Book Forty-Nine of the Book-a-Week Quest
The Moon Is Down
by John Steinbeck (1942)
If anything good has come out of this book-a-week quest, it's that I finally have someone I can call "my favorite author." John Steinbeck definitely takes that prize. This is my fifth Steinbeck book of the year and while I wasn't falling head over heels for The Red Pony or The Pearl, I can't say that I've genuinely disliked any of them.
The Moon Is Down is a simple story that deals with a small European town being overtaken by invading soldiers. Neither the conquered nor the conquering parties are given countries to which they belong, but, considering that this was written in the midst of WWII, it's easy to infer Steinbeck's veiled intentions. Steinbeck allows the reader to see both sides of the war with chapters focusing on both the soldiers and their captives.
What's most interesting about the book is that, according the book's cover, Steinbeck had in his mind that this would be turned into a play rather than a novel. The book relies heavily on dialogue, both serious and witty, but always engaging. Also, each chapter feels like its own "act" in a play. While not "cliffhanger-ish," each chapter ends in such a way that it "finishes and cleans up" the loose ends in the chapter, while drawing the reader into desiring to know what happens next. I realize that's the case in most books, so I guess I'm not really accurately describing how this book felt "play-ish," but it did.
Anyway, this was definitely an enjoyable read. With three books left to go, it's entirely possible one more Steinbeck will be coming...
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