Of Mice And Men Review

               

Hello everyone,

Today I have a review for John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men, which I gave a 2 out of 5 stars. Unlike most people who read this in high school, I never had that chance, so a few months ago I decided to borrow it from a friend. I went into it without really knowing what it was about, but it was a classic, and since it was only 100 pages, I figured I would give it a shot.

Synopsis

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. (via Goodreads.com)

My Review (Spoiler-free)

I didn't really enjoy this book. While it is short, when I was reading it, it felt like it took forever, some parts feeling pointless and drawn out. In all truth, I find it hard to find any point to this book at all. Considering the time period this was published in, I understand that trying to write about mental illness in a novel was something that wasn't really done. However, I don't think John Steinbeck handled it very well.

To me, the book felt pointless. Especially considering the ending of the book, I still don't understand why this story was written. Or maybe I was just disappointed in the ending. It was very predictable and most people could guess what's going to happen within the first thirty pages of the book, if that. I kept reading in the hope that I was wrong, but I wasn't. I was also hoping that perhaps John Steinbeck might leave me with some interesting tidbit or moral dilemma to ponder, since it seemed that was what he was leading up to. Alas, none came. Or perhaps it just went over my head.

I didn't enjoy the writing either. There was nothing particularly wrong with it; John Steinbeck's style just isn't to my personal taste, it seems. It's too slow and I just don't care for his word choices. I find it very bland and factual, with very little emotion to it. I've read The Pearl by him as well, and had the same problems with the writing style, although I definitely preferred Of Mice And Men over The Pearl.

I don't really have too much else to say about it. It wasn't a horrible book. I didn't hate reading it, but neither would I ever read it again nor recommend it to someone else, which is why I gave it a two star rating. Read it if you have to for school, but you're not missing anything special if you don't.

 Goodbye for now,

Emily Noel