A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great
Depression
They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face";
Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet
they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness
and alienation.
Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when
they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a
plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When
they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of
their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard
Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the
consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George
taught him.
"A thriller, a gripping tale . . . that you will not set down until it
is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick." --The New York Times