Book #52: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

This 105-page novella follows George and Lennie, two migrant workers in 1930s California, as they begin a new job at a ranch. George and Lennie have known each other since childhood, and George kind of takes care of Lennie, who is huge, enormously powerful, and very mentally challenged. They have huge plans for how they're going to eventually save up their money, buy some land, and have a farm together--but as the reference in the book title hints at, their dreams don't seem to have much of a chance of being fulfilled.

The friendship between George and Lennie, as unlikely as it may seem, is the center of the story, and it's obvious that they both really care about each other and always stick together. And this relationship is what is the propelling force through the action of the story--and what makes the ending so hard to swallow, and so sad to read. I knew what was going to happen at the end (I can't help spoiling it for myself and reading the last few pages every time! It's the worst!), but I still felt some serious emotions as I read it. I loved George and Lennie and how they talked, and I loved their simple, unassuming dreams of stability and having a home, even thought their conversations about their dream become extremely bittersweet at the end when it is obvious they'll never happen.

I really liked the genre/style of the book--I've read that it was a novel written in playable format, that people would be able to turn it into a play exactly as it stood. I liked understanding that as I read, because that made the stark, clear style make more sense and I could almost picture it being acted out on a stage.