Two-in-one: Of Mice & Men and Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Of Mice & Men:
The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simpleminded man, calming him and helping to reign in his immense physical strength.
Cannery Row:
In this tough yet charming portrait of people on the margins of society, Steinbeck focuses on the acceptance of life as it is—both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. Drawing on his memories of friends in Monterey, California, he interweaves the stories of Lee, Doc, and Mack, the inhabitants of Cannery Row. What results is a procession of linked vignettes and a novel that is at once Steinbeck’s most humorous and poignant works, filled with human warmth, camaraderie, and love.