This was brilliant!

It was truly an outstanding and remarkable achievement. The way it was executed, the details that were considered, and the overall impact it had were all simply amazing.

Every aspect of it shone with a unique brilliance, captivating the attention and admiration of all who witnessed it.

It was a moment that will be remembered for a long time, a testament to the creativity and talent of those involved.

The brilliance of this accomplishment will continue to inspire others and leave a lasting impression on the world.

It is a shining example of what can be achieved when passion, dedication, and innovation come together.

Truly, this was a brilliant masterpiece.

A troop of soldiers occupies the city. There is no resistance shown. The informant of the conquerors - a gullible citizen - had taken care to remove the few available soldiers. So, the city fell. Simply, quietly, with very few dead ∙ and whatever available weapons are surrendered to the conquerors.

Before the city was conquered, the country had been conquered and before the country, half the hemisphere. The conqueror seems invincible, but he is not. The soldiers constantly think of their homes, they are bored with the place they have conquered. And the people, in turn, are bored with the soldiers. And they feel hatred for them. A hatred that grows stronger, that is deep in the eyes of the people, that brings fear to the heart and makes the conquerors fear the conquered. "And everyone knew, both the conquered and the conquerors, what would happen when the first spark appeared."

This book by Steinbeck is a psychological portrait, a journey into the depths of the human psyche. A hymn to humanity and a song of hope that in 1942 (when the book was first published) no one could claim that there was an abundance of in the world.

Four bright stars in the constellation of the sky, next to a moon that has already set and a justified feeling that Steinbeck will never disappoint me.

Soldiers, loyally following their Leader, act on the advice of a traitor from a small coal mining town to take it over for the benefit of their ongoing war.

"The Moon Is Down" by John Steinbeck is a wartime novella that explores how occupying soldiers come to understand that peaceful townspeople do not appreciate being dictated to.

A small coastal town is unexpectedly overrun by an invading army with minimal resistance. This town is significant as it is a port serving a large coal mine. Colonel Lanser, the head of the invading battalion, along with his staff, establishes their HQ in the house of Orden, the democratically elected and well-liked Mayor.

As the reality of occupation sets in and the weather turns harsh, with early snow, the townspeople grow angry and confused. Lanser, a war veteran, attempts to maintain an appearance of civility and law, but he knows that among those whose freedom has been forcefully taken away, there are no truly peaceful individuals.

A miner quits and kills an officer who orders him back to work in the mine. After a summary trial, the man is executed by a firing squad. This incident, however, catalyzes the town's people to begin resisting. Transportation and communication lines are disrupted, mine machinery frequently breaks down, and soldiers are killed whenever they let their guard down.

The cold weather and constant fear erode the morale of the occupying force, many of whom long for the war to end so they can return home. Resistance members escape to England and request explosives to intensify their efforts. English planes parachute-drop small packages containing dynamite sticks and chocolates around the town.

In a state of panic, Lanser takes the Mayor and his friend Dr. Winter hostage, threatening to execute them if there is any guerilla action. Mayor Orden, aware that his people will not stop their active resistance, accepts his impending death.

Knowing that the townspeople will use the dynamite at any moment, Orden and Winter discuss Socrates in front of a stunned Lanser until the first explosion. Orden then calmly walks out the door before Lanser can verbally order his execution.

Published in the spring of 1942, Steinbeck's obvious propagandist novella was written to inspire the Allied war effort and, through clandestine publishing in occupied Europe, to inspire resistance fighters against their German occupiers and collaborators. Although the town and country are unnamed, it is clear from the clues Steinbeck scattered throughout the text that it is Norway.

"The Moon Is Down" is also an excellent example of John Steinbeck's writing, offering a quick read for those considering reading his more famous works to understand his style. Despite being written for more political than literary purposes, it does not diminish the impact of the narrative or Steinbeck's effort to produce his best work.

‎The Moon is down, John Ernst Steinbeck

The Moon Is Down, a novel penned by John Steinbeck and crafted for adaptation for the theatre, was published by Viking Press in March 1942. For this work, Steinbeck received the Norwegian King Haakon VII Freedom Cross. The story revolves around the military occupation of a small town in Northern Europe by the army of an unnamed nation at war with England and Russia, much like the occupation of Norway by the Germans during World War II.

The invaders enter a small town and subjugate it with minimal bloodshed. The town or island has an official as the mayor. The local armed forces are only twelve tons. On the day of the uprising, thanks to an infiltrating spy, they are sent in search of black beans. The people who haven't seen the color of war for years, and even the official himself doesn't know how many weapons there are and where they are, but the invaders do. In the first few days, the people of the town are so peaceful that some of the invaders intend to stay and talk about getting married and spending their retirement there. There is a slate mine there, and the invading force needs the product of that mine. At first, everything seems simple, but...

The date of the first reading was September 1968 AD.

The book has been published in multiple editions in Iran with different publishers and details.

The date of dissemination was 18/09/1994 Hijri Shamsi; 08/10/2021 Hijri Shamsi; A. Sharbiani

**"The Moon is Down": A Powerful Tale of Freedom and Resistance**

“The people don’t like to be conquered, and so they will not be. 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.” This profound quote encapsulates Steinbeck's stance on freedom and democracy, while harshly criticizing the dictatorial "one leader" ideology and Nazi despotism. Despite being labeled a "Communist" by some, his support for democracy is evident here.

During World War II, Steinbeck penned The Moon is Down to boost the morale of the Allied forces. Inspired by the Nazi occupation of Norway, it narrates the story of a military invasion of an unarmed small town in Northern Europe and the subsequent uprising of the conquered against their oppressors. Published in 1942, Steinbeck expresses his hope and belief that the "conquerors" (the Nazis) will not have their way for long, and that the "conquered" (the people of the invaded countries), with the help of their allies, will rise up and thoroughly defeat them.

The story itself is not an easy read. The conflict between the two sides and the brutal suppression of the unarmed by the armed is grim and hard to bear. Fortunately, the story is short. However, the message it conveys is clear and powerful. Steinbeck's usually vivid writing style is replaced here with an impressive vitality that suits the subject matter. The story ends with Socrates's last words to Crito, as noted in Plato's Phaedo, where Socrates asks his friend to pay his debt and Crito replies, "the debt will be paid." These words were both relevant and prophetic. The "debt" was finally paid when the war ended in 1945, but at a great cost.

This was a moving tragedy. Although the story was a bit too intense for my sensitive nature, I'm glad I read it. It inspired me to write a small tribute, which I share below. I'm no poet, so please bear with me. :)

A Tribute to John Steinbeck's The Moon is Down:

The moon is down
The darkness descends
Slowly, it embraces
The earth and its men.

The creeping blackness deepens
The chilling coldness numbs
The mind, body, and soul
First confused, then enraged.

Biding their time,
Until a glimmer of light appears
Illuminating,
The path forward.

The glimmer grows
Into a beam of hope
Eating away at
The surrounding darkness.

Until a fire is ignited
Fierce and burning
Ominous and threatening
Vowing to consume

The coldness
The darkness
Imposed by the invaders
Strangling freedom.

They rise
Like a force of nature
Burning everything
In their fierce wrath
Even as they fall one by one

To taste the sweetness
Of freedom that will come
When the moon shines bright
Once again, in the clear sky.

«Yes, you remembered. The debt will be paid»

Apparently a simple story, but in fact, in just a few pages and with essential dialogues, Steinbeck, through the unforgettable figures of Mayor Orden and Doctor Winter, imparts to us a splendid lesson in dignity and moral integrity.
It is a story of resistance, inspired by a real event that took place in Norway during World War II, which puts an entire occupied country (by the Nazis, it is implied even if not explicitly stated) in front of the most natural yet most painful choice: that of remaining morally free even before being physically free because, to use Steinbeck's words, the only thing that the invader will never be able to do is «to break man's spirit forever».
The Moon Is Down is, together with Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row, the third stage drama written by Steinbeck, but the tight dialogues and the descriptions that at first glance seem meager and essential in no way detract from the effectiveness and the poetry to which the author has accustomed us, allowing the reader to place himself at the center of the scene where the action takes place and to be intimately and emotionally involved.
The splendid concluding dialogue in which the mayor and the doctor recite to each other the dialogue from Socrates' testament between the philosopher and Crito is worth the one hundred and eighty pages of reading alone, and it is one of those moments when I regret not having had a classical education to have read it earlier.
Surely, beyond the undoubted value of Socrates' words, the context in which Steinbeck inserts them only serves to highlight them and enhance their already extremely high value.

«Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius», he said gently. «Will you remember to pay the debt?»
Winter closed his eyes for a moment before answering:
«The debt will be paid».

For Mayor Orden, remaining faithful to his ideals, not fearing death, resisting the temptation to bend himself for the sake of his own safety is the cure for the greatest evil, that of cowardice and hypocrisy, and only in this way, symbolically bringing his cock to Asclepius, will his debt be paid.

But how wonderful it would be to see it staged in a theater?

Letto in poche ore, proprio perché quest'anno vorrei leggere tutto di Steinbeck dopo averlo scoperto con gli amici di GR (meglio tardi che mai).

Le stelline dipendono da come lo approcci, da come entri nel periodo in cui Steinbeck lo ha scritto etc.

Personalmente, i libri o mi devono rilassare (anche polizieschi purchè di "buoni" scrittori - in testa una Christie o un Simenon - non romanzi rosa) o, ancora meglio, mi dovrebbero far riflettere, anche solo con una frase. In questo ho sottolineato alcune frasi: vuol dire che, per me, è stata una buona lettura.

I find myself reading this in just a few hours. The reason is that this year, after discovering Steinbeck with the friends from GR, I want to read everything by him. It's better late than never.

The stars depend on how you approach it, how you enter the period in which Steinbeck wrote it and so on.

Personally, books should either relax me (even mystery novels as long as they are by "good" writers - Christie or Simenon come the first choices - not romance novels) or, even better, make me think, even just with one sentence. In this one, I have underlined several sentences, which means that, for me, it has been a good read.

A small book in a coastal town in Nowruz, but as great as the enormity of the people's will!

Man is a weak being, but the spirit of man is not for sale.

A sincere and profound story that penetrates the depths of hearts.

The cold and deathly silent space of the city and the plight of the helpless and orphaned people are well captured in the book and absorb the reader completely.

Steinbeck is a capable writer. Everything I have read from him has been powerful, meaningful, and attractive, and I hope to read more stories from him.

I really enjoyed it. Although it had a lot of spelling and formatting issues, and it seemed like the translation style was quite old-fashioned, which made it a bit difficult to establish a connection with it. However, it was still so powerful that those flaws could be ignored. After a long time, I had the pleasure of reading a book.

The book, despite its imperfections, managed to capture my attention and hold it firmly. The story within its pages had a certain charm that outweighed the technical glitches. It was as if I was transported to another world, completely immersed in the narrative.

Even though the language might have been a bit archaic, it added a unique flavor to the reading experience. It made me feel as if I was uncovering a hidden treasure from the past. And that's what made it so special and enjoyable.

“We’ve taken a job haven’t we?”

“Yes, the one impossible job in the world, the one thing that can’t be done.”

“And that is?”

“To break man’s spirit permanently.”

This short dialogue presents a rather profound and thought-provoking concept. The idea of taking on a job that is seemingly impossible, specifically the task of breaking a man's spirit permanently, is both chilling and captivating. It makes one wonder about the nature of human resilience and the lengths to which some might go in an attempt to achieve such a feat. Could it truly be possible to crush a person's spirit so completely that it can never be restored? Or is the human spirit ultimately unbreakable, no matter the circumstances? These are the kinds of questions that this dialogue leaves us with, inviting us to reflect on the power and endurance of the human psyche.

Another very good example of Steinbeck's writing, "The Moon Is Down" is a profound anti-war novel that superbly captures the psychology of the conqueror and the conquered in the various phases of the conquest. Here, Steinbeck is a bit less literary than in "Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath" (both masterpieces), but his "bit less" is much more than that of the others.

I really like the fact that, apart from some references to existing countries, he deliberately leaves it unclear who the invader is and which country he enters, thus emphasizing the universality of the situation and that it applies to any aggression, in any era and place. The last chapter and the dialogues between the mayor and the doctor, with their references to their school years and Socrates, have a melancholy aura that captivates you, flawless.

It's time for a second reading of "The Grapes of Wrath" after 14 years.

Einstein Beck has always been the best writer for me, and I have always enjoyed reading his works. His unique character portrayal and world-building, along with exciting and unpredictable endings, make his books truly captivating.

The book "The Secret Moon" can be classified as anti-war literature. The story takes place during World War II in a small town in Europe. The invaders suddenly take over the town, a town where the people have never attacked anyone or been forced to defend themselves against anyone for a long time! And the story begins from here. What actions do we take in the face of injustice? Do we bow our heads? Or do we resist?

The story is very engaging despite its brevity. The diversity of characters, the deep dialogues, and overall, everything is at its best. Although the author does not mention the names of the invaders and the occupied town, his meaning is completely clear.