A review by goemonxiii
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad 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

3.25

I love John Steinbeck, but this is one of his weaker works in my opinion. It was an interesting and new perspective on Californian history, and it did bring up three essential points of discussion (those being how disabled people have been treated historically, and how Black and poor people have been discriminated against in early Californian history), but it's far from my favorite novel or even Steinbeck novel. It's a quick read, and I do like Steinbeck's perspective on many topics, but aside from Lenny and the discussion on anti-Black, anti-poor, and anti-disabled sentiments within society, I didn't really care for the other characters or environment. Also I feel it beats you over the head with its foreshadowing so heavily to the point where the "twist" becomes obvious. I wouldn't say that you should skip this title as, once again, it is a really quick read (I finished it in about 2 hours), but please don't characterize Steinbeck on the basis of this book (characterize him by the opinions in this book, not the writing style).
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