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The Moon Is Down

by John Steinbeck

3.87 · Rating Details · 14,596 Ratings · 1,041 Reviews

Taken by surprise, a small coastal town is overrun by an invading army with little resistance. The town is important because it is a port that serves a large coal mine. Colonel Lanser, the head of the invading battalion, along with his staff establishes his HQ in the house of the democratically elected and popular Mayor Orden.

As the reality of occupation sinks in and the w Taken by surprise, a small coastal town is overrun by an invading army with little resistance. The town is important because it is a port that serves a large coal mine. Colonel Lanser, the head of the invading battalion, along with his staff establishes his HQ in the house of the democratically elected and popular Mayor Orden.

As the reality of occupation sinks in and the weather turns bleak, with the snows beginning earlier than usual, the "simple, peaceful people" of the town are angry and confused. Colonel Lanser, a veteran of many wars, tries to operate under a veil of civility and law, but in his heart he knows that "there are no peaceful people" amongst those whose freedom has been taken away by force. The veil is soon torn apart when Alexander Morden, an erstwhile alderman and "a free man," is ordered to work in the mine. He strikes out at Captain Loft with a pick axe, but Captain Bentick steps into its path and dies of it. After a summary trial, Morden is executed by a firing squad. This incident catalyzes the people of the town and they settle into "a slow, silent, waiting revenge." Sections of the railroad linking the port with the mine get damaged regularly, the machinery breaks down often, and the dynamo of the electricity generators gets short circuited. Whenever a soldier relaxes his guard, drinks or goes out with a woman, he is killed. Mayor Orden stands by his people, and tries to explain to Col. Lanser that his goal – "to break man’s spirit permanently" – is impossible.

The cold weather and the constant fear weighs heavy on the occupying force, many of whom wish the war to end so that they can return home. They realize the futility of the war and that "the flies have conquered the flypaper." Some members of the resistance escape to England and ask the English for explosives so that the townspeople can intensify their efforts. English planes parachute-drop small packages containing dynamite sticks and chocolates all around the town. In a state of panic, the army takes the Mayor and his friend Dr. Winter, the town doctor and historian, hostage and lets it be known that any action from resistance will lead to their execution. Mayor Orden knows that nothing can stop his people and that his death is imminent. He tells his wife that while he can be killed, the idea of Mayor (and freedom and democracy) is beyond the reach of any army. Before his execution, Mayor Orden reminds Dr. Winter of the dialogues of Socrates in the Apology, a part he played in the high school play, and tells him to make sure that the debt is repaid to the army, i.e., that the resistance is continued. ...more

Paperback, 144 pages

Published November 30th 2000 by Penguin Classics (first published 1942)

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John Steinbeck

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Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

World War II Fiction

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Community Reviews

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Jul 14, 2011 Stephen rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction, audiobook, classics-americas, 1930-1953, the-way-we-war

Propaganda is a word often spewed in anger or indignation at some form of manipulative or self-serving communication. It’s generally viewed as objectionable, ugly, and immoral.

Meet the honorable, dignified exception to that stereotype.

John Steinbeck’s 1942 novel, written to support the Allied effort during WWII, is propaganda as pure as freshly fallen snow, as righteous and moral as love for humanity. It is propaganda in affirmation of freedom, self-determination, and the indomitable will of pe ...more

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May 15, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

Short and bitter sweet, The Moon is Down shows what becomes of docile countryfolk when they are invaded and subjugated.

Not sure what to expect from this lesser known work by Steinbeck, my first impression after a few pages was that I was in for a light comedy, a sort of Catch-22 anti-war declaration, apparently with silly citizens and gullible army officers acting out a daffy pre-"Hogan's Heroes" farce.

But then it turned serious and dark, and actually hopeful. There are small heroes, tiny victo ...more

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Jan 26, 2017 Mohammed Ali rated it really liked it · review of another edition

" لقد أتى الجنود بالشتاء قبل موعده , طالما قال أبي إن الحرب تجلب الأجواء الرديئة , أو أن الأجواء الرديئة تجلب الحرب...لم أعد أذكر ما كان يقول

لقاء مع الكاتب الأمريكي المشهور جون شتاينباك و روايته القصيرة في مغيب القمر , حيث يسلط الضوء على زمن الحرب و الإحتلال و لكن من زاوية مختلفة نوعا ما...بعيدة عن القتال و الجبهات الساخنة .

" إن الشعب لا يحب أن يغزى يا سيدي , و هكذا لن يبقي على الغازي , إن أحرار الرجال لا يبدؤون حربا , و لكنها حين تبدأ سيواصلون الجهاد و إن أحاطت بهم الهزيمة . إن القطعان من النا ...more

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Dec 12, 2013 Lyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

John Steinbeck published The Moon is Down in 1942.

While not directly naming either Norway or Germany, the reader understands that the setting is Norway during the Nazi German occupation, which began in 1940. Written for easy adaptation to the theater, Steinbeck evokes Ibsen with his play-like, scene-focused action.

When the novel was published, Nazi German forces occupied much of Europe and North Africa and the Anglo-American and Russian allied forces had yet to check Nazi aggression and expans ...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Melki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: war, classic-fiction, fiction

By 10:45 it was all over. The town was occupied, the defenders defeated, and the war was finished.

Not quite. In Steinbeck's 1942 story of a small unnamed town invaded by an unnamed enemy, the war was far from finished.

The book begins with an almost farcical tone - the mayor needs to have his ear hairs trimmed before his meeting with the conquering colonel, the ratfink mole who's been informing on the townsfolk seems surprised that he should not continue to live amongst them, and one of the sol ...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Kim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

Well before the United States entered World War II, John Steinbeck became involved in several government intelligence and information agencies because he wanted to fight fascism. By September 1941 Steinbeck decided that he would write a work of fiction using what he had learned from European refugees about the psychological effects of occupation on people living in countries which had come under Nazi control. This novella is the result. Set in a village in an unnamed country, it focuses on the e
Well before the United States entered World War II, John Steinbeck became involved in several government intelligence and information agencies because he wanted to fight fascism. By September 1941 Steinbeck decided that he would write a work of fiction using what he had learned from European refugees about the psychological effects of occupation on people living in countries which had come under Nazi control. This novella is the result. Set in a village in an unnamed country, it focuses on the experiences of the locals as they deal with occupation by the armed forces of another unnamed country. The text makes it clear that the occupier is meant to be Germany, and while the occupied land could be a number of European countries, it is very much like Norway. The narrative describes the arrival of the enemy soldiers, the reaction of the villagers to occupation and of the soldiers to the act of occupying, the involvement of a local collaborator and the population's growing determination to resist the enemy and fight for freedom.

Even though the work was specifically designed to be a piece of anti-Nazi propaganda, Steinbeck avoided stereotyping the invading soldiers. Instead, he showed them as human beings with differing attitudes to their role, missing home and their families and trying to justify their position to the locals. He was criticised for this. While many critics praised the work, some influential critics accused Steinbeck of being soft on the Nazis and suggested that the novella would demoralise victims of Nazi aggression in occupied Europe. Those particular critics were wrong. After the war, the King of Norway gave Steinbeck a medal in honour of the influence of the work in Norway and it later came to light that although the Nazis banned the book, it was translated, illegally printed and distributed throughout occupied western Europe. And not only in Europe: the book was also circulated in parts of China under Japanese occupation. If anything, by portraying the occupying soldiers as human beings and not as monsters, Steinbeck showed that they could be defeated.

The work has the feeling of a parable, almost of a fairy tale. It is heavy on dialogue and relatively light on description. In common with many short works, the characters are lightly sketched in rather than well-developed. As befits a work of propaganda, it is somewhat didactic in tone. Overall, it's fair to say that in terms of literary merit, this is far from Steinbeck's best work. However, the simplicity of the writing had a purpose. As I was reading, it struck me that the work would have been relatively straightforward to translate. To translate a work of literature generally requires background-speaker level fluency in the original language and the language into which the work is to be translated. However, the language in this work is relatively simple and the complexities of metaphor and idiom are avoided. Anyone reasonably competent in English could have translated the work with the assistance of a good dictionary. That Steinbeck could adapt his writing style to such an extent, while still producing elegant prose, is a testament to his skill.

Even though this is not Steinbeck's best work, it's still a thought-provoking read. It gets four stars for being a satisfying literary work and an additional star for being an interesting historical artifact. ...more

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Nov 23, 2015 Himanshu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: quickies, unforgettables

Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat. Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and the free men who win wars.

Such a thing is war where a haze creeps over our minds, a foggy mist of confusion that dilutes the outline of real versus unreal. Then some words are put together on makeshift pieces of paper to form a book that gets circulated stealthily and the strength is delivered. A strength which is unquantifiable and unfathomable as it is a strength of the heart. What can the enemy do to tackle it really? What torture, treachery or massacre could break this resolve? None, because those words in some surreptitious way have provided a freedom to the foggy minds. A freedom which paves an unassailable path towards a single objective of defeating the enemy.

I have a very good habit of not reading the reviews before picking up a book and a very bad habit of forgetting the ones that I've read long back. So luckily for me, I didn't know the background of this novel until I read the brilliant Afterword by Donald V. Coers. Imagine my countenance when I came to know that this work by an author who I utterly adore has been labeled as "Propaganda" and it turned out to be successfully so.

To put it simply: Through an anonymous pseudo plot, Steinbeck has written a simple yet powerful work on the Nazi occupied Norway during the WW-II. Over the period of 1940-1942, Steinbeck had actively volunteered for various government information and intelligence agencies, which brought him in contact with various displaced refugees from recently occupied countries like Norway and Denmark among others. This brought to his notice various underground resistance activities going on in their native lands, thus subsequently leading him to write this piece of fiction which was first published in USA in 1942 after making a few changes and borrowing the title from the beginning of Act 2 of Macbeth. It was released at the time of the attack on Peal Harbor, making it one of the biggest literary controversies of that time. The critics even went on to label Steinbeck as naïveté. But by this time, the book had found its way to western Europe as a stealth dagger to give it's people the much needed fuel to carry on the resistance.

But, how does a man living thousands of miles away write something so simple yet powerful that most of a continent and even China for that matter, amidst the most cruel war of all time, recognize it as one of the indispensable contributors towards their independence? To which Steinbeck responded: "I put myself in your place, and thought what I would do." OK sir, if you say so.

All of that said, this book was different from his other works, the high muscled The Grapes of Wrath, or the earthly wise Of Mice and Men, or the life encompassing East of Eden. It was a war book alright, but the enemy was so human, the native's emotions so palpable, the atmosphere so dense, and the revenge so deep rooted that it breaks the shackles that binds a propaganda book to the war time, and transcends to the glorious eternity. There were to be found the elements of Wodehousian humor and Dostoevskian tragic psyche too. What more could I ask for? Maybe just my epitaph by his words that would forever refuse to die against the coldest of steel. ...more

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Mar 21, 2016 James rated it it was amazing

Loved it and very nearly rated it as a 5. Written ostensibly as intelligent propaganda for the allies in WWII - and from reading the afterword in the edition I read, it was seemingly massively effective and influential in that context across many occupied countries. Whilst being criticised as being over simplistic, I feel the book stands extremely well indeed as a novel in its own right - simply written and with such clarity, it goes to the heart of the human experience and is all the more power ...more

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Nov 08, 2014 Henry Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: permanent-collection

I must admit that my reading this year has been all over the place - some philosophical works, some Balzac, some classics, some indie titles, some surrealism - so when I reached for this unknown-to-me Steinbeck, I had no idea whether I was going to like it or not.

But alas, it is Steinbeck.

Despite being rather short, this book delivers much food for thought. Looking at the GR database, many readers have labeled this book as propaganda (apparently, it was written as such). Yet, I cannot label it I must admit that my reading this year has been all over the place - some philosophical works, some Balzac, some classics, some indie titles, some surrealism - so when I reached for this unknown-to-me Steinbeck, I had no idea whether I was going to like it or not.

But alas, it is Steinbeck.

Despite being rather short, this book delivers much food for thought. Looking at the GR database, many readers have labeled this book as propaganda (apparently, it was written as such). Yet, I cannot label it the same way and maintain clean conscience. This little book is so much more than propaganda. In fact, it reminds me a little of my all-time favorite war story - Pins and Needles by Boris Vian.

Why? Well, for starters, neither one is about a war. They both use war as a backdrop to a larger drama - the drama of human beings and their inability to coexist together in peace. They both center on the uselessness of war, on the idiocy of following out-of-touch leaders, of the blindness of following orders, and of the struggle to reconcile with the inutility of it all.

Where Vian centered on a single soldier as a part of the machine, Steinbeck centers not on the machine itself, but rather on the players (the wheels) that make the machine turn. He focuses equally on the conquerors and the conquered, and their interactions. The details about the location are so minimal that the location itself becomes almost impertinent. And isn't that true in a real war, after all? Wars are not about places; they are about victories and losses. And as Steinbeck points out, the conquerors often win battles, but the conquered win wars, because they are not following a leader or an agenda. They are in it for themselves.

Unlike the more contemporary books I read recently, The Moon is Down is written almost entirely as a dialogue between the various parties to the story. And here is where Steinbeck shines - in the dialogue, which advances the story without being boring, overdone, or cliched. We have friends talking, enemies talking, and through their exchanges we not only see the progress of the war itself, but also the progress of the change which is taking place inside the oppressed.

This is a wonderful story about two men - one conquered and one conqueror. One elected and one appointed. They both know the nonsense of it all, and they both agree on it, yet both have to follow their duty as required by their office.

An excellent read.
...more

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Feb 12, 2016 peiman-mir5 rezakhani rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: داستان-و-رمان

دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب، از 182 صفحه تشکیل شده است و پیامِ اصلی داستان، نبرد برایِ پیروزی و مبارزه در راهِ آزادیست
داستانِ در موردِ مردمِ شهرِ « قصبه» و مبارزۀ آنها با اشغالگرانِ آلمانیست... « قصبه» دهکدۀ کوچکی در « نروژ» است... مردمانش بسیار آرام و صلح جو هستند و تنها 12 نفر نیرویِ مسلح و قوایِ محلی دارند که در همان لحظاتِ اولیۀ حملۀ آلمان ها تار و مار شدند
عزیزانم، برخلافِ مردمِ میهن پرست و شجاعِ « قصبه»، نخست وزیرِ پست و میهن فروشِ « نروژ» کشورش را دو دستی تقدیم به آلمان ها و هیتلر میکند، اما دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب، از 182 صفحه تشکیل شده است و پیامِ اصلی داستان، نبرد برایِ پیروزی و مبارزه در راهِ آزادیست
داستانِ در موردِ مردمِ شهرِ « قصبه» و مبارزۀ آنها با اشغالگرانِ آلمانیست... « قصبه» دهکدۀ کوچکی در « نروژ» است... مردمانش بسیار آرام و صلح جو هستند و تنها 12 نفر نیرویِ مسلح و قوایِ محلی دارند که در همان لحظاتِ اولیۀ حملۀ آلمان ها تار و مار شدند
عزیزانم، برخلافِ مردمِ میهن پرست و شجاعِ « قصبه»، نخست وزیرِ پست و میهن فروشِ « نروژ» کشورش را دو دستی تقدیم به آلمان ها و هیتلر میکند، اما مردمِ « قصبه» زیرِ بارِ این خفت نرفته و به رهبریِ شهردارِ پیر و فلسفه دوستِ شهرشان « اوردن»، دست به دستِ یکدیگر داده و با راهنمایی هایِ « اوردن» در برابرِ آلمانها مقاوت کردند و جنگیدند
یکی از نکاتِ جالب در این داستان برایم این بود که « اشتاین بک» ساعت هایِ دقیقِ وقوعِ حوادث و رویداد ها را اعلام میکرد... به عنوانِ مثال: ساعتِ ده و سی و هشت دقیقه، 6 سربازِ کشته شده به خاک سپرده شدند
دوستانِ خردگرا، این داستانِ زیبا، من را به یادِ خیانتِ « سلمان فارسی» حرام زاده، یا همان « روزبه» میهن فروش انداخت که با اعرابِ کثیف و غارتگر همدست بود و برعلیهِ سرزمینِ پاکمان اقدام کرد... و مقاومتِ مردمِ « قصبه» برایم رشادت ها و دلاوری هایِ زنان و مردانِ مظلوم و بی آزارِ سرزمینِ عزیزم « ایران» را یادآوری نمود
شهردارِ قصبه، « اوردن» گفت: تنها کارِ غیرِ ممکن در دنیا، در هم شکستنِ روحِ انسان به نحوِ دائمی است
یادِ تمامی انسانهایِ آزاده و میهن پرستِ سرزمینمان « ایران» همیشه گرامی باد
پیروز باشید و ایرانی
...more

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Jul 06, 2015 Sawsan rated it liked it · review of another edition

في مغيب القمر رواية كتبها جون شتاينبك ونشرت عام 1942 أثناء الحرب العالمية الثانية
بلدة صغيرة يدخلها جيش الاحتلال لاستغلال مناجم الفحم الموجودة فيها, يحكي شتاينبك عن عمدة البلدة وأهلها البسطاء في مواجهة ومقاومة الاحتلال
ويصف حال جنود الاحتلال وما يدور في نفوسهم ما بين الشعور بالقوة والغرور, وبين العزلة والغربة ورغبتهم الشديدة بمرور الوقت للعودة لبلادهم وأهلهم
الأكيد انه ما في شعب مسالم إذا ما تعرض هذا الشعب لاحتلال أرضه وفقد حريته
هذه الرواية البسيطة كان لها أثر مشجع ومساند لسكان الدول التي احتلتها ...more

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Feb 20, 2008 Matt rated it really liked it

Shelves: politik, social-crit, fictions-of-the-big-it, satire, shattering, underrated-lost-classics

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 WW2 explicity at the request o ...more

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May 22, 2017 Eliasdgian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ένα τάγμα στρατιωτών καταλαμβάνει την πόλη. Αντίσταση δεν προβάλλεται. Ο πληροφοριοδότης των κατακτητών – ευπόληπτος δημότης - είχε φροντίσει να απομακρύνει τους ελάχιστους διαθέσιμους στρατιώτες. Η πόλις εάλω, λοιπόν. Απλά, ήσυχα, με λιγοστούς νεκρούς∙ και τα όποια διαθέσιμα όπλα παραδίδονται στους κατακτητές.

Πριν την πόλη είχε κατακτηθεί η χώρα και πριν τη χώρα η μισή υφήλιος. Ο κατακτητής δείχνει ανίκητος, αλλά δεν είναι. Οι φαντάροι σκέφτονται αδιάκοπα το σπίτι τους, σιχαίνονται τον τόπο πο Ένα τάγμα στρατιωτών καταλαμβάνει την πόλη. Αντίσταση δεν προβάλλεται. Ο πληροφοριοδότης των κατακτητών – ευπόληπτος δημότης - είχε φροντίσει να απομακρύνει τους ελάχιστους διαθέσιμους στρατιώτες. Η πόλις εάλω, λοιπόν. Απλά, ήσυχα, με λιγοστούς νεκρούς∙ και τα όποια διαθέσιμα όπλα παραδίδονται στους κατακτητές.

Πριν την πόλη είχε κατακτηθεί η χώρα και πριν τη χώρα η μισή υφήλιος. Ο κατακτητής δείχνει ανίκητος, αλλά δεν είναι. Οι φαντάροι σκέφτονται αδιάκοπα το σπίτι τους, σιχαίνονται τον τόπο που κατέκτησαν. Κι ο λαός με τη σειρά του σιχαίνεται τους φαντάρους. Και νιώθει μίσος γι’ αυτούς. Ένα μίσος που δυναμώνει, που είναι βαθιά στα μάτια του λαού, που φέρνει φόβο στην καρδιά και κάνει τους κατακτητές να φοβούνται τους κατακτημένους. «Και όλοι ήξεραν, καταχτημένοι και καταχτητές, τι θα συμβεί όταν θα εμφανιζότανε το πρώτο ράγισμα».

Ένα ψυχογράφημα είναι το βιβλίο αυτό του Στάινμπεκ, μια περιδίνηση στα τρίσβαθα του ανθρώπινου ψυχισμού. Ένας ύμνος στην ανθρωπιά κι ένα τραγούδι ελπίδας που εν έτει 1942 (όταν και πρωτοδημοσιεύτηκε το βιβλίο) δεν μπορεί να υποστηρίξει κανείς ότι περίσσευαν στον κόσμο.

Τέσσερα ολόλαμπρα αστέρια στο στερέωμα του ουρανού, πλάι σε ένα φεγγάρι που έχει ήδη πέσει και μια δικαιωμένη αίσθηση ότι ο Στάινμπεκ δεν θα με απογοητεύσει ποτέ. ...more

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Sep 09, 2016 Cemre added it · review of another edition

Kısa; ancak çok etkileyici bir kitap. Her ne kadar İkinci Dünya Savaşı esnasında, o dönemle ilgili olarak yazılmış olsa da dünyada değişen pek bir şey yok.

İşgal görmemiş bir kasaba, madenlerini kullanmak amacıyla işgal ediliyor. İlk başta duruma anlam veremeyenler özgürlüklerinin ellerinden alındığını hissettikleri an bunun için ufak ufak da olsa direnmeye başlıyorlar. İşgalciler giderek büyüyen bir birlikten korkuyor, korktukları için daha fazla insanı öldürüyorlar; fakat kasabasını, insanını ...more

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May 30, 2017 oguz kaan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, american-literature

*Savaşın yıkımını görmüş yaşlı bir askerle, genç ve dinamik erlerin kafasına yerleşen insanları çok daha iyi koşullara kavuşturmak icin fetih yapıyoruz fikrinin yer yer çatışmasını,
*Mağdur kesim olduğu söylenen küçük kasabanın halkının, birbirleri üzerinde oluşturdukları psikolojik baskıyı,
*Şartlar lehine geliştiğinde insanın 'hiç yapmaz.' denilen işleri nasıl da yaptığını başarılı şekilde aktaran bir kısa romandı.

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Dec 29, 2014 Brad rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: political, ethics, fascinating, impulsive-bookstore-pick, wwii-era-lit, exceeded-my-expectations, where-have-you-been-all-my-life

I went through most of my life not knowing that The Moon is Down even existed. I haven't been the most fervent fan of John Steinbeck, so that could be the explanation, but in all the classes I've been in, in all the discussions of Steinbeck's work or dicussions of stories of WWII, I've never heard of this book.

When I stumbled upon it in my local used book shop I couldn't help wondering why it was new to me. I figured it must just be a terrible book, unworthy of attention, a rare Steinbeck failu I went through most of my life not knowing that The Moon is Down even existed. I haven't been the most fervent fan of John Steinbeck, so that could be the explanation, but in all the classes I've been in, in all the discussions of Steinbeck's work or dicussions of stories of WWII, I've never heard of this book.

When I stumbled upon it in my local used book shop I couldn't help wondering why it was new to me. I figured it must just be a terrible book, unworthy of attention, a rare Steinbeck failure, but I went ahead and bought it anyway (it was only a buck and a quarter). Then it sat on my shelf for a couple of years.

I dragged it along with me to the Caribbean (where we're staying for 2014-2015), determined to give it a crack on the beach sometime. That time was over the Christmas break, and within about twenty pages I was trying to figure out the real reason for my ignorance of this book because it isn't a failure on the part of Steinbeck.

The Moon is Down is sparing, as are all of Steinbeck's novellas, and there is a beauty in his chosen simplicity. The cast of scantily drawn characters seems to be a deliberate part of that simplicity. It is as though Steinbeck wants us to find ourselves in any or all of the men and women who inhabit this little world of Conquerors and (Un-)Conquered, Vanquished and (Un-)Vanquished, so he spares us too much detail that could get in the way of our ability to relate. And herein may lie the reason why The Moon is Down has been pushed to the fringes of Steinbeck's work, because the characters (at least two thirds of them) that Steinbeck wants us to relate to are Nazis inhabiting a town in the midst of WWII.

We all know the discomfort that comes with being able to empathize with or relate to Nazi characters, but that discomfort can only be intensified by the fact that Steinbeck himself never gives his occupiers the name Nazi. The only place the word Nazi appears on my book, in fact, is on the back cover. I imagine anyone reading this book when it was released, or even folks who might read the book now without a back cover-spoiler, would be angered when they realized that the Nazis of Steinbeck's novella are not so different from they themselves or from their troops that might this very second be occupying another place somewhere in the world. Occupiers as hated by the Occupied as Steinbeck's Nazis in The Moon is Down.

I'd be willing to wager a pay cheque (don't get excited, that's practically nothing these days), that Steinbeck's book has been quietly set aside because of that very discomfort, which is a shame because it is telling an important story that I am better for having read. ...more

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Feb 01, 2016 Mohammed Orabi rated it liked it · review of another edition

" إن الأحرار لا يمكن أن يبدءوا حربا ، ولكن ما إن تبدأ الحرب حتى يقاتلوا ولو وقعت بهم الهزيمة . أما قطعان الناس الذين ينساقون لزعيم واحد ، فلا يمكن أن يفعلوا هذا .. ومن ثم فإن القطعان هم الذين يفوزن دائما في المعارك والأشتباكات .. أما الأحرار فهم الذين يفوزون في نهاية الحرب ! .. "

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Jun 22, 2008 Bruce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Bruce by: Carla Nagle

This little novella was written in 1942 as a work of propaganda to assist the Allied war effort. At the time Steinbeck came under some criticism for portraying the Germans (the conquerors were not actually identified as German in the book itself) too sympathetically, in contrast to the more virulent and crude propaganda that tried to demonize them. After the war, the work was more universally praised when it became apparent that it had greatly encouraged the resistance in Nazi-occupied countries ...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Chrissie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: hf, humorous, norway, downpour, alt

This is filled with ironic humor. Line after line after line. Or is my brain twisted?!

Isn't it kind of funny that the value of propaganda, which is what this was when it was originally written in 1942, all depends on which side you stand? Propaganda is usually seen as "bad literature". Not here. This is the first time I have read propaganda that gets its message across through humor, and it is good!

Here is a little background information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon...

**************** ...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Bettie☯ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: GeeVee

Shelves: classic, shortstory-shortstories-novellas, one-penny-wonder, war, wwii, nobel-laureate, norway, paper-read, nazi-related, tbr-busting-2012, spring-2012, hardback

Withdrawn from Llanilltud Fawr English Department. No dedication.

Opening: By ten-forty-five it was all over. The town was occupied, the defenders defeated, and the war finished.

HATTIP: It was Melki reading this a short while ago that sent me ferreting out my copy.

I couldn't help but see Klaus Kinski in the rôle of Tonder.

Uplifting read and suddenly I want to make millions of little blue parachutes to help those beleagured females in America who would prefer an abortion without the Victorian sh ...more

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Feb 16, 2016 Mai Laakso rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nobel-prized, history-fiction, male-writer, war-books

Tämä klassikkokirja ilmestyi Yhdysvalloissa vuonna 1942. Kirjan avulla kirjailija halusi vastustaa fasismia. Kirjahan oli kiellettyjen listalla kaikkialla missä natsit olivat vallassa. Italiassa sai kuolemantuomion, jos piti kirjaa hallussaan. Tämä kirja oli suosituin propagandakirja natsien valloittamissa maissa ja levisi ns. maanalaisesti kaikkialle.
Kirjan tarina on kuin suoraan norjalaisesta tv-sarjasta Miehitetty, paitsi miehittäjinä olivat natsit ja halusivat kaiken hiilentuotannon, kun ta ...more

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Jan 02, 2017 M. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kutuphanemdekiler

Bu küçük fakat anlam yüklü kitap; minik kıvılcımların nasıl olup da büyük yangınlara dönüşebileceğinin güzel bir özeti niteliğinde.

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Jul 06, 2017 Conor rated it liked it

This was a quick little bit of agitprop from one of my favorite authors. It's short and reads a lot like a play--apparently by design--and has an interesting history. But I wasn't very invested until the very end.

The simple reminder that "herd men" win battles but independent minded people win wars is a helpful and hopeful one to remember.

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Nov 09, 2015 Steven rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, american, literature, steinbeck

Steinbeck wrote this novel in support of the occupied territories of Europe during WWII. The novel centers on the invasion of an unnamed Northern European country (like Norway) by unnamed conquerors (like the Germans), and reads almost like a play. In fact, it was later adapted for the theater by Steinbeck himself. Its atmosphere of staunch socio-political defiance reminded me of Ibsen's 'An Enemy of the People'. It's not perfect; the setting and some of the conversations could have been better, ...more

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Apr 16, 2014 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, fiction, literature, war, modern, american, 20th-century

The Moon is down, John Ernst Steinbeck (1902 - 1968)
عنوان: ماه پنهان است؛ اثر: جان اشتاین بک، ترجمه: پرویز داریوش؛ مشخصات نشر: تهران، سازمان کتابهای جیبی: موسسه انتشارات فرانکلین، 1341، در 182 ص، اندازه 11در5/16 س.م.، موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان آمریکایی، قرن 20 م، جنگ جهانی دوم، 1939 تا 1945 م.، نروژ، داستان

عنوان: ماه پنهان است؛ اثر: جان اشتاین بک، ترجمه: پرویز داریوش؛ مشخصات نشر: تهران، اساطیر، 1365، در 162 ص، موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان آمریکایی، قرن 20 م، جنگ جهانی دوم، 1939 تا 1945 م.، نروژ، ...more

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Jan 10, 2016 Yogeeswar rated it really liked it

Shelves: politics-war, classics

Brilliant 4.5 Stars

They think that just because they have only one leader and one head, we are all like that. They know that ten heads lopped off will destroy them, but we are a free people; we have as many heads as we have people, and in a time of need leaders pop up among us like mushrooms.

This may be a novella, but one that contains a strong message. I read this with such rapture, even felt sorry as the book was very short. The Leader here is sardonically meaning Hitler, whose imbecile way o ...more

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Jun 29, 2009 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Steinbeck fans and anybody who believes war is not the answer.

Shelves: fiction, 2009, library

If all propaganda was this intelligent and well-written, human beings could stand up a bit taller and a bit prouder. Steinbeck wrote this as during WWII to support the people and countries occupied by Nazi-Germany - Denmark being one of them - and he did a marvellous job.

The book is about a small, peaceful town in a small, peaceful country which is occupied by a conquering force - helped on the way by a traitor in the town. At first, the town people are surprised and not really able to grasp it If all propaganda was this intelligent and well-written, human beings could stand up a bit taller and a bit prouder. Steinbeck wrote this as during WWII to support the people and countries occupied by Nazi-Germany - Denmark being one of them - and he did a marvellous job.

The book is about a small, peaceful town in a small, peaceful country which is occupied by a conquering force - helped on the way by a traitor in the town. At first, the town people are surprised and not really able to grasp it all: The people are confused now. They have lived at peace so long that they do not quite believe in war. They will learn and then they will not be confused any more.(10-11) And so it goes - the people have very little experience in war and none at all in defeat (1), as Steinbeck writes in the beginning, but they learn. And the conquering force instead discovers what's it like to deal with a people hating them and having to constantly look over one's shoulder.
The book follows both the conquerors and the conquered people. The leaders - Colonel Lanser and Mayor Orden - are both portrayed as decent and civilised people, both caught up in the war without the opportunity to do different. They both seem a bit tragic - Colonel Lanser because he's been in war before and know that the thinks he and his soldiers do to keep the situation under control are without effect but he's powerless to change the cause of events. Mayor Orden is just a simple man, mayor of a small town and with no experience. But he also has a role to play and play it he must - even if it means dire consequences for himself. Both men have a set of determined actions to play out and both are unable to escape. A very well-written scene illustrating the similarities between the two men is when Mayor Orden and his longtime friend Doctor Winter try to remember Socrates' speech from Apology and Colonel Lanser enters the room and help them and together with Winter wish for Orden to remember it all... Socrates himself got caught in a web he couldn't escape - and so are these men.

This is not so much a propaganda against Nazi-Germany as it is against war. It's clear that Steinbeck viewed war as unable to solve any conflict and that it just meant playing out a series of pre-determined actions, each action causing a set counter-action so nothing new will ever come of war, innocent people will just be caught up in the actions of their commanders. And the reason the aggressors will never succeed is that they try the one impossible job in the world, the one thing that can't be done - and that is [t:]o break a mans spirit permanently (54). I guess this sentence is one of the most important ones in the book - and what was part of keeping it so heavily circulated in several countries during WWII. Even when it looks the darkest, there will always come a light later on... The human spirit cannot be locked down and kept away from the light - and between free men, there is always new leaders ready to lead the people against the oppressors.

A beautiful and well-written novella that I enjoyed re-reading and highly recommend. ...more

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Mar 28, 2015 Jenny (adultishbooks) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the first "obscure" John Steinbeck I've read and it wasn't on my radar until a week ago. This is totally out of Steinbeck's typical wheelhouse of the working class in California during the 1930s. This book was used as propaganda in the Second World War and the Nazis threatened to (and probably did) kill people who were found with copies of this book. It was copied in secret and garnered some criticism for making the invaders "human."

I found this book fascinating. It's set up as a caution ...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Emanuela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: narrativa-straniera

E' un romanzo breve, parla di guerra, di un popolo pacifico che viene conquistato con le armi.
Più si va avanti nella lettura più questi invasori prendono la forma dei tedeschi nella II guerra mondiale.
Il medico del villaggio li definisce così: "La mosche hanno conquistato la carta moschicida disse Winter."

E infatti, il momento più intenso del libro riguarda la condizione psicologica, a volte estrema dei soldati stranieri, che passa dall'arroganza e sicurezza degli ordini che impartiscono ed ese ...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Ed rated it it was amazing

If you're ever scouting for a robust, fast read, Steinbeck's war novella might be the ticket. Very popular when it was published in 1942, THE MOON IS DOWN concerns an invading force snatching a small European town. Troubles ensue. Though the names aren't given, you know Steinbeck is talking about the Nazis probably occupying Norway. "The Leader" is Hitler. There's a patriotic verve here, but it doesn't grow overly hokey or schmaltzy. The violence isn't graphic, and Steinbeck's prose often shines ...more

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About John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck III was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.

In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley John Steinbeck III was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.

In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley region of California, a culturally diverse place of rich migratory and immigrant history. This upbringing imparted a regionalistic flavor to his writing, giving many of his works a distinct sense of place.

Steinbeck moved briefly to New York City, but soon returned home to California to begin his career as a writer. Most of his earlier work dealt with subjects familiar to him from his formative years. An exception was his first novel Cup of Gold which concerns the pirate Henry Morgan, whose adventures had captured Steinbeck's imagination as a child.

In his subsequent novels, Steinbeck found a more authentic voice by drawing upon direct memories of his life in California. Later he used real historical conditions and events in the first half of 20th century America, which he had experienced first-hand as a reporter.

Steinbeck often populated his stories with struggling characters; his works examined the lives of the working class and migrant workers during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. His later body of work reflected his wide range of interests, including marine biology, politics, religion, history, and mythology.

One of his last published works was Travels with Charley, a travelogue of a road trip he took in 1960 to rediscover America. He died in 1968 in New York of a heart attack and his ashes are interred in Salinas.

Seventeen of his works, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), and East of Eden (1952), went on to become Hollywood films, and Steinbeck also achieved success as a Hollywood writer, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Story in 1944 for Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat. ...more

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“Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat. Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and the free men who win wars.” — 35 likes

“I am a little man and this is a little town, but there must be a spark in little men that can burst into flame.” — 23 likes

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