by acquiring a farm of their own. The story brilliantly shows how easy it is to make dreams a reality, how obvious it is to have dreams and chase them.

But Steinbeck slowly turns things into a nightmare by introducing Curley and his wife. Just by getting in with the wrong crowd at the wrong time and having a few character flaws, Steinbeck shows how dreams are really made of nothing, held together by nothing, and can be torn apart seconds before they become real.

Steinbeck might not be known for moving fast, and although this story starts off slow with the signature lengthy landscape description, in only about 30 pages, the twists and turns begin, and once they do, the story reads like a character-driven thriller--with some of the most memorable characters in literature thrown in the mix.

The way all of the character flaws combine at just the right time to trigger an epic explosion is reminiscent of The Great Gatsby. And being so short, and how it reads so easy, and how relatable it is to have dreams and have them ripped away for reasons almost uncontrollable, Of Mice and Men is a masterpiece unlike anything else ever written.

i hated this book.
steinbeck is crap.
children should not be forced to read it.

ok, i really just don't like steinbeck's aesthetic. i dislike the killing of innocent animals, the dehumanization of the mentally retarded--and don't try to tell me that lenny isn't marginalized here. the book is depressing and directionless, and not in the ironic waiting-for-godot sort of way. the descriptions are flat, emotionless, and dessicated.

however, curly's wife is awesome. she's just so bizarre and pathetic, so out of place. i love her.

Of Mice and Men is a tale about the ultimate kindness - it is hard to talk about kindness without turning sentimental but John Steinbeck was the one who really could.

His ear heard more than what was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought.

Simple-minded men of this cruel world live in their own dreamlands and they dream of rainbows.