I, too, was a great lover of Steinbeck and towards the end of high school read all of him I could get a hand on. So I read this one then along with at least half dozen more: Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, Travels with Charlie, The Grapes of Wrath, etc. Still love to read.
East of Eden was (is)my favorite.
My daughter is reading Of Mice and Men in her English class. Maybe I’ll borrow the book from her when she’s not reading it and read it again myself.
Reading it again would be a nice respite from our country’s mess, even if it was only for a few hours. I read almost everything my kids read, so I know exactly what they are being given to read in school. In this day and age you can’t be too careful. There are far too many liberal teachers these days.