Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: Death of an aunt, animal death, racism, racist slurs, near-death experience, ableism, ableist slurs, murder, gun violence, death of a man from a gunshot
Score: Seven points out of ten.

I added this one to my list once I realised one of the two libraries I go to has this and not long after I finally read this; I initially didn't know what to expect but I did know that this was a classic so maybe that factor made me raise my expectations but still, though there are positive aspects there are also flaws. Others said the ending was famously sad and one even called it a tragedy and now I understand why which I'll get to later. Where do I begin? It opens with the main characters George and the giant Lennie Small but I don't know George's last name yet and the opening sentences were so descriptive I could imagine myself being there and that is a quality only a few authors can achieve. George and Lennie were unique yet likable characters as well however the side characters, not so much and only a few pages in a flaw starts to appear and that is the racism and I get it, this is supposed to reflect the period and what life was like back then but I couldn't get over some words... Like that one racist slur, really? Lennie's dream is to get a farm where he can farm vegetables and pet rabbits since they're so soft but first George and Lennie arrive at a town called Weed to get a job and there I meet other characters like Slim who is a worker and has an intriguing personality, Crooks and more people whose names I forgot. I can say that this story despite being 200 pages long is a slow burn and the page count is because this is a special dyslexic edition but still I don't mind slow burns as much anymore as long as the book can compensate for that and it did. Toward the latter half the situation just gets worse as Lennie being giant-like has more strength than others but in the entirety of it, he seems down-to-earth, gentle and harmless however that causes some problems, and did I mention that this part was disheartening to say the least like the time a dog got shot and the ending... Wow, read it for yourself but it's tragic, now I can say that the author knows how to pull something off the right way; at least it's not sensationalistic or anticlimactic (I'm looking at you, certain refugee novel.) ( )

Son tiempos de la Gran Depresión norteamericana. Lennie Small, un grandullón con discapacidad intelectual, y su inseparable amigo George Milton, inteligente y observador, recorren las comarcas rurales de California en busca de algún trabajo que los saque de la pobreza. El sueño de ambos es poder comprarse una tierra, montar una granja y «vivir como príncipes». Al fin los contratan en un rancho, en el que se les complica la vida más de lo que imaginaban.
Rébecca Dautremer ha recreado de forma minuciosa y potente esta espléndida novela que retrata la miseria de las clases bajas y el interior de los EE.UU. en los años 30. Destaca la ambientación magnífica del interior americano en la época de la depresión (los ranchos, los burdeles, la mano de obra negra, la música de jazz) y la diversidad de personajes que desfilan.

That was one of the best endings to a book I have ever read. ( )

The first book that made me cry. I was in the ninth grade. Boys at that age are not supposed to cry. Glad I was at home when I finished it. Read it again 40 years later. After 1000 novels and a half century of living, I can say that it was even better the second time through, and a true classic of American Literature. ( )

I liked a lot but really need to know what happens next! ( )