OF MICE and MEN (audiobook) by John Steinbeck

Originally published in 1937.

Penguin Audio edition published in 2011.
Read by Gary Sinise.
Duration: 3 hours, 11 minutes.
Unabridged. 

The narrator, Gary Sinise, as the character
George in the 1992 film version of this novel. 

This is probably the 5th or 6th time that I have read this book. I reviewed it as a print book 10 years ago (click here to see that review).

Gary Sinise read this book and did a fabulous job, especially with the voices of Lennie and Crooks. He played George in one of the many movie adaptations of this novel in 1992.

This was my first time hearing this book as an audiobook and I was very impressed that it was an even more effective book when read aloud than in print.

This review of one of the most-read, most-celebrated novels in the English-speaking world will not include a plot synopsis - what's the point? Instead, let me say that this short novel has an amazingly tight plot. In this 3 hour and 11 minute story, nearly every scene, and most lines of dialogue are relevant to the climax of the story.

Foreshadowing abounds in the first half hour of the audiobook, almost all of the conversations in the bunkhouse point towards the dramatic scene at the end and the point to the theme of the little guy never getting a real shot to improve his lot in life. Even the title, Of Mice and Men, is a reference to the poem To a Mouse by Scottish poet Robert Burns that was written when he accidentally destroyed a mouse's nest while plowing at the beginning of winter. The mouse had done everything right, only to lose it all to events beyond its control. The poem contains this line:

The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. Highly recommended. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Of Mice and Men (audiobook) by John Steinbeck. 

Note: In February of 2022 I tagged this book "MAGA Censorship List" because a group called Moms for Liberty created a list of 51 books that they wanted removed from their school library. This article is pretty good because it has a lot of details. It includes the whole list and one activist's assertion that the books may be part of an agenda on the part of George Soros or the United Nations or the American Library Association. (Seriously - it's a direct quote in the article. This is the kind of crazy that fills these groups.)

This book is also on lists of books that Progressives want to ban. Here is a link to a list maintained by a university that tracks book bans. In this case, it is for inclusion of the n-word.

TO KILL a MOCKINGBIRD (audiobook) by Harper Lee

Published by Harper Audio in 2008
Originally published in 1960
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Voted "Best Novel of the Century" in a Library Journal poll
Read by Sissy Spacek
Duration: 12 hours, 17 minutes

I almost feel silly writing a review for a book that is nearly universally regarded as one of the best, if not THE best, novels written in the last century. This book is read in schools across the country, was adapted into an amazingly successful movie that is as highly regarded as the book. This book is not just respected - it is loved.

I also hate to admit that it had been nearly 25 years since I had read To Kill a Mockingbird. Although I remembered that I loved the book, I had really forgotten why.

So, when I was offered the chance to review this audio version by the publisher for free I jumped it at. It had been such a long time that I needed to remind myself why it was so great. 

I am not going to waste everyone's time by re-telling the story in detail. Harper Lee creates a wonderfully rich world set in a small town in Alabama during the Great Depression. The story is told from the point of view of young "Scout" Finch. Scout starts as a first grader but the story progresses through several years. She lives with her brother Jem and her father Atticus, an attorney. Her daily life at home is maintained by the African American housekeeper Calpurnia who treats Jem and Scout like they are her own children. Later, her aunt moves in to provide a more permanent feminine role model in the house.

In the first part of the book, Scout's world comes to life as Harper Lee takes the time to lay out her world for us. In the second part of the book, this world is interrupted by an outrageous court case in which Atticus is appointed to defend a black man wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. The third part of the book deals with the consequences of that case. 

Harper Lee (born in 1926)  in c. 1962. 

But, the book is so much more than that. I grew up in a small town in Indiana and her descriptions of the rhythms of childhood play in the summer felt so true to me that the characters become so real that I felt like I actually knew them in my own childhood. 

Sissy Spacek's reading of this book is as timeless as the book itself. The decision not to have her actually change voices as she reads the story was a brilliant stroke. Most audiobook readers change voices and make separate voices for each of the characters even if it is told from the point of view of just one of the characters. Spacek keeps the entire story in the voice of Scout because the entire story is told from her point of view. It is her story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. I found myself listening to it whenever I could. I happily rate it 5 stars out of 5.

See my review of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman here.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: To Kill a Mockingbird.

This book was on a list of books to be investigated in Oklahoma by conservative parents. Here is a link to an article.

This book is also on lists of books that Progressives want to ban. Here is a link to a list maintained by a university that tracks book bans. In this case, it is for inclusion of the n-word.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

I thought it was great before, even better when I re-read it 15 years later.

Originally published in 1937

John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

I used to have a considerable classroom library (I have since switched schools and there is no Silent Sustained Reading program at the new school so I donated my library) and I always would hand Of Mice and Men to any kid that said he or she hated reading and "there's nothing good to read." I had a hard time keeping this book on the shelves and since I had an "honor system" check out plan this book kept on disappearing on me since the students seemed to have felt it was worth keeping and I had to make runs to the local used book store to re-stock it.

But, I hadn't read it in a while so I decided to see if it was still one of my favorites.

If anything, this book is more powerful than it was before. The loss at the end is more powerful, both the loss with Lennie and with the loss of a dream. Themes abound, such as the loss of the American Dream, loneliness, friendship and the responsibilities of friendship. Perhaps, even some religious themes with all of the events starting on a Friday and ending on a Sunday.

But, all of that would be pointless if the story were not well-written and poignant. It's short length only serves to heighten the power of the story.

One of the best American novels. Period.

I rate this novel 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

Reviewed on January 31, 2009.

Note: In February of 2022 I tagged this book "MAGA Censorship List" because a group called Moms for Liberty created a list of 51 books that they wanted removed from their school library. This article is pretty good because it has a lot of details. It includes the whole list and one activist's assertion that the books may be part of an agenda on the part of George Soros or the United Nations or the American Library Association. (Seriously - it's a direct quote in the article. This is the kind of crazy that fills these groups.)

This book is also on lists of books that Progressives want to ban. Here is a link to a list maintained by a university that tracks book bans. In this case, it is for inclusion of the n-word.