I just reread The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck, which is one of the selections the English 9 students can choose from for their 4th quarter Literature Circles. It's about a small town occupied by foreign soldiers during a war.
Every time I read this book, I like it a little more. I love the way Steinbeck creates complex characters who are believable, and how even the "villains" are not flat characters. I also enjoy reading about the history of this novel, which Steinbeck originally wrote as anti-Nazi propaganda. I think it's interesting to read about the controversial reviews, its success in Europe, and to think about how its ideas are still very relevant today.
2 comments:
mmmm...sounds like a good book. Is steinbeck a hard read??
Not really - his language is very visual. The hard part about this book is keeping the characters straight and also thinking about character motivation. Most of the motives are pretty clearly stated, but some of the ideas behind them can be a little complicated.
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