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What can I say about a book like this? More to the point, what can I say that hasn't already been said? I highly doubt I can add anything original, but I can tell you what I thought.

I fell in love with the work of Steinbeck when I read and loved Grapes of Wrath. Although that was very different in a lot of ways, there were certain similarities, such as the power of the narrative and the deprivation that was highlighted.

Of Mice and Men may have been less than 100 pages, but that had no bearing on how powerful it was. In some ways I think it had a more immediate impact on me than Grapes of Wrath did. Maybe that's becuse of how sad it was. Maybe.

The story, as I'm sure you all know, is about Lennie and George who go searching for work and end up in a ranch in California. While there a situation arises that calls for a dire solution.

Unbelievably I came to this book knowing very little about it and I think that benefited me. It meant I could experience the story, characters and themes without bias.

From almost the first page I felt hugely sympathetic to Lennie. Although George was exasperated with him a lot of the time, his friendship towards Lennie was one of the things that impacted me the most. The way in which this friendship was tested was shocking and brutal but at the same time beautifully handled.

I loved everything about this short work, from the deprivation Lennie and George endured to the diverse range of characters. If you haven't read this you need to rectify that, now. I read this for: