Of Mice and Men

Add John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men to the list of classics that I'm finally getting around to reading in my old age. I'm somewhat surprised that I've never read it before (and am racking my brain trying to figure out if I've ever read The Grapes of Wrath). During the pandemic, my adult son is on a reading tear and Of Mice and Men is one of the few fiction books that he's read. I decided to read this one along with him and I look forward to discussing it with him later today. If anything noteworthy comes out of my discussion with him, I will surely add a postscript to this blog post. I am sure his ideas about the plot, the setting, and the characters... and their underlying meanings... will be quite thought-provoking.

In case you aren't aware of what this book is about, it's about migrant farmworkers, George and Lennie, in the Depression-era short novel. George is the brains of the pair of friends while Lennie is the brawn. They are saving for a stake. They hope to own a house and have some land. Lennie, in the dream, will take care of the rabbits. I read this novel not knowing how it ends, another thing that's kind of surprising considering how many high school and university reading lists include this title.

This is a story about outsiders. About those who don't belong to mainstream society. It's a story of how outsiders can come together and then how they end up apart.

Living with the racial unrest brought to a head by the recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the following really struck a chord within me. Over 80 years after the writing of Of Mice and Men, things couldn't be more similar.

     Crooks stood up from the bunk and faced her. "I had enough," he said coldly. "You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Now you jus' get out, an' get out quick. If you don't, I'm gonna ast the boss not to ever let you come in the barn no more."

     She turned on him in scorn. "Listen, Nigger," she said. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?"

     Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself.

     She closed on him. "You know what I could do?"

     "Crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall. "Yes, ma'am." 

Steinbeck experimented with something he called a "playable novel." It was meant to be a sort of cross between a novel and a screen play. It's been on Broadway and there have been three film versions of the story. I'm considering watching one in the next few days just to see how true it is to the actual words of the novel.

This novel is under 100 pages so if for no other reason than you want to add a classic to your list of books you've read, this is a good classic to pick up.

P.S. I was surprised by how on the same page my son and I were after reading this book. My older daughter, rather than reading the book, watched the movie. Some of her observations were a little different from ours.

The Rosie Effect (Don Tillman #2) by Graeme Simsion

For some reason, I'm having a really difficult time deciding what rating to give The Rosie Effect on goodreads.com. Five stars would mean I loved it. Okay, I know that's not true. Going back to how I manage my ratings on goodreads (which was in this post), I'm still not sure if I'm going to give this book 3 stars or 4 stars. There was something that nagged at me, which I'll get into in a bit, but I would recommend it to anyone, even if my recommendation is qualified. How would I qualify my recommendation? This sequel to The Rosie Project isn't quite as good as the first book. Like I said, I'm really not sure. Here's where I wish I could give a 3 1/2 rating. Recommended for all ... but with qualifications.

I'm going to give you one spoiler, although this comes out pretty early in the book. The Rosie Project was really The Wife Project. The Rosie Effect could be renamed The Baby (or Pregnancy) Project. I don't want to give any other spoilers which is why some of what I loved about the book might not make perfect sense.

What did I love about The Rosie Effect?

• I love Don Tillman. He's a compilation of so many people that I know in real life... and a little bit of some of my former students... and a little bit of Sheldon Cooper (from Big Bang Theory) all rolled up into one. He's smart, he's honest, he's kind. The growth of his character in this book was over the top amazing, yet still quite believable. And it's okay that he makes me laugh. Because he knows how socially awkward he is, I never fell like I'm laughing AT him. I feel like I'm laughing, if not exactly with him, well... Don's okay with me laughing at him.
• I love "the boys." Now living in New York City, Don is the glue that holds together a group of four men that help them through so much adversity in their own lives. They all help each other so much. Rarely is this type of men's friendship developed so genuinely and believably in books that I've read. Don isn't the only one with problems. Don is the glue. Then there's Dave, a fellow that Don met on his first trip to New York City (in The Rosie Project). He introduces Don to George, a former rocker who has seen better days. The last member in the group is Gene. He's Don's friend and former colleague from Australia who follows Don to New York City when his life in Australia takes a turn for the worse.
• I love Don's involvement in the Lesbian Mothers Project.
• I love how intellectually invested Don is in preparing for fatherhood. Week by week, Don draws an illustration of what BUD (baby under development) should look like at that time in the pregnancy. I would love to see the little bathroom/study wall where Don keeps his illustrations.
• I love how Don bumbles in his attempt at becoming emotionally invested in preparing for fatherhood. He doesn't realize the importance of showing up for the first sonogram. He doesn't know the right questions to ask that shows he cares. Again, this was totally realistic in my mind.
• I love the incidents that Don gets involved in ... and how he refers back to them throughout the book.
• I love the gesture that Don makes at the end of the book towards Rosie.
• I love the "intervention" that "the boys" stage for Don at the end of the book.
• I love books that are set in locations that I'm familiar with. I could picture the locale and I always get a kick out of that.

So what didn't I love?

• I didn't love Rosie. In the first book, Rosie was instrumental in helping Don grow. And Don was able to help Rosie grow. The changes in Rosie that took place in this book were mostly negative. I so wanted to be rooting for Rosie as well as Don and I felt that I really couldn't do that. 
• And did Rosie really have an effect on Don in this book? Only indirectly. I feel like Rosie let Don down big time! I've read some reviews of this book that expressed that Rosie was just acting like a normal pregnant woman. Maybe some pregnant women act like Rosie. I think she had all the worst traits of all pregnant women rolled in to one character. The Rosie from book one wouldn't be as difficult as the Rosie in this book. Yes, I understand that her childhood has an impact on her future. But I still had troubles connecting the dots from Rosie in The Project to Rosie in The Effect. And I think that's my biggest disappointment.

 In the notes at the end of the book, Simsion leaves us hanging about whether there will be a Don Tillman Book #3 or not. He tells us that if there's a third book, it will be once BUD - who becomes HUD (Human Under Development) who becomes the offspring of Don and Rosie and whose name is quite creatively selected - is about seven years old. That way we can get to see who the child of Don and Rosie is more like at that age. I see great prospects for that book and I hope Simsion writes it.

Off to goodreads.com. I think I'm ready to give The Rosie Effect 4 stars. Clearly what I loved about the book outweighs what I didn't love. And I am looking forward with hope to another book in the series.