Happy World Book Day and welcome back to Books With Cause. On this World Book Day, I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to review an old favourite.
With such an incredible book as this, it’s hard to know where to begin. For me, my journey with this book started the way I imagine it did for most people. I studied the book in GCSE English. In all honesty, at the time I did the book in school, I didn’t particularly like it. It felt to me like nothing really happened until the end. Back then, I was stubborn about such things. So much so that I didn’t go on the school trip to see the play because I was so convinced that I didn’t like it. I don’t have many regrets in life, but that is one of them. I’m delighted to say that I’ve matured a lot since then, and I gave the book a second chance as an adult, and my view on it completely changed. I can only apologise, Mr Steinbeck. I wasn’t familiar with your game.
The novella is set in California during the Great Depression and is based on Steinbeck’s own experience as a migrant worker. Our two main characters are George and Lennie. Close friends since childhood who travel the country together, moving from ranch to ranch for employment. George is wily and sharp. He acts like an older brother to the childlike Lennie. It is inferred that Lennie has some sort of special needs, but of course, such labels and scientific understanding didn’t exist at the time this was written. Lennie’s condition has gotten the pair of them into scrapes on numerous occasions. When the novella starts, the duo are on their way to another ranch to start a new job, and George already has a feeling that things will end badly for both of them.
George and Lennie are the embodiment of the American Dream. They represent aspirations, which are something I’m sure we all have and can all relate to. Tired of working for others, George aspires to save up enough money so he can buy a plot of land and become self-sufficient. Lennie shares the dream, but mostly because he wants the job of looking after the rabbits they keep on their own land. It’s suggested that he has sensory needs as he enjoys feeling soft things.
Of Mice and Men isn’t far away from being a century old, and it is timeless. Nearly everybody you ever meet will have some connection to the book. Most likely linked to reading it at school. It helps that the themes and criticisms of the book are still universally applicable today. The chances are that we’ve met people who are like the characters in the story. Then, of course, there is the racism which, sadly, is still prevalent today.
For the record, I don’t believe that Steinbeck, himself, was racist. It’s impossible to know for sure unless someone has a reliable Ouija board lying around. But I do believe that Steinbeck was shining a light on the world he knew and the experiences he had. The fact of the matter is that he lived in an extremely racist time, and ignoring the situation would’ve resulted in a disingenuous book. I also think it’s noteworthy that George – I believe – is the only character who never says the N-word throughout the book. He refers to Crooks by his name. I think that’s significant as we’re probably to believe that George acts as a mouthpiece for Steinbeck. While George acknowledges that the way Crooks is treated is wrong, he doesn’t feel like he has any power to change it.
One of my favourite stories about Of Mice and Men is that Steinbeck’s dog ate most of the handwritten manuscript. Steinbeck took it in good faith and joked that maybe his dog was being critical of the work. But it led to Steinbeck having to rewrite the whole thing from memory. That’s the sort of thing that’s always fascinated me. I wonder if there were many differences between the second draft and the first. There’s no way they could’ve been exactly the same. Of course, these days most writers use a computer and presumably save a backup. So there’s less chance of an editorial dog having their way with a manuscript. Plus, books go through rewrites anyway. But I still wonder if there’s a different version of Of Mice and Men that we never got to read. The fact is, we’ll never know.
This is a book I love and one of only a few books I’ve read multiple times over. And I’m sure I’ll continue to read it many more times. On this World Book Day, why don’t you sink your teeth into Of Mice and Men.
My Goodreads rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
