The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
The Joad family loses its Oklahoma farm in the Dust Bowl and heads to California for work, in a much longer novel of hardship.
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Books like Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men, by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck, follows two migrant farm workers in 1930s California who share a dream of a small farm of their own. These six books offer more Steinbeck and more classics of hardship and friendship.
Books to read next
East of Eden
John Steinbeck
Two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, intertwine in California's Salinas Valley, in a long saga that echoes the story of Cain and Abel.
Cannery Row
John Steinbeck
A band of down-on-their-luck men in the sardine-canning district of Monterey, California, tries to throw a party for Doc, a local marine biologist.
The Pearl
John Steinbeck
Steinbeck's brief parable of a Mexican pearl diver whose family hopes a huge pearl will change their luck.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Scout Finch recalls her Alabama childhood and her father's defense of a Black man, in a classic about justice that uses racial slurs.
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
An aging Cuban fisherman who has gone 84 days without a catch heads far out alone, in another short, spare story about endurance.
How to choose
Start with how much of Steinbeck you want. The Pearl is another brief parable, and Cannery Row is warmer, funnier and looser, a series of scenes about a neighborhood rather than one plot. The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden are his big novels: much longer and heavy, and East of Eden also has cruelty inside families. To Kill a Mockingbird looks just as hard at injustice and also uses racial slurs. The Old Man and the Sea is a quieter, spare classic that pairs well with Steinbeck's short novels. Of Mice and Men itself has violence and harsh language, including racial slurs, so check the content notes before you hand it to a younger reader.
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