Of Mice and Men

Author: John Steinbeck
Genre: Classic!

There are some stories that give you a “Phataak” on your head and once you are done reading it you just stare randomly in space for two minutes (Most of the time this is the effect after writing an exam!), but this is the good phataak (and not the one you get after watching Mars Attacks).

This is the story of two friends George and Lennie, workers who move from farm to farm because of Lennie and his condition. It is about a friendship that makes you stretch the limits to protect someone you hold dear. It is almost magical how gentle yet deep is the author’s manner of addressing poverty, racism, loneliness, companionship and love for a friend. You are rarely overwhelmed except at the end when you realize only 120 pages have managed to suck you in that world.

You are fortunate if you have read the book, even more so if you haven’t, simply because you can now read a book that is so gentle and yet so alive in its stillness.