Alexis' Book Blog

The Moon is Down

Author: John Steinbeck

Year Published: 1942

Stars: 5/5

Synopsis:

During World War II the Nazi’s invaded many small towns in Europe. In these towns, Nazi’s would force the townspeople to continue working, but allocate all resources to Germany. The Moon is Down is about one of these small towns that has been invaded. The location and exact year are not known and irrelevant. Colonel Lanser and his men have invaded a town with the help of the local shop-keeper.  The Nazi’s force the townsmen to work and, at first, expect little resistance. Mayor Orden and Doctor Winter are the prominent good guys and try to warn Colonel Lanser and his men that their town will always resist. Will the townspeople drive out the Nazi’s or will the defenseless people lose all hope?

Why I like it:

Steinbeck leaves much to the imagination. This novel is about 110 pages and could have been extended to 300 pages easily.  Instead of him writing six pages on the location of the story, he simply begins the story by stating that the Nazi’s had already taken over the town. The end of novel, which I won’t spoil, is classic. Steinbeck leaves a clear image of what  the future may hold but lets you decide for yourself how the story will end.

Character development in this novel tells the story. There is definitely a story line, but each character is so well-written that  they end up making the story. Colonel Lanser and Captain Loft are my two favorite characters. Captain Loft is a know-it-all and adds comic relief to situations that are rather serious. Colonel Lanser is a veteran of  World War I, and without saying directly, believes the Nazi party is wrong. Not wrong about the idea of taking over the world, but wrong about the way people should be treated once they have been defeated. I love character development and in my opinion John Steinbeck is the king of character development.

Last, I loved the dialogue between Mayor Orden and Colonel Lanser. Lanser is not a typical Nazi which allowed for meaningful dialogue between two ‘enemies’. Throughout the novel the Mayor is explaining to Lanser that no matter what the Nazi’s do the town will not give up. Each time they converse on the subject Lanser seems to somewhat agree with Orden but cannot say so, for obvious reasons. The last conversation between Orden and Lanser is my favorite. In this scene Orden has been arrested and the English have sent over dynamite, via parachute,  to help the townspeople slow down the mining. Lanser, to stop this, arrests Orden and is about to tell the town that if they use the dynamite, Orden will be shot. Colonel Lanser asks the mayor if this will control the people and Orden says no. Then Lanser asks Orden if he will plead to his people to not use the dynamite. Orden says…

“Yes, they will light it. I have no choice of living or dying, you see, sir, but- I do have a choice of how I do it. If I tell them not to fight, they will be sorry, but they will fight. If I tell them to fight, they will be glad, and I who am not a very  brave man will have made them a little braver. You see, it is an easy thing to do, since the end for me is the same.”

What I didn’t like: I wish it was longer.

Little Known Fact: John Steinbeck was married three times.

Fun Fact: The Grapes of Wrath, arguably the best Steinbeck novel, was banned in Oklahoma until 1941. Since the novel highlighted the negative aspects of the capitalism and Dust Bowl migrations, Oklahoma saw fit to ban it.

Alexis