Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Moon is Down - Chapter One

To be honest, I never even knew this book existed. You would think that I would have heard of it at some point seeing as though John Steinbeck is so famous, but I digress. After the long process of actually aquiring the book so that I could read it, I was able to get to it. Turns out that it is not really that popular of a book, go figure.

When the book starts (I am actually reading it as I type), we learn that a town has been occupied by soldiers. Apparently, this occupation was well prepared for. We also find out that the policeman and the postman of the town were on a fishing trip in a boat owned by a popular storekeeper in the town named Mr. Corell. They were out fishing when the town was occupied. Upon returning, they were arrested. Great. Oh! More good news. The troops that are normally there are six miles away enjoying lunch and shooting competitions. Upon their return, they were shot upon by the invaders, leaving them dead, half-dead, or fleeing from the scene. The invaders quickly make themselves at home, and the colonel amung them requests the audience of the mayor. So, the mayor gets all ready to see the colonel. A few soldiers come early to check the place out for weapons. We then find out that the kindly storekeeper was on the invaders side. Nothing like a little bit of betrayal to get the plot going. The people who are currently at the mayor's house are discussing whether or not to serve the colonel tea or wine. Colonel Lanser arrives and we find out that the only reason his troops are there is because they need the coal mines and the fishing areas. It's understandable. At least they are not trying to rule the people of the town. The colonel wants the people of the town to mine the coal for them, though, because aparently the soldiers need it. As they are making these plans, we find that the Mayor's cook, Annie, is getting angered by the soldiers on their porch. The Mayor and Colonel Lanser have a pretty humorous (to me, as in, I laughed...out loud) arguement about what to do with Annie. Afterwards, Colonel Lanser leaves, saying, "I hope we can trust you" (Steinbeck 19). The fact that he repeated it makes me think that something bad is going to happen. It just puts me on edge.

On the topic of these invaders, I cannot help but notice how nice they are being. They are being all respectful and kind. For example, they are letting the mayor stay in control of the town, despite their capturing of it. I do not yet know what to make of it, but its fine with me. I like this book so far. It's not my favorite, but it is not as horrible as I thought it would be. I look forward to reading more.

Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Penguin Classics, 1942. Print.

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