I rolled right though this book, but that's because it was short, and not because I was completely enamoured with it. It felt more like a long short story than a novel. Don't get me wrong; I thought it was good, but it lacked oomph for me. I believe that's because I read a lot of horror/thriller stuff, and I'm pretty desensitized to horrible happenings and sad events, of which this book has a few. A lot of it was pretty slow, but like I said, it's short, so it's no biggie to push through to the more important parts. I know it was probably for just a few pages, but it felt like George sat in the bunk house turning over cards forever. I wanted to scream at him "Would you get up, and do something? Sheesh!" 
 Something this story has going for it is realism. I found the entire thing completely believable, which is something I'm not used to in the books I usually read, even those based on realistic happenings. (Dickens, for example. I love, love, love his stories in their realistic settings, but some of his characters... Well, let's just say that, as awesome as they are, real people don't act like that). There was not a single character in this story that I found over-the-top or underplaying his/her role. I did think that some of the characters were rather easily duped by George's ruse at the end, but it was 1937. They didn't have TV to fall back on for references in somebody-is-pulling-the-wool-over-my-eyes, and the characters weren't exactly well educated. All they really knew was farm work, drinking, and hitting up the whore house every now and then. 
 I would recommend this to just about anyone. It could hit heavy for someone not used to that kind of stuff. The back of the book said it was a thriller, and while I have a really hard time seeing that, I guess it could be true depending on a person's perspective. It's still a good book, and has spawned parodies galore ever since it came out. In fact, in an episode of Southpark, I see that Oprah's vagina and anus talk to each other in a George/Lennie kind of way throughout the episode. I'll have to watch that again to see if I can catch it. It was also featured in a scene of LOST I love between Sawyer and Ben. Sawyer tells Ben about the book, then says "You'd like it; puppies get killed." 
 This book is apparently frequently challenged in schools. I understand where some parents and educators are coming from, but disagree that the book should be banned. I'm not down for molly-coddling children by hiding some harsh realities from them. This book is a terrific example of how life was during the depression, even if there is racism in it. The best way not to repeat history is not to forget about it, which means learning about it in the first place. I think this book could be a great teacher.