Of Mice and Men

Read and reviewed: Jul 10, 2021

A few days ago, I went to the Friends of the Aliso Viejo Library, looking for new books to get for free. It was their grand new reopening, and many people were already in. As you can imagine, the free book section was quite barren this time, as the morning crowd came before me. So, I explored the other aisles. And came to the Classics, which I'd never seen before. What a treat, what a splendor. Niched in a corner, there they were, two tiny rows of classics, from Dickens to Shakeaspeare. I looked for a few books, and set my mind on A Tale of Two Cities, Frankenstein and Of Mice and Men. So here I am, rediscovering the pleasure of reading a paperback novel. I just finished it an hour ago. It's interesting that I read Flowers for Algernon just a few days prior, as I can see so many similarities. Here, it is the story of two migrant workers in California in the 1930's, going from ranch to ranch to find some work, dreaming of a farm to settle down someday. It's a powerful story of friendship and loss, of aspirations and faded dreams, and of what it means to want the best for someone. This was my first Steinbeck and I am looking forward to reading another one, probably East of Eden.