The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.

Joe gave me a list of ten plays to read this summer and because I wanted to choose some readings for myself, I chose a list of three novels for each of us.  The first novel off my personal list is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.  I should confess how I came to choose this as my first personal novel of the summer.  I had some time to kill while Joe was seeing Cabin in the Woods and I decided I could kill two hours easily by choosing my first book.  I only chose Of Mice and Men because it was only about 120 pages and I knew a lot of people had told me how great it was.  So if you read it for no other reason, read it because you can blow through it in an afternoon.

I feel it is necessary to touch on the theme of the American dream that runs through the novel.  I love that this is the first novel I've read that really comments on how impossible the American dream can be.  Lennie and George are making money working for others while trying to save to one day buy a piece of land and be self sufficient.  It seems impossible from the beginning. You just know that something else will get in their way of Lennie's rabbits and yet I still found myself hoping that they would find a way to make it happen.

There is something so beautiful about this novel yet so foreboding of a very dark ending.  I felt myself willing George to find another way but yet I knew that his choice was the most merciful for Lennie. I'm trying to write with the least number of spoilers as possible so if you haven't read it, just get it over with so you can appreciate what I'm saying.

I definitely don't have any major criticisms of the book.  I love how short it is and yet it doesn't feel rushed.  I've never tried to write a book review before and I'm sure Joe will give me some great feedback when he isn't geeking out at an Avengers movie marathon. So that's all I have for now.  I'm about finished with our first shared book so as soon as I finish that up, Joe and I will be writing our own reviews.

"I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land."