This is definitely a wonderful book. It was written a long while back, evident in the language and prose. It has very old-fashioned lead characters, setting and manner of dialogue. And since I am starting on a oldie-but-goldie spree this one seemed as good a start as any. I am glad I did.
The lead characters are two migrant ranch-workers who are apparently drifting around in a southern American state. The pair would seem pretty commonplace in any "bromance" movie off late. And since this was written much sooner than any of those became a trend, I think this was the first ones amongst those. One guy is tall and strong and dumb. The other is short and intelligent and sensitive. One is the well-intentioned clumsy dimwit. Other is the cynical closet-optimistic. One who is too young for his age, other older than his. One who likes to pet tiny animals and anything soft, other who has already discovered the world for the hard place that it is. I love them both, namely Lennie and George.
And like most other stories of this age, at the center of all the trouble is a woman. Here this one is never mentioned by name. It's usually 'Curley's wife' or that tart who gives other men the eye, which is old-fashioned-speak for a promiscuous woman. She is described to be very attractive young woman who dreamt of big things for herself, but now has found herself stuck in a loveless marriage. Very Gatsby or Mad Men-ish.
The plot is pretty straightforward, and predictable. Only because we have now seen or read so many books with similar story. But I am going to give this book a benefit of a doubt. I am going to assume that this was the one that became so successful with its plot that it inspired a chain of copycat writers in its wake. Just because this is actually a well-written honest book. This is a short book, not longer than any typical novella. But still it has so many good that is going for itself that you come to forgive it for not giving its characters a bit more depth. Well, this was the good old days of yore. People are not supposed to have a personality. You are just born, categorized into a specific slot by the society and there you are to stay for the rest of your life. There are not many who did overcome that hurdle during those times. There is a black stable-hand in the book called Crooks whose character explores this side of life during those times.
There is a lot of heart in the book, and a lot heart wrenching scenes. This book, if published now would very well be dismissed off hand for being to mushy. Even with the number of times that the author uses the N-word in this book. This book would never have been edgy enough for the reader of today. And I am fine with that. A good book doesn't necessarily have to be edgy and pushing the boundaries all the times. Sometimes it just needs to have a compelling story that pulls at your heartstrings and makes you feel feelings you've never known. And this book is definitely successful at that.
I wish I'd read this book when I was much younger. Empathy is something that a lot of us could have more of.
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