Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck · first published 1937
26% recommend63% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short Depression-era drama that packs atmosphere and substance into a tiny book. It is rated above Steinbeck's longer Grapes of Wrath and suits teens and readers returning to the classics.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The second book in John Steinbeck’s labor trilogy, Of Mice and Men is a touching tale of two migrant laborers in search of work and eventual liberation from their social circumstances. Fiercely devoted to one another, George and Lennie plan to save up to finance their dream of someday owning a small piece of land. The pair seems unstoppable until tragedy strikes and their hopes come crashing down, forcing George to make a difficult decision regarding the welfare of his best friend. The novel is set on a ranch in Soledad, CA. Author Frank Bergon recalls reading Of Mice and Men for the first
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I found a torrent with all of Steinbeck's audio books. There's a great Of Mice and Men read by Gary Sinise. On the off chance you haven't read that yet or are a Gary Sinise fan, it's pretty great. I really liked Cannery Row too.
on “Ask YC: Road trip. Which audio books would you recommend?” ↗…change. Recently, driving by the local library, my wife asks "what are you getting?", to which I replied, "I think it's time I start getting back in touch with the classics." I quickly picked up and read Of Mice and Men and The Pearl. I never knew how good these books were, books that I once read in high school and at the time never understood and ultimately despised having to read. My next read from the late Steinbeck…
on “Why I read fiction” ↗…Heinlein (scifi) - "Stranger in a Strange Land" is still my favorite scifi story. This is where the term "grok" comes from. - Tom Clancy (drama, thriller, spy) - John Steinbeck (drama, depression era) - "Of Mice and Men" is particularly good, and a source of many references. Whenever you hear references to Lenny and the rabbits and the puppy, it's referring to this book. - Farley Mowatt (drama, environmentalism) - Most…
on “Ask HN: I don't read fiction, how much am I missing out on?” ↗…time to around 12-16, I'd send one of: * Brave New World - Aldous Huxley * 1984 - George Orwell * To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee * Catch 22 - Joe Heller * Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut * Of Mice and Men - Steinbeck * Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury * The Call of Ctulhu - H.P. Lovecraft * Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Some of those I actually read in school and loved (but wish I read earlier), others…
on “If you could give a book to your younger self, what would it be?” ↗…"The Old Man and the Sea" is a pretty good starting point. If you are into post-apocalyptic fiction at all, you need to read McCarthy's "The Road" (Note, if you want Steinbeck - personally, I liked 'Of Mice and Men' a lot more than "The Grapes of Wrath" but both are good. Just saying I don't always side with the committee) I mean, we can argue all day about what the best book is, but everything on that list…
on “Learning to Read in Your 30s Profoundly Transforms the Brain” ↗…consider "low stakes"? > I admit I'm limited to the sample I've experienced personally but it's over 90%. You need to read a wider selection of books, then. Try, say, The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Of Mice and Men, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, The Grapes of Wrath, The Time Machine, Dune, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Foundation series, anything by Ray Bradbury... there's a very long list…
on “novelWriter – open-source plain text editor designed for writing novels” ↗Have Space Suit Will Travel (Heinlein) Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein) Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (one story in the book "Different Seasons" by Stephen King) Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck) The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury) Roadside Picnic (Strugatsky) Frankenstein (Shelley) Brave New World (Huxley) Farenheit 451 (Heinlein) Never Cry Wolf (Mowatt) A Whale for the Killing…
on “Ask HN: What book had a big impact on you as a child or teenager?” ↗…reading it this long given that I already really liked Feynman and had read and watched a lot of his stuff already. It's a great book and I proceeded to inflict it on quite a few other people. Fiction: Of Mice and Men - A tiny little book that fits in masses of content and atmosphere.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗Seems I'm in the minority but I loved the literature we read in school - still remember Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, The Merchant of Venice, ... with great affection many years later. I was already a prolific reader though; perhaps I had good teachers (I don't remember them as such, not bad, but not great).
on “Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita” ↗…was out there at the time. Gibson's was the first novel length work I'd read in that style and... wow... it just blew me away. Don't get me wrong - I love Ender's game too. In the same way I can love "Of Mice and Men" and "Moby Dick" - despite there radically different literary styles. It's hard for me to divorce Neuromancer from the time I read it in. If I'd grown up reading Charlie Stross, Neal Asher and Richard…
on “William Gibson: Seeing the Future in Science Fiction” ↗Similar thing happened to me but with Of Mice and Men and Macbeth. Come to enjoy those stories but it always felt like I was meant to glean a deeper meaning than even the author intended!
on “The Great Gatsby: Misunderstood Novel” ↗…Off the top of my head I could come up with a list of at least 10 American novels that I have read that I think are significantly superior. In no order here goes 1. Blood meridian 2. The Bell Jar 3. Of Mice and Men 4. Mason and Dixon (everyone’s gonna say “Gravity’s Rainbow” but I think since this is an explicitly American list, the themes of Mason and Dixon of the North/South divide etc put it more squarely on…
on “The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel” ↗…is a reason that an entire generation grew up reading those books. Or: "The Time Traveller's Wife", "The Poisonwood Bible", "The Road", "Interview with the Vampire", "A Room with a View", "Replay", "Of Mice and Men", "Brave New World". The list of books that are gripping from the start, should they appeal to you, can be almost endless. Basically, if you and your book align (ugh, sorry), then there generally shouldn't…
on “Every novel is boring until it isn't” ↗…Harper Lee Melissa by Alex Gino (previously published as George) Beloved by Toni Morrison The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Giver by Lois Lowry Ulysses by James Joyce
on “Banned and Challenged Books Everyone Should Read” ↗Well, it's no Of Mice and Men, but: - Steinbeck is a major American writer (Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize). I feel like any library should have a complete collection of his works, if possible. - He wrote a sequel called Sweet Thursday.If…
on “Librarians in Florida went rogue to save 2,300 books from an algorithm” ↗