there's really not much more i wish to add , except i think this should be requied reading in all our schools in the nation . a beautifully heartbreaking story of humanity . timeless and true .

In my opinion I thought this book was extremely sad and unpleasant. First, almost every other word was a swear word. Yes, I realize that a lot of the population swears, but I don't understand why novels have to have so much of it. Second, I was very appalled at all of the deaths. The death of one of the worker's dogs, the death of Curley's wife, and finally the death of Lennie. Lennie happened to be my favorite character, so obviously I was sad to read that his companion, George, shot him. I was also sad that Lennie didn't get to tend to his furry rabbits.

steinbeck is awesome for pulling this through.....he was able to pack so much information in this short book.....that is some REAL talent right there!

Before I begin my criticisms, I will mention that my focus of this review is not on my personal preferences regarding characterizations, settings, themes, authors, etc. I understand that I cannot expect all authors to write a story that I personally enjoy and can relate to. Even if the subject matter of Of Mice and Men had interested me, I still would have given the novel a one star rating because of my criticism that I will explain in this review.

I am giving this novel a one star rating because it has a lot of vulgar dialogue. There is an average of about 4 profanities per page.

Secondly, even if I were to set aside my moral views of this novel, I still would choose to give this novel a one star rating. In my opinion, the plot structure is not all that good. The climax and resolution could have followed directly after the first 1/3 of the novel. There are too many conversations that seem to fill up space with unnecessary dialogue which describes the backgrounds of characters and personalities that do not play a significant role (if even a role at all) in the outcome of the story.

Furthermore, Of Mice and Men has too many characters for its very simple plot. In my opinion, the advantage to having a lot of characters is to create intricate subplots which play a significant role in the outcome of the story

I do not insist on reading action-packed stories. In fact, I sometimes prefer stories that are mainly comprised of dialogue. However, I do always want to see that there is a CLEAR DIRECTION in the conversations that progressively leads to the climax. In my opinion, the dialogue in Of Mice and Men did not meet these criteria. In fact, mid-way through the novel, I really felt as though the story was approaching a dead-end, and I think that John Steinbeck probably felt the same way. Therefore, he made the climax take a sharp turn off course just so the plot would not slam into a wall.

Due to the offensive content and weak plot structure, I do not recommend Of Mice and Men.

"I'm finding Steinbeck to be just a really reliable author. I've enjoyed everything that I've read of his. This short novel was engaging and meaningful - I especially enjoyed the richness of the characters and the themes of companionship, dreams, and dissapointment."

*WARNING: Don't read this review if you haven't read the book and don't want to know the ending

The book has three surprise events in the ending. The first is Lennie's killing of Curley's wife. This is shocking because Curley's father owns the farm, so Lennie could get into serious trouble. The second is when Lennie is hiding in the brush waiting for George, and he sees and hears Aunt Clara's ghost talking and later a rabbit talking. The third is not when George shoots Lennie, but when George walks away with Slim, as if the two are best pals now. This makes it seem that George did not take his friendship with Lennie very seriously, because instead of mourning his death alone, he hangs on to Slim, as if Lennie is easily replaceable and that Slim has taken Lennie's place now. I thought the ending makes George seem like a shady character, not bad enough to be called the villain, but still not good enough to be called hero of the book.

You won't get any complaint from me that this book is skillfully written, in it's vivid descriptions of settings, detailed descriptions of characters, and realistic dialogue.

However, I believe this book has a bad message, and the bad message is about how it's ok to put the weak, infirm and dependent to death. It started with the discussion of Candy's aged dog. The book gave the impression that the dog's age made him no good to even himself, the "quality of life" argument that has been advanced to support euthanizing the elderly, weak and infirm.

After discussing Candy's dog, the argument proceded to Candy himself, where he longs to be euthanized when he can no longer work.

Finally, we come to George's murder of the retarded Lennie, which is completely justified by Slim, the voice of the one sympathetic character in the book. I believe that George was looking for an opportunity to divest himself of Lennie, and that opportunity presented itself when Lennie killed Curley's wife. It was also mentioned that if Lennie was institutionalized, it would be worse than death. I realized there are conflicting opinions about the moral nature of George, but I don't believe he was a good character.

As I was writing this review, I recalled Proverbs 31:8-9 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Of Mice And Men describes a world where the advocates for euthanizing the weak and infirm prevail.