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A review by chris_dech
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1.0
Alas, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is simply not what it is purported to be. While it does portray Depression-era life pretty well, it generally falls flat due to the story's central conflict.
There's nothing wrong with Lennie as a character, but it's the things that surround Lennie that I take issue with. Curley's wife, for example, is never named but is treated less as a person and more as a villain or simply an object. Steinbeck's attempts at humanising her, in my opinion, just fail because of the way she's generally portrayed. The characters are not particularly interesting either, save for George and Slim, the most fleshed-out and emotional in the novel.
The ending is sad and tragic, but there is not enough elsewhere in the novel worth really enjoying except for the message about the importance of dreams and camaraderie. But even that is drowned out by the dull characters, mistreatment of women (that's putting it lightly), and a plot that only really gets good at the very end.
2/10.
There's nothing wrong with Lennie as a character, but it's the things that surround Lennie that I take issue with. Curley's wife, for example, is never named but is treated less as a person and more as a villain or simply an object. Steinbeck's attempts at humanising her, in my opinion, just fail because of the way she's generally portrayed. The characters are not particularly interesting either, save for George and Slim, the most fleshed-out and emotional in the novel.
The ending is sad and tragic, but there is not enough elsewhere in the novel worth really enjoying except for the message about the importance of dreams and camaraderie. But even that is drowned out by the dull characters, mistreatment of women (that's putting it lightly), and a plot that only really gets good at the very end.
2/10.