--- product_id: 369583729 title: "Of Mice And Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)" price: "$42.32" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/369583729-of-mice-and-men-penguin-great-books-of-the-20th store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # Of Mice And Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) **Price:** $42.32 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Of Mice And Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) - **How much does it cost?** $42.32 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/369583729-of-mice-and-men-penguin-great-books-of-the-20th) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The tragic story of the friendship between two migrant workers, George and mentally retarded Lenny, and their dream of owning a farm Review: A Classic for a reason - “Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” I realised recently that I was one of only a few people who had not studied, or read, Of Mice and Men. As someone studying English Literature, this seemed like a crime, so I instantly set to rectifying that. Of course, everything I say in this review will not be discussing anything that has not already been covered on Of Mice and Men, and I will probably just be expressing myself in a less interesting manner. But, if you’re interested in reading some of the points that stuck out most to me, then go ahead :). I think this is a brilliant story, and well-deserving of its reputation. It has a very distinctive style, with unique central characters and a philosophical layer over the entirety of it which appears to act as a commentary on human nature. Being my first exposure to John Steinbeck, I imagine this is the style he is renowned for, and I look forward to engaging with it more in the future, perhaps with Grapes of Wrath in a couple months. “Guy don't need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus' works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain't hardly ever a nice fella.” This is a story that revolves around our characters, which is driven by several powerful concepts, such as the often paradoxical nature of life, that interweave and act more as a subtle intrusion more as the main focus of the story. George and Lennie are our main protagonists, with George looking after Lennie, who has a mental disability. I think that these are both crafted fantastically, with their strenuous but genuine friendship being depicted in an authentic manner that was amazing to read. We have other key characters in Of Mice and Men, but I would say that these were not as well crafted as George and Lennie. But this is no bad thing. Steinbeck obviously made a conscious decision regarding this, and as such makes George and Lennie the focus, with others, such as Curley, appearing to represent the harsh life of the working class during The Great Depression. Throughout Of Mice and Men, I felt this air of perpetual melancholia, and a sense of dread that somehow permeated from every word. As George and Lennie discuss their dream, it just felt like the whole time that they would not achieve their aspirations, and because of this, Of Mice and Men was incredibly impactful, and a tense reading experience throughout which I have rarely felt before. To do this, John Steinbeck was obviously a master of his craft. “Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to.” Of Mice and Men is of course a brilliant read, with memorable characters, fantastic prose and also a read that allows for a philosophical reading that you can return and build on a long time after reading. I have not nearly covered the interesting aspects of this canonical story, nor could I if I tried, but these are just a few reasons you should read Of Mice and Men. For its size, it offers so much, and as a reader you can have the freedom of just enjoying a read, or engaging with with the concepts Steinbeck discusses. This was a good read, with unique central characters and a very distinctive, page-turning prose. Throughout the entirety of the read, there was an air of melancholy and sadness that was leading to the ending that I suspected would occur, but dreaded throughout. Review: The book that GCSE students love to hate - The introduction to this edition tells us that Of Mice and Men continues to be banned by school boards throughout the US, mainly because of the earthy, racist language used by the characters throughout. There are plenty of UK students who wish the same applied here. For some reason, Of Mice and Men occupies the same risible space in the minds of many english students as that other course staple To Kill a Mockingbird - that is, they hate it. A pity, because Of Mice and Men is superb, and touches on universal themes such as loneliness, poverty, friendship, jealousy and cruelty, which are part of its enduring relevance and appeal. It is a dream within a dream - the dream of two itinerant farm workers, Lenny and George, to scrape enough money together to buy a small farm of their own, become independent and 'live off the fat o' the lan'. Susan Shillinglaw writes a revealing introduction to this edition, which also tells us that Steinbeck conceived a new narrative form - the 'playable novel' i.e. a story that could equally be read as a conventional narrative or seen in dramatic performance. The plot is staged as a play, with theatric scenes and a narrative that guides us carefully from one set piece to the next. It is clear from the outset that this will be a tragic 'play', and so it proves. The intro also tells us that Steinbeck saw with his own eyes a hired hand kill a ranch foreman with a pitchfork when working as a farm hand himself. This episode is reimagined as one of the pivotal points of the narrative, and leads to the tragic ending. GCSE students may hate it, but Of Mice and Men has stood the test of time as an enduring, precautionary tale of what happens when man is pitched against fellow man in a society that has lost its true sense of morality. It is this universality and the razor-sharp tightness of Steinbeck's storytelling, that makes Of Mice and Men a profoundly moving and richly rewarding read. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 727,335 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 67 in Fiction Classics (Books) 367 in Literary Fiction (Books) 480 in Contemporary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 45,193 Reviews | ## Images ![Of Mice And Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71xXwHUrsxL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Classic for a reason *by T***E on 3 April 2021* “Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” I realised recently that I was one of only a few people who had not studied, or read, Of Mice and Men. As someone studying English Literature, this seemed like a crime, so I instantly set to rectifying that. Of course, everything I say in this review will not be discussing anything that has not already been covered on Of Mice and Men, and I will probably just be expressing myself in a less interesting manner. But, if you’re interested in reading some of the points that stuck out most to me, then go ahead :). I think this is a brilliant story, and well-deserving of its reputation. It has a very distinctive style, with unique central characters and a philosophical layer over the entirety of it which appears to act as a commentary on human nature. Being my first exposure to John Steinbeck, I imagine this is the style he is renowned for, and I look forward to engaging with it more in the future, perhaps with Grapes of Wrath in a couple months. “Guy don't need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus' works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain't hardly ever a nice fella.” This is a story that revolves around our characters, which is driven by several powerful concepts, such as the often paradoxical nature of life, that interweave and act more as a subtle intrusion more as the main focus of the story. George and Lennie are our main protagonists, with George looking after Lennie, who has a mental disability. I think that these are both crafted fantastically, with their strenuous but genuine friendship being depicted in an authentic manner that was amazing to read. We have other key characters in Of Mice and Men, but I would say that these were not as well crafted as George and Lennie. But this is no bad thing. Steinbeck obviously made a conscious decision regarding this, and as such makes George and Lennie the focus, with others, such as Curley, appearing to represent the harsh life of the working class during The Great Depression. Throughout Of Mice and Men, I felt this air of perpetual melancholia, and a sense of dread that somehow permeated from every word. As George and Lennie discuss their dream, it just felt like the whole time that they would not achieve their aspirations, and because of this, Of Mice and Men was incredibly impactful, and a tense reading experience throughout which I have rarely felt before. To do this, John Steinbeck was obviously a master of his craft. “Guys like us got nothing to look ahead to.” Of Mice and Men is of course a brilliant read, with memorable characters, fantastic prose and also a read that allows for a philosophical reading that you can return and build on a long time after reading. I have not nearly covered the interesting aspects of this canonical story, nor could I if I tried, but these are just a few reasons you should read Of Mice and Men. For its size, it offers so much, and as a reader you can have the freedom of just enjoying a read, or engaging with with the concepts Steinbeck discusses. This was a good read, with unique central characters and a very distinctive, page-turning prose. Throughout the entirety of the read, there was an air of melancholy and sadness that was leading to the ending that I suspected would occur, but dreaded throughout. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The book that GCSE students love to hate *by J***Y on 16 January 2012* The introduction to this edition tells us that Of Mice and Men continues to be banned by school boards throughout the US, mainly because of the earthy, racist language used by the characters throughout. There are plenty of UK students who wish the same applied here. For some reason, Of Mice and Men occupies the same risible space in the minds of many english students as that other course staple To Kill a Mockingbird - that is, they hate it. A pity, because Of Mice and Men is superb, and touches on universal themes such as loneliness, poverty, friendship, jealousy and cruelty, which are part of its enduring relevance and appeal. It is a dream within a dream - the dream of two itinerant farm workers, Lenny and George, to scrape enough money together to buy a small farm of their own, become independent and 'live off the fat o' the lan'. Susan Shillinglaw writes a revealing introduction to this edition, which also tells us that Steinbeck conceived a new narrative form - the 'playable novel' i.e. a story that could equally be read as a conventional narrative or seen in dramatic performance. The plot is staged as a play, with theatric scenes and a narrative that guides us carefully from one set piece to the next. It is clear from the outset that this will be a tragic 'play', and so it proves. The intro also tells us that Steinbeck saw with his own eyes a hired hand kill a ranch foreman with a pitchfork when working as a farm hand himself. This episode is reimagined as one of the pivotal points of the narrative, and leads to the tragic ending. GCSE students may hate it, but Of Mice and Men has stood the test of time as an enduring, precautionary tale of what happens when man is pitched against fellow man in a society that has lost its true sense of morality. It is this universality and the razor-sharp tightness of Steinbeck's storytelling, that makes Of Mice and Men a profoundly moving and richly rewarding read. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Thought Provoking Book & Mini Classic *by T***C on 23 February 2015* The film, `Of Mice and Men,' - 1992 version, will always be one of my favourites. It encouraged me read this book. Firstly, I was amazed at just how short the book is at 150 pages! It's a book you can read in day with time to spare! The story though, still comes across as just fine and is never less than interesting and engaging with many topical points to dwell on. This particular book is also written for GCSE study, which I don't intend to comment on, as many have already done so. For me the main player here, and centre of attention, is Lennie. He is intellectually disabled, with a childlike imagination. A comparison to some degree would be Forest Gump or `Karl' from `Sling Blade.' He drifts during the Great Depression, and looks for work under Roosevelt's 'New Deal' , with his best and only friend George, who continually mothers him and keeps him out of mischief. They are like chalk and cheese but need each other? They follow the American dream of one day owning their own bit of land - it eventually transpires that they are not the only ones? Eventually they end up on a farm in California and this is where we meet several different characters and the story unfolds. Steinbeck's writing style describes them all perfectly well and this is a feature of his writing. It is also quite clear that he is very knowledgeable about farm life and also the countryside that surrounds it. Whilst I'd seen the film first, I still found the book totally engaging, even though it was very similar to the film. The characters (including the leads) do leave a lasting impression and stir the old grey matter! They are all so different - even though the tale is so brief. They raise questions of: loyalty, pity, vulnerability, sadness, anger & inferiority, loneliness / isolation and of course, from that period - racism. Finally, what helps to make this book such an interesting read is the dialogue and slang used - the book's glossary is very helpful. ## Frequently Bought Together - Of Mice and Men - To Kill a Mockingbird - Lord of the Flies --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/369583729-of-mice-and-men-penguin-great-books-of-the-20th](https://www.desertcart.us/products/369583729-of-mice-and-men-penguin-great-books-of-the-20th) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-07-15*