[dreams]

Originally Posted by samhy

I'm currently reading "Flowers for Algernon" but it would be over this weekend. It's a sad story, but I like it so far.

I loved that story, even though it was so sad. I'm glad the author didn't give in and change the ending.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is another that has remained in my thoughts over the years. It was many years before I found out about the background of Lennie.

Spoiler:

I was a bindlestiff myself for quite a spell. I worked in the same country that the story is laid in. The characters are composites to a certain extent. Lennie was a real person. He's in an insane asylum in California right now. I worked alongside him for many weeks. He didn't kill a girl. He killed a ranch foreman. Got sore because the boss had fired his pal and stuck a pitchfork right through his stomach. I hate to tell you how many times I saw him do it. We couldn't stop him until it was too late.
John Steinbeck, interview by The New York Times, 1937