Hated it. I really don't understand why he is such a celebrated author. ( )

This simple, beautifully written tale of friendship is one of my favorites. I can't read it often because it does make me cry. ( )

This classic novel tells the tragic tale of Lennie Small and George Milton. They are out of luck and out of work migrant workers roaming the highways of California during the 1920s. The depression is the backdrop for the story but that does not prevent Lennie and George from dreaming big. Steinbeck paints a masterful and brilliant portrait of a bygone era that still resonates today. Every time I read this book it reads differently. This is required reading for most high schools. Fifteen years after I originally read I still love it. However, the difference between reading it at 14 and 28 is amazing. Lennie and George are some of the best characters of 20th Century Literature. I highly reccommend picking this one up. ( )

“Of Mice and Men” is an ingenious book about the American dream. To me this book should go down is history as a classic. Lennie and George are characters that represent lower class people wanting to be in a higher class. As the book progresses we learn more and more about the different characters and their viewpoints. Because of Lennie’s condition the book can be read on a much higher level. The book ends in an intense twist that to me was the right thing to do. After completing the book I had to think about it as a whole before understanding its true meaning. I recommend this book to everyone, especially people interested in a great story. ( )

I had to read this book for my english class and I loved it. At first I really didn't think that I would because I was kind of on a vampire story kick at the time but this book was great. ( )

Loved it!. I could read it at least once a month. George is a great character. ( )

I love the books of John Steinbeck but I didn`t really got the message with this one. It didn`t flow like the others. and the end, hmm? ( )

This is a powerful read! I still have vivid memories of crying in the middle of my 9th grade classroom whilst reading the last few pages of this book. I love a good tragedy, and this one delivers. Very well executed. ( )

Of Mice And Men is about the journey of two men, Lennie and George. Lennie is slightly retarded from an accident that happened when he was just a child but he is hard working and doesn't mean any harm. George is the caretaker of Lennie, which he likes even though at times he says differently. They are just trying to make a place in the world for themselves but something goes terribly wrong along the way.

This was a good book, which I would probably read again. I can relate to George and Lenny, with their struggles and the relationship that they have with each other. The story felt very realistic almost like a memoir. However, at times I felt the book dragged on, especially in the beginning. ( )

Reviewed by Nell (Class of 2010) ( )

This is a parable that works on so many levels: Cain vs. Abel, male bonding, the haves and have nots, the earthly paradise, the futility of dreams, natives vs. interlopers, the threat of female sexuality ... On the surface it's a simple tale, but think about it a little and it becomes amazingly complex. A slight complaint is that the characters lack multi-dimensionality like you find in the greatest novels. But again, this is a parable. I just read this for the first time as an older adult and wish I had studied it in school because there is so much to say about it. But I don't think it would be appropriate for Catholic schools in the sixties given the book's profanity, sexuality and violence. ( )

This story takes place during the Great Depression and tells of a very different friendship between George & Lennie. Lennie suffers from a mental disorder--no, it might be more proper to say therefore George suffers from Lennie's mental disorder.
Don't let the colorful language run you away from this story, yet don't expect to feel uplifted during your read either. ( )

two men, george and lennie, travle from ranch to ranch in search of work. they meet a lot of new people at their new ranch and are slowy geting closer to their life dream of having their own land when they find themselves in a lot of troule. ( )

This story is about friends George and Lennie finding a job on a ranch. Lennie has a mental disability and George tryies to keep him out of trouble. I would reccomend this book to people that don't mind a lot of cussing and who don't mind sad endings. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good book. ( )

This book is about great friends, George and Lennie trying to find work and keep Lennie out of trouble. They are a part of the laboring class during the Great Depression and dream of buying a homestead. I think this book was ok, but it's very serious and got boring in some parts. I like humorous and fun books more. ( )

This book is a great book but it has many cuss words. I recommend it to people who are okay with sad endings. It is a sad story about two men working on a ranch during the Great Depression. They arefreinds who look out for each other while they are working. ( )

This book is good for people who are looking for a good story and a quick read. The book is about two guys looking for work during the Great Depression and end up on a farm. One of the guys has a mild mental disability which causes problems for both of them. I enjoyed this book and even though I don't like to read it was easy and the story had an amazing ending. ( )

This is a short novel about two farmhands trying to achieve their dream of owning a farm. One is george,who is witty, and Lennie, who is large, strong, and not all that bright. They get work on a farm, and Georgge spends most of his time looking after Lennie to keep him out of trouble. ( )

i hated this book ( )

I didn't like that many characters died, got sick or lost everything. One person had his hands cut off. The nice guy kept killing mice accidentally. ( )

After being repeatedly forced to read the 'Red Pony' in school, I hated Steinbeck & wouldn't try another book by him. My son read this book in school, told me I should read it, so I did, during lunch hour. It is fantastic. Everything the 'Red Pony' wasn't. I then went on to read several of his other books.Well done in the movies & oft reviewed, this book doesn't need any introduction to most. It's a short novel, but very well done. A 'must read'. ( )

One of the things I remember most from my public school education is the gross lack of enthusiasm of my teachers. The subject was treated as a necessary evil by my instructors themselves, and I believe much of my own reading prejudices have their root in the dry rote that governed the teaching of "classic" literature.

I have abhorred John Steinbeck for as long as I remember, probably due (at least in part) to the mediocre introduction I received at the hands of a high school English teachers who were less than enthused themselves (not all English teachers or public schools are so disappointing- I just happened to have no luck in my school system). And so it was with a mixture of reluctance and curiosity that I accepted Belva's (aka nannybebette) challenge to read Of Mice and Men as part of an I'll Read Yours if You'll Read Mine partnership. She was kind and challenged me to read a very short work that was gathering dust on my shelf, and I completed my half of the challenge this afternoon.

One of the first things I noticed while reading Of Mice and Men was a sense of comfort on the part of the narration; the descriptions and character development seemed so natural that the sense of realism was undeniable. Although there is much that Steinbeck keeps to himself in terms of his main characters, I found Lennie and George to be well-rounded and honest - simple men trying to keep their heads above their water as they pursue (to different degrees) what qualified as "the good life" for two migratory farm hands.

Much to my surprise, I had no real emotional response to the novel. I tend to be a very emotive reader, and more often than not will respond passionately to what I read. However, Steinbeck has left me feeling completely neutral; I was not particularly invested in the characters or events of the book, and found the conclusion neither satisfying nor disappointing. In the end I'm willing to consider this neutrality a positive result of the trial - I didn't hate the book, so I'm more open to reading something along the lives of Travels with Charlie, but I also didn't love it, so I doubt I'll be tackling The Grapes of Wrath anytime soon.

I came across this little book while I was sorting through some books in the wardrobe today and decided on a whim to reread it this morning. I finished it a couple of hours later with tears in my eyes, just like last time.

I started reading it for the first time at school in year 9, I think it was, and was sure it wasn't going to be up my street. I ended up racing home from school and borrowing my stepdad's copy so I could read to the end NOW (and was glad I did so it didn't catch me off guard in class!). Second time round some of the urgency had ebbed away from the pull of the plot, but the tension was still there and I found it as moving as before.

I actually remembered a lot of what we'd learnt back at school as I read, which was a bit distracting, but Steinbeck drags the reader into the story of Lennie and George from the first couple of pages, and holds you there until he's ready to let you go. I liked the way there were two different emotional layers from very early on too: the top layer of Lennie's delightful innocence and the simple day to day existence of a ranch labourer, and the ominous undercurrent of foreboding and danger, which combine to create such a resonant atmosphere. It's humorous yet heavy, everyday yet profound, all at once, particularly with the realities of ranch life and race issues thrown in.

It's quite difficult to review 'Of Mice and Men' in a way that will do it justice - such a complex set of reactions and feelings about such a little book - but suffice to say, I will be reading more Steinbeck soon! ( )

I love Steinbeck's style of writing; his writing is clear and natural. Of Mice and Men is a short, quick read, easy to follow. The characters are memorable; Lenny is endearing. I wish the story ended differently. ( )

Lennie and George are two unlikely friends with an unlikely dream. They travel together looking for enough work to save up enough money to buy their own piece of land where they can work for themselves. George is a small but smart man, and Lennie is an unnaturally strong man who "ain't too bright". He's a nice lunk, but he doesn't know his own strength and his lack of intelligence gets him and George into trouble wherever they go. But their friendship is unceasing, and George won't leave Lennie no matter what trouble he gets him into.

Steinbeck's other short novel I've read, "The Pearl", was a bit disappointing. "The Grapes of Wrath", a massive, epic novel, is one of my favorites. I worried that being another short work, "Of Mice and Men" would be another bit of a disappointment, but it's far from it.

This story is absolutely fantastic. Not quite as good as "The Grapes of Wrath" or "Cannery Row", but almost. It's a much shorter read and very entertaining. It's sad and heartwarming at the same time. I just love Steinbeck. ( )