Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

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In a word: futile

In a sentence: two friend sign on as farmhands with a dream in mind

Synopsis: George and Lennie travel together. Moving from ranch to ranch across California, the pair get each other into and out of trouble.

Reactions: This, ladies and gentlemen, was my very first Steinbeck. I’m sorry to say that I don’t think I did it the justice it deserves since I devoured it in a single day, unable to savour a single drop. It was simply too delicious not to be eaten.

Of Mice and Men was short and potent. There was almost no backstory, character development, or exposition. No bells, no whistles. Yet in that brief span, Steinbeck manages to stain every scene with the colors of futility, and significance. There is a desire for something more or deeper and an ever-present sense of the loss of that same something, even in the scenes in which Lennie and George daydream of a brighter future together.

I had a strong sense while reading this book that I wasn’t peeling back all its layers. It’s one I will need to read again later on, maybe many times, and sit with to let it marinate. It makes me excited for my future adventures with Steinbeck and Of Mice and Men.

Read if: you wish to witness what a deficit of hope looks like in the human spirit.