Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
I might be the last person to have read this novella. At just over 100 pages in this edition, this relatively simple story really packs a punch.
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Lenny and George are hired on as laborers on a farm in California around the time of the Great Depression. The story unfolds through a series of short scenes, as if you are reading a play. Characters enter and exit each scene frequently but the reader is only ever aware of what is happening within that particular frame. George tries to steer Lenny clear of trouble, but it inevitably finds them.
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What more can be said about a piece of writing that has been analyzed and studied for decades? There is a lot to unpack here… but the portion that really caught my attention was the frequent reference to a beautiful, serene place where these men would one day have everything they ever wanted. A place where they would be in charge, finally able to benefit from their hard work. A place that was ultimately an illusion.
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See what I mean? Where do you go from there? Is Steinbeck trying to teach us a greater truth? Or just mocking us for believing that there might be something better out there?
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New goal – Read everything by Steinbeck. Little by little though; there are too many other great books out there that I don’t want to miss. Ha!
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