Reviews with content warning for Violence - Of Mice and Men

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

120 reviews

lottiebrooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I will never give a classic less than 5 stars because who tf am I to disagree :)

Content Warnings

alixbx's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I read this for my 2024-25 Re-Reading Your Childhood challenge. This was required reading in high school, so I did read this back around 2008/2009, thereabouts. Since I am using a reading journal I found on Amazon to reflect on eBook reads (I usually annotate in my physical copies), I'm going to break this down in the 3 Main Parts: Pre-reading Reflection, Essential Review, and Post-reading Reflection (reflections will be abridged).

Pre-reading Reflection:
-I was uncomfortable when I read this in school, but I don't feel that I really appreciated the purpose and message of the text for what it really meant. The gravity of the content wasn't missed, but not understood as deeply as I think it probably should have been.

Essential Review:
-This book was ahead of its time in many ways. That said, it's not a fun book to read, but I do understand why it is required reading. It teaches important lessons, even if they are subtle. My belief is that Steinbeck intended to show softness and humanity in the kinds of people society would look down upon for on reason or another. I believe he absolutely achieved that in this writing, which is remarkable given how short it is compared to many other classics that end up being required reading. Though he wouldn't have intended it at the time, the ending of the book also teaches current day readers how far we have come in our treatment of people of different disabilities and standings in society.

Post-reading Reflection:
-I realize now what I thought I remembered with clarity, I did not. While I had all the right details, I had them in the wrong order, so when I was re-reading it the emotions were intense as I realized the things I had wrong. Even though I knew the ending, I was in tears - the kind you cry when you feel defeated. I also was able to see even bigger of a picture in all that Steinbeck was commenting on through the decisions he made with character interactions, character behaviors, and character decisions. In this way, some characters are really lovable - Lennie, Candy, Slim, and Crooks - and then characters that you cannot stand - Curley, Carlson. Equally, the diversity of characters is there - well off, poor, white, black, male, and female - but when you have a book that uses the "n" word dozens of times, even with it being of the time when the text was published, it is hard to be glad that this black character is portrayed in a positive way with softness when you know how horrible that language used to speak to and about that character. The book is both so of the times and equally ahead of its time, but in different ways. More than every I understand and support this as required reading because good conversations about what has changed and what remains from then to now.

Content Warnings

lucy_fabulous's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

natrat02's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

robyn1998's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this for what it was. It was very accessible and the writing kept me interested, especially the sense of place. I will probably read more of John Steinbeck's work once I'm ready to tolerate a large dose of racism and misogyny again.

Content Warnings

pikkumarja's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

2.25

Kirjan pituuteen nähden (noin 140 sivua) lukemiseen meni tuskaisen kauan. Tämä ei ollut minulle, enkä ihan suoraan sanottuna ymmärrä klassikkoasemaa, koska kirja kuvaa ihmisyyttä niin vastenmielisellä tavalla, ettei samaistumispintaa ihmisyyteen edes ole näin lukijalla. Toisaalta saattaa olla, että ihmisille, jotka eivät tiedä mitään vammaisuudesta, kirja uppoaisi paremmin. Ja ehkä sellaisille henkilöille, joille riittää yksi nainen kirjan hahmokaartissa ja ei haittaa, vaikka n-sana mainitaan aika monta kertaa.

Ei tämä siis kyllä ihan umpisurkea ollut ja onpahan nyt luettu.

Content Warnings