Who Doesn't Love a Classic? discussion

Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Audio book performed by Gary Sinise.
5 stars and a ❤

Steinbeck’s novella is taken from an incident in his own background. His emotional closeness to the story is evident in this tragedy.

George Milton and Lennie Small are migrant workers. During the Great Depression, they travel the small towns of California seeking labor where they can find it. Lennie is a giant of a man, who has limited mental capacity and cannot think for himself, but who can perform any labor he’s instructed to do. George is a small, quiet man; he looks out for Lennie, making sure he gets work, housing, food. More importantly George gives voice to their dreams … a little place of their own, where they can have a garden, fruit trees, a cow or goat, some chickens, and just for Lennie, some rabbits. A place where they can live “off the fat of the land” and not be beholden to anyone else, where they can take off to go to a ball game or a fair without seeking permission.

They are hard workers and George is smart enough to have a plan and try to save enough to make their dream come true, but Lennie … Well, Lennie keeps “getting into trouble,” and they keep having to flee one location for the next. When they land on a ranch near Soledad in the fertile Salinas River valley, they are hoping to finally have a place they can stay for a few months. The other men in the bunk house are friendly enough; the boss is hard but fair. But Curley, the boss’s son, is a mean, banty rooster sort of man, always looking to pick a fight. And Curley’s new wife – she is Trouble (with a capital T). Lennie tries his best to follow George’s order to stay away from Curley and his wife. But the reader knows that an altercation is inevitable.

Steinbeck’s genius here is to write a spare story that still tells volumes about the human condition. It is a story of friendship, loyalty, and love.

Sinise’s performance on the audio is flawless … well, maybe he could have raised the pitch of his voice just a tad higher for Curley’s wife. All the hopes, dreams, innocence, anger, pity, love, and sorrow of the characters are in his voice.


LINK to my review