Book Review – Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

This is a book many are first introduced to at school, however I did not come to it until just a few years ago for the first time and I am aware that that may impact my reading of the story.

This is a book which rips your heart out and leaves you sobbing at the inevitability of the ending.  It is of course considered a Classic novel featuring frequently on must read book lists, including my both the lists in my challenges tab.

Goodreads Summary…

The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simple-minded man, calming him and helping to rein in his immense physical strength.

This is a book that my daughter read and school and loved and has led to many discussions between us regarding issues surrounding mental health issues, mainly could this book have ever have ended any other way at the time it was set, tragically with human nature as it is the answer is always no.  The time the book is set was one that demonstrates the power of dreams to keep a person going through the darkest of times, that without dreams it is impossible to keep going and striving.  It shows humanity at its best and worst and that it is not always so easy to divide actions into good and bad, context is everything.

It really is a book everyone should read but more than that it is a book that demands discussion, it is a definite 5 out of 5 every time I read it