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1178 ratings, 3.77 average rating, 113 reviews
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published
November 23rd 2000
(first published 1999)
by Penguin Books Ltd
binding
Paperback, 144 pages
isbn
0141185538
(isbn13: 9780141185538)
description
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America's greatest writers and cultural figures. We have b...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1523)
Read in May, 2004
I read this in one night when I flopped drunk on my friend's girlfriend's couch after a night around the bars.
It's so timely as to be telepathic.
One character literally remarks, regarding the town his troops are occupying, how he is puzzled that there were no flowers or candy thrown at the soldiers who "liberated" them, as everyone had promised they would.
I mean, Come On, how can that not blow your mind, just a little bit?
It was written as Allied propaganda during W...more
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This book is hands down an amazing piece of work. It's not one of his more well known novels like "The Pearl", "The Grapes Of Wrath"(which I hated ps) or "Of Mice and Men" but if you haven't read it you should.
Now.
This book does something no other book has in the past, it humanized "the other side". It gave the enemy a face, a human face and at the time that was unheard of. You feel bad for them, you want them to somehow win even though they're the...more
Now.
This book does something no other book has in the past, it humanized "the other side". It gave the enemy a face, a human face and at the time that was unheard of. You feel bad for them, you want them to somehow win even though they're the...more
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Read in January, 2008
I just had a little itch to read a lesser-known Steinbeck book, and I found a cheap copy of The Moon Is Down, so I figured that was the one, right? Well, I must say, the details I gleaned from the back cover didn't exactly excite me, but it's a novella, comparable in length to Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, so I gave it shot.
I'm really glad I did. Unlike the better-known Cannery Row, I couldn't put this one down. It's about "the effects of invasion on both co...more
I'm really glad I did. Unlike the better-known Cannery Row, I couldn't put this one down. It's about "the effects of invasion on both co...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Harri Purnomo, Jk
Bukunya Pak Steinbeck yang pertama saya baca.
Buku ini menceritakan kisah suatu kota di negeri antah berantah yang diduduki oleh pasukan dari negara agressor. Pasukan agressor berusaha untuk merenggut kedaulatan kota "secara terhormat", termasuk berusaha mengambil hati penduduk kota, yang dalam hal ini diwakili oleh para petinggi kota, termasuk walikota. Agressor menganggap bahwa mereka telah "membebaskan" warga yang mereka duduki. Perlawanan penduduk dianggap sebagai sua...more
Buku ini menceritakan kisah suatu kota di negeri antah berantah yang diduduki oleh pasukan dari negara agressor. Pasukan agressor berusaha untuk merenggut kedaulatan kota "secara terhormat", termasuk berusaha mengambil hati penduduk kota, yang dalam hal ini diwakili oleh para petinggi kota, termasuk walikota. Agressor menganggap bahwa mereka telah "membebaskan" warga yang mereka duduki. Perlawanan penduduk dianggap sebagai sua...more
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Read in June, 2008
A war story with a great message about the value and indomitability of freedom. Far from Steinbeck's best novel but an interesting change of pace from his typical style and subject matter.
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Steinbeck a pumpkin fucker? Must read.
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In a nutshell, invaders from an unnamed country take over a small town in another unnamed country. The befuddled townspeople at first offer no resistance, and the invaders appear to be benevolent. But then the townspeople begin to fight back. You can't govern people without their consent -- at least, not if they have access to dynamite.
This book can't quite decide what it is. The Moon is Down lies halfway between the complexity of literature and the simplicity of propaganda. Commissioned as ...more
This book can't quite decide what it is. The Moon is Down lies halfway between the complexity of literature and the simplicity of propaganda. Commissioned as ...more
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Read in March, 2008
I need a little help with an interpretation for the ending of this one. Is the last Socrates reference doubly significant? ("Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius.") I think I can guess what generally will happen next, but I didn't expect it to end quite so quickly.
I've seen this book is classified as both propaganda and as a "novellete play." I can see how both are fitting. Once again for me, however, the joy of reading J.S. is in
1) the lyricism:
"Down toward...more
I've seen this book is classified as both propaganda and as a "novellete play." I can see how both are fitting. Once again for me, however, the joy of reading J.S. is in
1) the lyricism:
"Down toward...more
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Read in February, 2007
It was interesting to follow Bel Canto with The Moon Is Down, as the former took place almost entirely in exposition and internal monologues, and the latter was largely confined to external actions and dialogue. Like Patchett’s novel, Steinbeck’s has an ergonomic plot revolving around a group of people who are being held captive.
Unlike the romanticized Bel Canto, the captives in The Moon Is Down are living in a Norwegian village that’s been overrun with Nazi occupiers in the 1940s. Wh...more
Unlike the romanticized Bel Canto, the captives in The Moon Is Down are living in a Norwegian village that’s been overrun with Nazi occupiers in the 1940s. Wh...more
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I read this long ago, before 1985, but I'm not sure exactly when.
I remember very little of the book except that I enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed the stories about how a town was liberated from german invation by a very unique way. An airplane flew overhead and dropped hundreds upon hundreds of little parachutes. Inside each package were 3 things: (1) A stick of dynamite, and (2) instructions on how to use it, and (3) a small piece of chocolate.
Once the town-folk discovered what t...more
I remember very little of the book except that I enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed the stories about how a town was liberated from german invation by a very unique way. An airplane flew overhead and dropped hundreds upon hundreds of little parachutes. Inside each package were 3 things: (1) A stick of dynamite, and (2) instructions on how to use it, and (3) a small piece of chocolate.
Once the town-folk discovered what t...more
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Read in January, 1998
The second of Steinbeck's experimental trilogy, in chich he attempts to write the stage drama as novel (The first attempt was Of Mice and Men, the third was Burning Bright) recounts the Nazi invasion and occupation of Norway. As his experiment goes, Steinbeck is incredibly successful, writing scenes that would translate to stage flawlessly, right down to the description of lighting on each "set." it's also an interesting departure for Steinbeck, who is much more at home writing about...more
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I read this when I was fifteen and loved it. I was always interested in World War Two and was fascinated by the whole idea of a villiage being taken over by Nazi soldiers and how resistance grows, almost inevitably.
When I read it again recently I was surprised by how some of the characters were much less interesting than I had remembered them. The part where the woman looks like she is about to have sex with the German soldier really effected me as a fifteen year old, but not quite as much...more
When I read it again recently I was surprised by how some of the characters were much less interesting than I had remembered them. The part where the woman looks like she is about to have sex with the German soldier really effected me as a fifteen year old, but not quite as much...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Carla by:
book group
Written by Steinbeck as a propaganda novelette during WWII, now also considered good literature. It was a contrast to then-current attempts at propaganda, and it was controversial, but it was proven very successful in Nazi-occupied countries in Europe and also in China.
After reading just one chapter of this very short (about 100 pages) book, I have been struck by its cleverness and find it quite droll in its approach. The subject is not at all droll, in and of itself. (Surprised me with...more
After reading just one chapter of this very short (about 100 pages) book, I have been struck by its cleverness and find it quite droll in its approach. The subject is not at all droll, in and of itself. (Surprised me with...more
i liked it not because it was full of war, but because of the profound theme of sacrifice. its not an easy read becauase the first time you read it, you think its ok, but theres a lot hidden beneath the surface that needs exploring.
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of Steinbeck or Hemingway
One of the most unusual "war novels" out there, but a quick, enjoyable read for certain. Invaders from a nameless country settle in a small town in another nameless country (all we are told is that the first country mindlessly obeys their "Leader," and the second is allied with England), and meet unexpected hatred boiling into organized resistance. The biggest differentiator here is that the invaders (stand-ins for Nazis) are given varied and sympathetic personalities, and ...more
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Read in February, 2001
My favorite Steinbeck so far ... I have a book with these three and three others I got at Goodwill for fifty cents. What a bargain... here a small village is taken over & policed by some enemy force... war taken to the smallest scale. Not war in terms of numbers dead or violent combat but war in terms of occupation, alliegance, humans in the hands of a greater force, killing other humans. And the town fights back, and it is certain they will eventually succeed.
"Eleven o'clock, an...more
"Eleven o'clock, an...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
Political readers, history readers, people interested in propaganda
It's funny to think that this was propaganda during World War II, when this would pass for acceptable storytelling today. It doesn't even go out of its way to demonize the Nazis the way almost everything does today. What it does accomplish is express the immutable power of the powerless masses, and instill hope in those in hopeless situations, by way of the story of an military-occupied village. Historical readers should be interested to see a book that motivated so many Europeans to stand stron...more
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This tiny little book is one of my favorites, one I have re-read many times over the years. Steinbeck, it goes without saying, is a magnificent writer, and this book is a wonderfully different side of him. The basic story is of a nameless conquering Army entering a nameless Scandinavian country, more specifically one unit entering one small town to extract a natural resource. This is not a blood and guts war story by any means. It is about occupation and the toll it takes on the occupiers, yo...more
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Read in April, 2008
ماه پنهان است ماجرای اشغال شهر معدنی کوچکی را در نروج که به اشغال نازیها در می اید را باز می گوید این کتاب بیشتر پیشگویی است تا تاریخ و ایمان عمیق نویسنده به انسان را باز می نمایاند که همانا برابر است با ایمان به پیروزی نهایی ازادی بر اسارت و اجبار زبان کتاب ساده و روشن است با تر...more
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