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Cover of The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck

The Moon is Down

John Steinbeck

  • 144 pages · about 2 hours
  • First published 1942
  • 87 editions
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1 About this book

The Moon Is Down is a 1942 novel by American writer John Steinbeck. The book is about the military occupation of a small town in Northern Europe by an unnamed army. Steinbeck wrote it as propaganda intended to fuel resistance movements in occupied countries during World War II. The book was widely bootlegged and adapted for the stage in Europe. The Moon Is Down was adapted into a film by Irving Pichel in 1943.

The novel's scenario echoed the occupation of Norway by Germany during World War II. Norway awarded Steinbeck the King Haakon VII Freedom Cross for the novel.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Good for readers who want: a classic, a play, and a short read.

  • Classics
  • China
  • Politics and government
  • War in fiction
  • City and town life in fiction
  • World War II
  • Drama
  • War

2 About John Steinbeck

1902–1968

John Ernst Steinbeck ( STYNE-bek; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and novelist. He was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". He has been called "a giant of American letters".

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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