"And now that you do not have to be perfect, you can be good." –From East of Eden
On Feb. 27, 1902, American author John Steinbeck was born in Monterey County, California.
He would go on to write some of the great American novels and novellas, including Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and the Of Mice and Men. He also had a pretty sweet mustache.
One of my favorite novellas by Steinbeck is the somewhat less popular, The Moon is Down. Set in a small town somewhere in occupied Europe, it tells in an almost fairy-tale like voice of what it means to stand up to fascism. It's swift, it's sad, and during WWII it was smuggled into Nazi occupied France.
I've loved every one of Steinbeck's novels that I've read (though, I have not read them all). And I thought that, on his birthday, it would be nice to remember one that is lesser known, though no less masterful.
